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Whitewater resort snow
Lat Long: 49.44° N 117.15° W
Ski Canada - BC

Whitewater Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Whitewater at 1836 m altitude

Issued: 4 am 30 Apr 2026 (local time)

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Visitor reviews for Whitewater Ski Resort

Whitewater Ratings

Overall: 3.2. Based on 86 votes and 34 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.1

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Whitewater is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.0

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Whitewater has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.0

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.2

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.1

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Whitewater

Public Transport: 2.8

  • There are no buses or taxis to Whitewater
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.0

  • No places to stay in/near Whitewater
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.2

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 2.7

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Whitewater

Ski in/Ski out: 1.8

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 2.2

  • There are no child care facilities at Whitewater
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 1.7

  • Whitewater relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.5

  • There are no snow groomers at Whitewater
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Whitewater are groomed daily

Shelter: 4.0

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Whitewater is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.5

  • If snow conditions are poor at Whitewater, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.2

  • Whitewater usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.2

  • The staff at Whitewater are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Whitewater are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.6

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.5

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 3.9

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 2.9

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 3.6

  • No intermediate terrain at Whitewater
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.4

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 2.5

  • Not even a kicker at Whitewater
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.7

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Whitewater
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.3

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Whitewater has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.5

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.5

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.0

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 1.9

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 2.4

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 2.6

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.5

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.8

  • Overall, Whitewater is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.8

  • Overall, Whitewater is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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February 12, 2014
truthfully
Since our new ownership, Whitewater has gone "downhill" big time! They can't stop lying on their snow reports. Come on! Have some respect.
December 17, 2013
Yetti
Whitewater sucks; you don't want to ski here, trust me. You really want to go to Red or Big White or Whistler, or anywhere but Whitewater really. And definately don't tell your friends about it, I'm quite sure it's the last place they would want to go to; you would just look silly trying to convince them to ski Whitewater. You don't want to write any reviews and probably should avoid mentioning it online all together. In fact, just forget it even exists and get your moneys worth at some other ski hill, any other ski hill, it's that bad, really, Best wish's A local
February 20, 2013
Bob
I've lived in Nelson and skied both Whitewater and Red many times. I've had wonderful days at both hills and wonder why proponents of one seem to like to trash the other. If you've experienced the crowds, wet snow and long lift lines at Whistler, or the fog at Big White, you'll appreciate how perfect skiing can be in the West Kootenays.
February 09, 2013
murph
In response to another reviewer's comment, Whitewater, like all other ski hills, is not magically exempt from the reality of weather and it's sometimes lack of cooperation. Don't get me wrong, when it's on, it's on but, like anywhere, it can be hit or miss depending on the day/week of riding. I have been a season pass holder for the past 15 years and have had many incredible powdays but every year there is at least one major drought period and yes, as hard as it is to admit there are icy days. You have to be able to hit the backcountry to get good snow. Trashing Red doesn't make Whitewater better (they get big dumps too). How did you do your math .05 cents a run? You would need to ride 100 days with 120 runs per day with a $600 season pass to get that rate. C'mon lets keep it real.
January 21, 2013
Alan
Whitewater is great. They recently doubled their ski area with the addition of the Glory Ridge chair, with plans for additional expansion. Lineups are low or non-existent. They get the most snow in the region, way more than Red Mountain, and it's a little colder so the powder is drier. It can get a little icy on some of the south facing slopes after the sun has hit them, but luckily there is a lot of north facing area where powder can still be found days after the last storm. Last season was incredible, with powder dumps right up to the second to last day of the season in April. There was so much snow they were having to clear it from under the lifts. Some of the best ski touring around, if that's your thing. The cafe in the lodge has the best food I've ever bought at any ski resort, and is reasonably priced. Nelson is a fun town with lots of culture and things to do, many great places to eat, good shopping and friendly locals (the opposite of Rossland, other than the part about the friendly locals).
December 28, 2011
Bryan Reid
I read a comment about Whitewater being icy... it comes from a Red Mountain unfortunate. It is exactly the opposite. Whitewater is high in the mountains and gets the BEST powder skiing of anywhere in North America. Red on the other hand is low and is often subjected to warm weather making its slopes icy... like and ice rink. I have done better on Red with Bauer skates than I have on skis. In fact, I have to wear ear plugs to block out the sound of edges on ice. Now Whitewater has powder as good as any Cat Ski operation in the area. I figure it cost me $0.05 per run to ski deep powder at Whitewater... as opposed to $50 a run on a Cat ski operation. I feel really sorry for those Red Mountain people who trash Whitewater... they are, in a word, jealous! They all wish they lived and played in the deep Powder at Whitewater. The new backside opened with the new Old Glory chair has made this ski hill a legend among all others.
April 08, 2011
spencer
Been skiing at Whitewater the last few days now and I simply can't believe how ridiculously awesome it is here. I don't know what I've been thinking going to Fernie, Red, and Big White and thinking these places were the best. Whitewater has way sicker terrain, better snow - and more of it, and no people!!!!! Plus the lift tickets are like $20 cheaper than everywhere else! I think I'm moving to Nelson next season - greatest ski town ever!
January 22, 2011
pwdrhound
Non-believers can ski at Red, it's way better there... All those pictures in Pwdr magazine are photo shopped, this place (Whitewater) is a skating rink. Don't bother coming unless your edges are razor sharp.
December 27, 2010
Alex from Ski USA - California USA - California
I drove up from Spokane, WA to catch the opening of the new Glory Ridge Chair (at Whitewater) and was totally rewarded with unbelievable terrain and snow! The runs on the right side of the chair feel like cat skiing but with way more gnar-factor and the left hand side was super great open gladed cruisers and a few cuts runs - perfect for the wife! I think Whitewater just became my go-to mountain. With the new lift, bigger vert, and wicked vibe it's easily my new favourite place to shred!
December 16, 2010
Frank from Ski USA - California USA - California
Wow, Whitewater is probably the greatest hidden gem I've ever come across. I've had the chance to ski lots of those little places around the Western U.S., you know the ones, with fabled stories of huge snowfalls and no line-ups but Whitewater absolutely blew me away. The vibe is indescribable, it's all the things that you wish you could find in an ultimate ski destination without all the glitz, glam, phony posers, and most importantly, huge prices of the larger resorts. Nelson is something else as well, it's like someone picked up the trendiest areas of Seattle or Vancouver and nestled them into the stunning surroundings of the Kootenays. The live music scene is amazing, the people are cultured and everyone was ridiculously friendly. I'll be back for sure! (I was a bit too early for riding the new Glory Ridge chair, but I, of course, found some friendly locals who were more than happy to show me the "backside" and thumb a lift back to the lodge, which as they told me is how they've been doin' it since the hill first opened!)