From arctic wilderness and prairie grasses, to coastal rainforests, the world’s highest tides, and UNESCO sites. Canada’s 46 National Parks are all unique and they’re here for us to protect, and enjoy. Starting in January, you can start planning your spring, summer, and fall camping as the Parks Canada online reservation system launches.
Parks Canada Camping Reservations
With more and more families planning their summer vacations well in advance, Parks Canada is launching its online campground reservation system in January 2016, three months earlier than last year, to make it easier for visitors to plan their trips.
From cozy cabin-like oTENTiks, and full-service and equipped campsites, to a mix of drive-in, hike-in and boat-in sites, there is a unique experience awaiting campers of all interests only a few hours from Victoria and Vancouver.
Stay closer to home and enjoy Long Beach at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s Green Point Campground, or check out a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Rockies in Yoho National Park, which I got to know really well this past summer.
For BC travel, make your reservations for Fort Langley and Fort Rodd Hill national historic sites, as well as Gulf Islands National Park Reserve starting January 5, 2016. Pacific Rim and Gulf Islands national park reserves open for reservations starting January 11, 2016. For Yoho National Park,reservations open on January 12. A full list of reservation dates and options is available online through Parks Canada.
2015 is coming to a close and to ring in 2016 in style, with friends and loved ones, here are a few options for a Family Friendly New Year’s Eve in Vancouver:
Family First Night at Mt Seymour
When: December 31, 2015 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Info: Website/Ticket Link
Tickets include entry, hot apple cider, s’mores, music, party favours, tobogganing, demo lessons, Scavenger Hunt and live entertainment. Purchase add-ons like snowshoe/chocolate fondue tour and the tubing.
Take the free Mt Seymour Shuttle Bus. It will leave from Parkgate Centre (in front of the Library) at: 5:30pm, 6:15pm, 7:00pm. The Shuttle Bus will return from Mt Seymour to Parkgate Centre at 9:15pm and 10:00pm.
Family New Year’s at Grouse Mountain
When: December 31, 2015 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Info: Website/Ticket Link
Enjoy entertainment and fun for all ages. Skate on the 8,000-square foot mountaintop pond, take a snow carpet down the new Sliding Zone and be awed by the magical outdoor Light Walk around Blue Grouse Lake. Early 9:00pm countdown and fireworks. Hot chocolate and s’mores will also be offered outside of the chalet, as well as in the First Nations híwus feasthouse.
Access to the New Year’s Eve celebration is included with your Annual Local’s Pass, Y2Play or Winter Season Pass. If you don’t have a pass special general admission pricing is available including a $49.95 Family Ticket Rate. Valid for 2 adults and 2 children/youth up to 18 years old.
Family Friendly Variety Show
When: December 31, 2015 at 8:00pm
Info: Website/Ticket Link
Ring in 2016 with host funny-man Daniel Zindler and his cast of fools including circus acrobats, a magician, and even a marching band. It all ends early with one of Vancouver’s largest balloon drops letting you party afterwards or put the kids to bed.
Robson Square Ice Rink
When: December 31, 2015 from 9:00am to 11:00pm on December 31, 2015
Info: Enjoy free family skating at Robson Square ice rink. Rentals are available for $4 (includes helmet) as well as ice cleats ($2).
NYE Vancouver at Canada Place
When: December 31, 2015 from 6:00pm to Midnight
Info: Website/Ticket Link
This free, public event will have live music, multicultural programming and entertainment, and fireworks. The event will utilize outdoor space at Canada Place and surrounding areas along Canada Place Way from Howe Street to Burrard Street.
Starting at 6:00pm there will be free concerts from Current Swell, We Are the City, Dear Rouge, The Matinee, and Bed of Stars. This stage will have an early countdown at 9:00pm for younger guests. Midnight fireworks will be lit off in Coal Harbour. VIP viewing tickets are sold out but you can secure your spot along the harbour to view them for free.
Holiday Events
If you missed out on some of the Christmas events around Vancouver, attractions like Bright Nights Christmas Train in Stanley Park, Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge, and Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden are all still open through the new year.
I love BC trivia, and I like to think that I know quite a few interested tidbits, however I seriously need to brush up on my BC ski resort history!
Did you know that the plaza at Whistler Blackcomb used to be the village dump? Did you know that Big White near Kelowna was found by a local pilot? It’s interesting to find out that our favourite ski resorts have histories that sometimes includes hardships and heroes, blunders and brilliant ideas. SeekersMedia has dug deep into the past of almost every mountain resort of the Rockies to the coast to discover just what it took to create your favourite trails and terrain.
Join in on the winter of discovery and visit some of the slopes listed below. Sign-up to win prizes from many of the resorts in the SnowSeekers Challenge.
Before it was Whistler Blackcomb it was rivalry
The slopes at Whistler were the first to open 50 years ago with perfect trails to bring smiling skiers to the base. Years later when Blackcomb cranked up the lifts they also cranked up the attitude, allowing rowdy boarders and partiers to ski the spidery trails. The competition was legendary. Find out how Whistler Backcomb finally managed to become Canada’s biggest alpine resort.
Pilot finds snow ghost nirvana
Back in the 1960s when google was goggles spelt wrong, two friends spent countless days searching the mountains beyond Kelowna for the perfect ski hill. Hiking, back-country skiing and eventually flying found the perfect slopes. Planning a 56 kilometre road from Kelowna was tough but as soon as the word got out about the epic snow blanketing never-ending glades, Big White was on the map. Discover how Big White Resort blazed new trails here.
Kicking Horse Mountain has been kick ass from the get go
Who would have thought that a cranky horse in 1858 could lead to naming rivers and resorts! The Kicking Horse story is legendary and so is the snow. Find out how the community run Whitetooth Mountain ski hill near Golden B.C. became Kicking Horse Mountain Resort – the powder-hound haven it is today.
Kimberley – or how to make a ski town out of a mining town
The stash of powder in the glades at Kimberley is not the stash the prospectors were looking for a century ago. Back then, it was seams of a mineral called Galena that had them trudging through the snow. They hit pay dirt but it didn’t last long. Find out how close they were to the motherlode and how the mining industry shaped the friendly Kimberley Alpine Resort.
The glades at Mount Timothy are calling you
Wouldn’t it be cool to stand at the top of a mountain with a role of flagging tape in your hand then head down the slope to mark the runs for a new ski resort? That’s what Bruce Johnson of Williams Lake did in 1987. He’s still skiing at Mount Timothy, 66 kilometres south of Williams Lake today. Did he pick the right lines? Find out what makes the glades of Mount Timothy Resort so special.
Murray Ridge has more than just the longest rope tow
Here’s an idea. Suggest to the local logging companies they can have the timber from a thickly forested mountainside for free. All they have to do is log the slope in long lines instead of blocks. You’ll even name the run after them. It worked for the volunteer-run ski resort only ten-minutes from Fort. St. James. Find out other secrets to the success of Murray Ridge.
Join the free SnowSeekers Challenge. Create your bucket list by January 17th and be entered to win a pair of round trip tickets to anywhere Pacific Coastal Airlines flies!
Things to do in Vancouver This Christmas Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.
Friday, December 25, 2015
» See What’s Open on Christmas Day «
Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink
SOS Children’s Gingerbread Village at The Peak of Christmas, Grouse Mountain
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Contact Festival at BC Place
Sleeping Beauty at the Metro Theatre
HerShe Bar Where the Girls Are
Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge
Burnaby Village Museum Heritage Christmas
Bright Nights Christmas Train in Stanley Park
SOS Children’s Gingerbread Village at The Peak of Christmas, Grouse Mountain
Dickens Christmas at the Britannia Mine Museum
Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden
Enchanted Nights at the Bloedel Conservatory
FlyOver Canada Christmas
The Arts Club Presents A Christmas Story: The Musical
The Arts Club Presents: It’s A Wonderful Life
Pacific Theatre Presents: A Christmas Carol on the Air
Ellie King’s Puss in Boots
Cirque du Soleil: Kooza
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Contact Festival at BC Place
Stanley Park’s Secrets Historical Walking Tour
Sleeping Beauty at the Metro Theatre
Gateway Theatre Presents: The Wizard of Oz
Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink
Christmas at the Cannery – Festival of Trees
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge
Burnaby Village Museum Heritage Christmas
Bright Nights Christmas Train in Stanley Park
SOS Children’s Gingerbread Village at The Peak of Christmas, Grouse Mountain
Dickens Christmas at the Britannia Mine Museum
Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden
Enchanted Nights at the Bloedel Conservatory
The Arts Club Presents A Christmas Story: The Musical
Pacific Theatre Presents: A Christmas Carol on the Air
Cirque du Soleil: Kooza
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Check out the full December event listings here and if you have an event to include, please send it in by email for a free listing. Follow Miss604 on Twitter for more daily updates.
If you’re looking for a Christmas Day activity, aside from lounging in pyjamas as long as possible until the aroma of roasted turkey fills the house, there are actually quite a few local options this year:
What’s Open on Christmas Day in Vancouver
The Vancouver Aquarium is open (11:30am to 4:00pm) featuring their holiday line-up of activities on top of their permanent displays and exhibits. Watch Scuba Claus swim around (after his long night of travel), check out the Eel-ectric Lights show, and catch The Polar Express 4-D Experience.
The Robson Square ice rink in Downtown Vancouver will be open (12:00pm to 5:00pm) with free skating, and $4 rentals.
There’s still time to check out SOS Children’s Gingerbread Village at The Peak of Christmas on Grouse Mountain. Head up for a Christmas Day walk in the snow, skiing & snowboarding, ice skating, sliding, and the gingerbread houses inside the main lodge.
Cypress and Mount Seymour will also be open for downhill fun on Christmas Day.
Book a tee time! Vancouver Parks Golf courses – Fraserview, Langara, and McCleery – will be open on Christmas Day from 8:00am to 2:00pm.
Indoor ice skating can be enjoyed at several Vancouver Park Board rinks. There will be public skates on Christmas Day at Hillcrest, Britannia, Trout Lake and Kerrisdale arenas.
If you are out and about, plan to grab a Legendary Burger or Pirate Pak at the White Spot Christmas Luncheon for Charity. Now in its 14th year, staff at the Kingsway and Richmond Centre locations are donating their time and tips of Christmas Day for two deserving local causes.
