Skiing Big White from Peachland

Big White is what makes a winter month in the Okanagan work. It is 87 km from Peachland — about an hour and twenty in ordinary winter conditions — which is close enough to ski on a whim and far enough that you are not obliged to live on the mountain.

Photo: MissAlienous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The mountain

• Just over 2,800 skiable acres
• 777 m (2,550 ft) of vertical
• 119 runs served by 16 lifts
• Around 750 cm (300 inches) of snow in an average year

The 2026/27 season is scheduled to run from 4 December 2026 to 5 April 2027. It is an inland mountain, high and cold, which is why the snow tends to be dry rather than the heavy coastal kind. Confirm dates and conditions at bigwhite.com before you commit to anything.

The drive, and the bit people get fined for

Highway 97 north towards Kelowna, then a long climb east. Allow an hour and twenty in good conditions and considerably more when it is actually snowing; the final stretch gains a lot of elevation.

Winter tyres are a legal requirement here, not a recommendation. Most BC highways require them from 1 October to 30 April. A legal winter tyre carries either the three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol or an M+S marking, and must have at least 3.5 mm of tread. Fines run from $109 to $121, and this is a mountain highway where enforcement is real. Posted signs at the start of a corridor override the calendar, so read them.

If you are arriving in a rental car, check what it is fitted with before you book. Not every rental in BC comes on winter tyres, and a car that is fine in Vancouver is not automatically legal on the road to Big White. Check DriveBC for conditions on the morning.

Why stay down in the valley instead

The honest case for both sides. On-mountain lodging is priced like on-mountain lodging, and a ski-week for a family adds up fast. A three-bedroom house with a proper kitchen, a washer and eight beds costs less over a month than most slope-side condos cost over a fortnight, and you are buying groceries at valley prices rather than resort ones.

You also get the rest of the Okanagan on the non-ski days. The wineries are quieter and friendlier in winter than they will ever be in August, Kelowna is twenty-five minutes away, and the lake does not freeze.

The counter-argument, put fairly: if your plan is first lift to last light every day for a week, stay on the hill. Staying in Peachland suits people skiing two or three days out of seven, not seven out of seven.

If not everyone skis

Not every member of a party has to be on the hill. The resort runs other winter activities alongside the skiing, and what is operating varies by season, so check what is on before you assume. Down in the valley there is plenty that does not involve a lift ticket.

Practical notes

• Parking at the resort is free
• Buy lift tickets in advance; walk-up pricing is the expensive way to do it
• Winter stays at MacKenzie House are monthly, with a 28-night minimum, October through April
• The house is on Pacific Time with 360 Mbps fibre, which is why a number of guests work here and ski midweek instead of taking annual leave

Availability and rates are on the winter and monthly stays page.