Whistler, BC with a Toddler

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted and thats because we’ve finally gotten back to traveling after a three month hiatus. Danielle over at Eat Roam Heal loves Whistler as much as I do and many of these places are her actual recommendations.

Before you leave, make sure you have everything in order. We didn’t want to carry our car seat/stroller on the plane in addition to ski gear this time, so we rented from Baby’s On the Go–a stroller, a booster chair, and a pack n play with mattress and sheets. They also left us a small toboggan to use during our stay! The best par. is that everything was delivered to our rental before we arrived!

We scheduled babysitters for a couple date nights and a day of skiing. We used Babysitting Whistler and the girls that we had were fantastic. We also booked Ava into daycare at the Whistler base for a couple days. (Note you MUST drop your kids off before 10AM and pick up before 3:30PM. But again, completely worth it, and the employees were fantastic.)

Last time we went to Whistler we used Whistler Connection to get us from Vancouver to Whistler. This time, we rented our own car so that we could enjoy the drive on our own time. (And again, because… baby.)

We did AirBnB again this time–this has become our go to when traveling with a kid. It’s even better if traveling with another couple and a kid–that way you can all enjoy the common areas together while babies are asleep. That’s a lot harder to do when you can’t leave a baby behind in a hotel room.

Ok, so we are finally there… what do we do?

The first full day we were there I went snowshoeing for the first time. My best friend (who hasn’t skied in years) joined me, and Ava took a ride on my back. Ten minutes in, she had a nice long nap while we enjoyed the view. We rented our shoes from Cross Country Connection, which was fabulous because they have a cafe attached to the rental shop with ALL things lavender and therefore delicious. We hiked up to Lost Lake, and some beautiful views, and enjoyed coffee and treats afterwards. Note: if you choose to rent from here, park in Lot 5 near the Whistler Base and walk across the street, over the bridge, and to the Lost Lake PassivHaus.

We enjoyed dinner at Araxi while our babysitter watched Ava at home. Araxi is well known and a good staple. We thoroughly enjoyed our cocktails and oysters here. My husband had the venison and that was the table’s favorite dish. Make reservations early!

With another babysitter at our AirBnB, my best friend and I enjoyed a day at the Spa at the Four Seasons. I enjoyed a massage and a hydra facial. It was nice to relax for a bit. We also grabbed lunch before our spa day at Portobello next door at the Fairmont, and I can’t wait to go back to enjoy more treats/coffee, but their poutine was outstanding. Meanwhile, Ava was out playing in the snow with the babysitter and downing some pre-made raviolis from the local grocery.

That night we enjoyed dinner at Bearfoot Bistro. The food was delicious, the presentation outstanding, but the service was a little lacking. I would probably go back, but I definitely would NOT bring a toddler. They did not seem too excited about our little one. I’m not linking them here because of that.

Our friends had to leave on Monday, so I joined my husband on the mountain for a couple days of skiing. Whistler has some of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen on a mountain. And they are EVERYWHERE. The blue/intermediate terrain is just phenomenal and all of the runs are enjoyable. These were the days that we dropped Ava off at daycare. It was hard to get her to leave! After two days, she had read books, sang songs, played in the snow, gone on a gondola ride, played in wagons, and made new friends–all while we were hitting the slopes.

We had oven baked pizza at home one evening (it was nice not to have to go anywhere) after doing a little apres ski at Amsterdam cafe and pub. They were very friendly to our little one and made it easy to grab some food before walking back to the house. And the last night we were there, we had a romantic dinner for two at 21 Steps. The pasta dishes were great, the atmosphere outstanding, and the view of the Village Walk was my favorite.

Skiing can be an expensive way to entertain a family for a few days, but it’s always worth saving. Both times that we’ve been to Whistler we find our selves saying “next time, we have to go there”, “next time, we’ll do this”. Hence, we went right back a year later.

Where are your favorite places to ski? Do you know of some family friendly mountains? Leave your comments below and feel free to contact me if you want to let others know via a guest blog post too!