Summer at Sun Peaks
Home to Zumba, black bears and epic adventures
Story and Photos by Carolyn Price
Photo at left: Hikers crest a trail among wildflowers at the expansive Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia.
If you’ve skied at Sun Peaks, the second largest ski area in Canada, you are familiar with its 7,000-foot-plus summit and 11 chairlifts over 3,678 skiable acres. Originally known as Tod Mountain, the mountain changed its name in 1993 and has transitioned into a four-season resort.
Last August our family traveled from Seattle, about 250 miles north into British Columbia to Sun Peaks. Along the way, we realized the resort is no further than some of our favorite vacation spots in Sandpoint, Idaho, or Eugene, Ore.—you just need to bring your passport to cross the border!
Summer in the mountains
With 2,000 feet of vertical, 35 trails for all abilities and affordable daily lift rates, Sun Peaks was named the ninth best mountain bike park by WorldBikeParks.com in 2013. The bike park has also been featured in several mountain bike movies.
Summers at Sun Peaks bring ardent hikers, adventurous bikers and dusty horseback riders who enjoy uncrowded trails. Walkers and birdwatchers can stroll along the lower valley trail system. Area lakes, long since frozen, await canoeists, kayakers and stand-up paddlers. And families (of all ages) will definitely enjoy the slingshot bungee trampoline and a few hours of geocaching around the Village.
You don’t have to worry about packing your gear either, as the Village’s Sports Centre rental and gear shop carries nearly everything you will need for your outings: bikes, pads, clubs and raingear. It is the mountains, after all.
To get a start on the day, refuel after your adventures or kick back for an afternoon, the Sun Peaks Village offers plenty of eateries from bakeries and Crêperies, to pizza joints and 5-star dining, to sun-drenched patios for pub food and beer.
Our favorite hangout was the cozy Tod Mountain Café in the center of the Village where we loved the strawberry and Nutella crepes. Hamburgers and local drafts on the patio at Masa’s Bar & Grill at the base of the mountain were a great way to end the day.
Summers at the Village feature a Sunday Farmer’s Market, free outdoor concerts and competitive bike and running races. Numerous small shops and local galleries dot the Village corridors.
Strollers walk in the Sun Peaks Village at the base of the mountain.
There’s also plenty of lodging. We stayed at Nancy Green’s Cahilty Lodge—a comfortable loft condo with a full kitchen and television. For the more adventurous, there are also adjacent RV and camping amenities. More lodging is available 45 minutes down the mountain in the city of Kamloops.
Lift-accessible hiking, biking
After skidding around on a front-suspension mountain bike for five hours on Sun Peaks’ legendary trails the first morning there, I was epically done. But as soon as somebody mentioned golf, I quickly dispatched my bike to the rental department, tore off my helmet, shoulder and shin pads and wiped the dusty grime from my face.
My marshmallow legs and I jumped into a sporty little golf cart that wheeled us across the Village’s small bridge to the 18 holes of lovely flat greens, a welcome sight for my weary body. The day ended with drinks and nachos with the women’s golf group—a collection of Sun Peaks’ residents, other locals and vacation tagalongs like me.
The next morning, the Sunburst Express chairlift took us to the top of 6,000-foot Mid-Mountain for a leisurely hike. Even in late August, there were still some wildflowers along the pathways. We were also treated to several deer and their young darting on and off the trails. Snowless mountain hillsides provided expansive views of the ski hills that made us want to return for skiing.
Expect to see plenty of deer along any of the 16 hiking trails at Sun Peaks.
Due to an uncharacteristically late-August rainstorm, the only thing we didn’t get to do was go paddleboarding. We were scheduled to SUP with expert Bodie Shandro, owner of Paddle Surfit, who guides on beautiful Heffley Lake, midway down-mountain toward Kamloops.
Shandro was one of North America’s first SUP certified instructors and is an international SUP competitor. Paddle Surfit offers SUP lessons for adults and kids, SUP yoga and mountain bike rentals. Everyone needs to paddle with Shandro—do this and let me know when you do!
Our final night brought us to a Zumba class in the small community center/winter storage building. As we transitioned from samba to mambo, we spotted a mama black bear and her two cubs out the window, lazily grazing on the mountain’s vegetation in the growing dusk.
It was one of those epic moments that I will always remember about Sun Peaks.
Resources
Sun Peaks Resort: www.SunPeaksResort.com
Nancy Green’s Cahilty Lodge: www.cahiltylodge.com
Tod Mountain Café: www.todmountaincafe.ca
Paddle Surfit: www.paddlesurfit.com
Tourism Kamloops: www.tourismkamloops.com
Carolyn Price is publisher of OutdoorsNW and would like to try SUP yoga sometime.
Rhen, 8 months ago
This sounds like a great trip to make…I have found recently that some of the most interesting places to explore in the summer are winter ski hills and trails. There are so many activities you can do there in warm weather.