Used to be we’d never dream of adding the grandparents to our ski vacation, an avalanche in the making of guilty pleasures on the hill while our parents sequestered themselves in the condo day after day. How times have changed. Not only are ski resorts no longer an incarceration for the less active older set, an impressive list of outdoor options means every age departs in a blizzard of gleeful experiences.

Even among ever broadening destination options, few ski areas compare with SilverStar Mountain Resort. Located outside Vernon, B.C. about six hours drive from Seattle – or 50 minutes from Kelowna International Airport, SEA-YLW flights run under an hour, SilverStar tosses out snowshoe and snow cat tour dinners, tubing, pond skating and even ten-pin bowling, the only ski-in/ski-out bowling alley in Canada. My first family foray to SilverStar a few years ago permanently altered my on-mountain paradigm. A “first chair-ski thru lunch” type for years, SilverStar implored me to transform my personal ski vacation into a snow holiday for everyone. Sounds like semantics, I know, but it saved our alpine vacations going forward.

Our typical SilverStar day definitely involves skiing, but several family members might also choose to pole along the 65 miles of groomed Nordic trails. The famous system links to adjacent SilverStar Provincial Park, drawing scores of Nordic enthusiasts and teams from as far away as Dartmouth College. Find out more on why snow seekers of all ages are coming to ski the Star via this article.

The alpine is no less rave-worthy. The 3,282 ski-in, ski-out acres is B.C.’s third largest. A few meadows make for killer powder days and the side-cuts mean mixed ability families can pick their pitches and come together at the chairlift rather than at lunch. That said, the new Putnam Creek advanced area, 35 black and double black runs, has few equals in the Northwest. My kids are happy to ski as long as there’s time for pick-up hockey on Brewer’s Pond, a natural skating surface that encircles an island stand of conifers. Brewer’s Pond pavilion added a café in 2016, perfect for a bowl of chili or hot chocolate after a few runs down the undulating tubing lanes gentle enough for an adventurous grandparent, or two. 

Everyone comes together over après at Long John’s Pub or the Red Antler, followed by a family-filled snow cat – which is indeed as cool as it sounds, for dinner at Paradise Camp. Climbing through forested hills in the dark blends a bit of blind adventure with a sense of exclusivity – a bonding formula if ever there was one. More active grandparents should embark on the short snowshoe tour to Wild Horseman’s Camp for dinner.  

There’s so much to do here most families crave a couple more days. Fret not - those extra two nights are free (after five-night stays) between Feb. 26 and March 12, as are the lift tickets. Whenever you go, you’ll quickly see how one B.C. resort has transformed a set of ski runs into full family festivities without once losing site of the snow.

To explore more on SilverStar Mountain Resort and how it serves up adventures to so many people of any age, please have a read to Crai’s SnowSeekers follow up story here.

Info Box

SilverStar is located outside Vernon, B.C. 

Driving time from Seattle: 6-7 hours depending on border and weather

Flights: Alaska Air flies 3x's daily to & from Kelowna

Flight time:  60-minute flight

Kelowna Airport to SilverStar:  50 minutes 

A SilverStar shuttle is available from airport 

It’s never been better to ski BC, with the dollar as it is, you add 30% to how far your money can go based on current exchange rates, for more visit SilverStar Mountain Resort’s US landing page welcoming their Seattle friends. http://www.skisilverstar.com/no-site-section/usa-come-ski-me-1