If you’re looking for something different to do for your winter holiday, forget about beach vacations. You’re missing out on an incredible experience if you don’t consider booking your next vacation in Rossland, BC during the winter.

Located in the West Kootenays in southern British Columbia, Rossland is only a 2.5 hour drive from Spokane, WA and 3.5 hours from Kelowna. Flying into one of these cities and driving from there is going to likely be the quickest way to get here from outside of BC. If you want to drive, Rossland is about 11 hours from Edmonton AB, 7.5 hours from Calgary AB, 7 hours from Vancouver BC and 6.5 hours from Seattle WA. Just remember that if you’re driving in the winter, your drive times may be slower if you are driving over mountain passes.

While I’m sure that Rossland is an amazing place during the summer, we just keep coming back in the winter because of the amazing variety of snow sports–namely skiing. Here are some of the top reasons that my husband and I love Rossland.

#1 – Skiing at RED Mountain Resort

This ski resort is definitely one of North America’s best kept secrets. Spanning 3 mountains, the resort offers over 2,900 ft of vertical and 110 runs across 2,800 acres that are serviced by old-school, fixed grip chair lifts (this is great news for rest time for your quads!). In addition, they also offer in-bounds cat skiing on Mt. Kirk-up for only $10 per run.

The variety of terrain you can find on this mountain is unparalleled. If you’re looking for easy-cruiser groomed runs, you will find them here. My favorites are Ruby Tuesday, Southern Comfort and Southern Belle off the Paradise Chair and Main Run off the Motherlode Chair.

You will also find gladed tree runs and a number of bump runs. My favorite mogul runs are Gambler, an intermediate bump run off the Paradise Chair and anything off the Grey Chair. For those skiers looking for terrain that’s a bit more steep, deep and tight, there are over 20 double black runs. Whatever type of run you are looking for, and no matter what level, you will find it here… and you won’t have to waste time in long lift lines.

But the best part? The snow. RED gets an average of 300″ or 7.5m of snowfall a year. If you happen to be here when it’s snowing, you will likely be able to find fresh snow for days.

#2 – Cat skiing with Big Red Cats

There are a lot of places that you can go cat-skiing, but I’m pretty biased towards Big Red Cats being the best. My first cat skiing experience, and back-country ski experience in general, was with them and they exceeded my expectations. From their top safety standards and thousands and thousands of acres of intermediate, advanced and expert gladed runs of untracked powder, to the hospitality of their guides and drivers and yummy food, they can’t be beat.

Big Red Cats offers over 19,000 acres of terrain across 8 mountains, and runs up to 4 cats per day. Even with up to 48 skiers out there every day, you will always have fresh tracks, even if it hasn’t snowed for a week. We went in early season (late December) and although it hadn’t snowed any significant amount for 5 days, we were skiing in knee-to-thigh deep powder all day!

Terrain and snow aside, it’s the service that really makes this company stand out. We always felt safe and really appreciated the in-depth avalanche safety demonstration and practice. Our lead guide and tail guides always made sure that everyone on our cat was having fun and enjoying their day. When I needed to sit a few runs out to let my legs rest, I was invited to sit in the front of the cat with the driver (an experience that has long been on my bucket list). The icing on the cake though, was the selection of homemade cookies to complement the chicken, beef, tuna and veggie wraps they made for lunch!

#3 – Cross-country skiing at Black Jack Ski Club

If downhill skiing is not your thing, or you’re looking for a different activity on your off days, Rossland offers a great Nordic ski club. The Black Jack Ski Club is close to RED Mountain Resort (across the highway and up about 1/2 a kilometre), although not easily walkable due to the amount of snow piled along the sides of the highway, and there is a free shuttle that runs between the resort and Black Jack.

For only $15 per day for an adult, you will have access to over 40km of groomed trails (classic and skate skiing) ranging from beginner to advanced. There is a loop specified for skiers who want to bring their dogs along for their ski, and 2.5km of trail lit for night skiing. They also have a cabin at the trailhead and 2 warming cabins along the trails. And if biathlon is your thing, they also offer a biathlon range and a separate trailhead to access these trails.

#4 – Après ski at Rafters

While every ski hill boasts a great apres ski spot, RED Mountain Resort really has it going on. Rafters Lounge is located on the top floor of the main lodge, and offers Wednesday to Sunday specials in addition to their daily “No Shower Happy Hour” between 4:30pm and 5:30pm every day.

Although they’re not on any of the special menus, order the nachos (well, only if you have a group of people or are VERY hungry). I have never, ever, seen a larger portion of nachos that did not skimp out on the toppings, and they were delicious. We also ordered an order of wings (which were on special) and were amazed by how meaty they were. You definitely get what you pay for here.

And if you like live music, Rafters also brings in bands on the weekends. To check out the schedule, visit redresort.com under Rafters Lounge.

#5 – The condos at RED Mountain Resort Lodging

One of the great selling features for a visit to RED Mountain Resort is the slope-side lodging. We have stayed at many slope-side hotels and condos before but the accommodations at RED are our favorite.

There are several accommodation options to choose from, including apartment style condos, townhouse style condos and individual cabins/chalets. Most of the properties are ski-in/ski-out, and many boast private hot tubs. We have always stayed in the apartment-style condos in the Slalom Creek buildings, which are the closest to the Silverlode lift.

So what makes the Slalom Creek condos so great? A full-size, well-stocked kitchen. A full-size private hot tub on the balcony. Heated, underground parking. A fireplace. In-suite laundry.  An ensuite steam/shower. Rates much lower than similar accommodations at other major ski resorts. Did I mention they were the closest to the lifts?

By booking with RED Mountain Resort Lodging, you also get 20% off daily lift ticket rates. Before you book, check their website as they often offer great lodging specials & packages. We booked a 6 night stay with 4 days of adult lift tickets for two people for less than $1900.

#6 – Backcountry ski touring

I am not an expert on this, but on good authority from fellow skiers, there is a lot of great backcountry ski touring terrain to explore around Rossland, and judging by the terrain we explored while cat skiing, there isn’t anywhere bad to ski in this area.

There are several areas that can be accessed from RED Mountain Resort’s boundaries including Mt Roberts (the site of the Canadian Open Freeskiing Championship), the White Wolf Ridge, Mt Kirkup and Record Peak/Record Ridge.

• For full information about the routes in the area, visit Backcountry Skiing Canada‘s Rossland page.
• For avalanche conditions, visit Canadian Avalanche Association.
• To book a custom guiding experience in the area, visit Summit Mountain Guides.

Regardless of how you decided to do the backcountry, please make sure that you are properly prepared with the right equipment, have avalanche training and know your route.

#7 – The local vibe

Rossland is not a big town (about 3,500 people) but it’s vibe sure packs a punch. You just know that this place is different when you first arrive in town. Located high on a mountain hill-side, Rossland feels like a completely different place than Trail which is located just 10 minutes down the hill.

Laid-back, old-school, friendly and close-knit community are all terms I would use to describe this place. The downtown area’s iconic main street is colourful and invites you to explore its shops, galleries and eateries. A Subway is the closest thing you’ll find here to mainstream.

And when you arrive at RED Mountain Resort and load onto any of their fixed-grip chair lifts, you really feel like you’ve stepped back in time. You know you’ve found somewhere special when the locals are complaining that they can’t wait to get their mountain back due to 10 person line-ups at the chairlifts during the Christmas break. We most recently visited in early January and didn’t have to wait even once to load a chairlift.

#8 – Ferraro Foods

So it might seem kind of weird that I’m including a grocery store on this list, but it’s so worthy of being included. As the only grocery store in Rossland, you would expect to find the typical small-town grocery store with a limited selection, drab produce and expired food on the shelves. Ferraro Foods not only rivals the general and specialty grocery stores found in larger cities, it even beats some of them.

What makes Ferraro’s so great?

• A good selection of fresh, local produce, including organic.
• In-house made sausages including chicken thai, lamb & rosemary, beef & sundried tomato and all the regular selection of pork sausages. I can vouch for how delicious these sausages are and usually pack our cooler home full of them.
• An incredible selection of ethnic foods including specialty Italian and Asian.
• A great deli with in-house soups, salads and a surprisingly good selection of charcuterie meats and cheeses.

When you drive through town, you won’t miss Ferraro’s–it’s located on the main street (Columbia Ave) through town–but in case you do, here is a link to the store on Google maps.

#9 – Burgers at The Flying Steamshovel

The Flying Steamshovel (when we last checked) is the #1 rated restaurant in Rossland, BC, and for good reason. Located a couple blocks off the main street, the exterior of the building is pretty unassuming. You would likely drive right by it, not realizing that it was even a business. So google it, and go.

Located in an old hotel, this pub dates back to the gold-rush era. You will get all the usual fare you would expect from a pub but with a twist. For example, you don’t just get poutine, you get braised lamb poutine.

I had the John Candy burger (with guacamole added on) and it was by-far the best burger I’ve ever had. Every bite was an explosion of flavor in my mouth. How could it not be with BBQ sauce, carmelized onions, back bacon, aged white cheddar and roasted garlic aioli with a house-made beef patty on a fresh, toasted Kaiser bun. Just writing this is making my mouth water and has me counting down the days until I can return to Rossland to have this burger again.

The Flying Steamshovel also brings in live bands on occasion, and you can rent rooms in the hotel. Some fellow skiers we met stayed in their Deluxe Jacuzzi Suite which offers a full kitchen and a Jacuzzi tub… for only $125 per night. Just be warned, you may want to consider alternate accommodations if there is live music scheduled during your stay, or plan to head down to the pub for the evening.

#10 – Summer paradise

Ok, I know this is about visiting in the winter, but there is so much going on for Rossland in the summer that it’s worth mentioning. The locals are pretty proud of the area in the summer, and judging by this summer list, they should be.

• No mosquitos! For those of you who are tired of being attacked by mosquitos when hiking and camping in the Canadian Rockies, you may want to consider hiking and camping in the Monashee Mountains that surround Rossland.
• Rossland is known as the mountain biking capital of Canada. There are over 200km of bike trails that have a full-time, paid crew who maintains them. There are kilometres of old railway and wagon trails for beginners, in addition to a lot of single track that will keep serious mountain bikers happy for days. Visit Rossland Tourism for more information and trail maps.