If you arrive in Victoria in the winter months, you can take advantage of our great skiing at Mt. Washington.
While there is actually no skiing in Victoria, Mt. Washington Alpine Resort is approximately 3 1/2 hours north of Victoria (see map below).
Mount Washington is home to one of the most spectacular coastal alpine settings in North America. With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop on one side, scenic Strathcona Park bordering the other and views of the spectacular Comox Glacier to the south. Mount Washington offers a pristine environment for your next alpine or nordic ski adventure.
In winter, Mount Washington can receive legendary amounts of snow, in some cases 11 metres of annual snowfall! The resort is acknowledged as the home of Canada’s deepest pile. However, it’s not all about the snow! In summer, the mountain and surrounding resort community transforms itself into a major destination for hikers and summer alpine enthusiasts, including mountain biking.
The Mount Washington Alpine Resort is located near the very popular Comox Valley. Since the Mountain rises from sea level, you can literally ski in the morning and if the weather is cooperating, golf in the afternoon! The mountain is fully serviced by the divided inland Island Highway to the base of the hill, a paved all season Strathcona Parkway brings skiers, hikers and alpine enthusiasts of all walks to the Resort area.
Mt. Washington offers both Alpine and Nordic skiing as well as ‘snow tubing’, tobogganing and snowshoeing.
Accommodations
There are accommodations right at the ski hill or in the nearby towns of Comox and Courtenay. The website for Mt. Washington (link below) has lots of options for places to stay.
Getting There
You can Drive:
The actual address is #1 Strathcona Parkway, Mt Washington, BC.
BE ADVISED: Good winter tires are required. The BC Ministry of Transportation (not to mention all the wonderful folks sharing the road with you) require all vehicles on the Strathcona Parkway to be equipped with good winter tires and have chains available to use if the chain-up light is on. This is also true for the Malahat Drive if you are leaving from Victoria.
For road conditions, click this link: DriveBC
Take the Bus:
If you’re not into winter driving, you can take the Mount Washington Ski Bus.Their bus service can pick you up and drop you off at any of 12 locations on southern Vancouver Island. Their website is: Mount Washington Ski Bus.
Fly:
You can fly into Comox Harbour
You can fly into Comox airport.
Mount Washington Website
Mount Cain
Five hours north of Victoria, about 75 km NW of Sayward (roughly half-way between Campbell River and Port McNeill), you will find Mount Cain, Vancouver Island’s ONLY 100% Canadian owned and operated ski resort. If you are heading to northern Vancouver Island you may want to check this out. Their website which has all the information you will need on how to get there, accommodations etc is: Mt. Cain
Not sure how long ago this was written, but Mt Washington is not privately owned, it’s not even Canadian owned. Utah-based Pacific Group Resorts bought the resort in 2015. The only Canadian owned ski hill operating on Vancouver Island is Mount Cain.