Baldy Mountain Resort

Baldy is the South Okanagan's ski hill, tucked between the desert country around Oliver and the West Kootenays, with a summit at 2,310 metres and a day lodge at 1,726 metres giving 1,315 vertical feet of skiing on 360 acres of trails, 240 of them gladed, fed by 25 to 35 feet of dry powder a year and famous for its tree runs. It is a small, friendly, family hill that started in 1968 and still runs on that spirit: short lift lines, the Eagle Chair deliberately rested on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so that Thursday is 'Big Pow Thursday', and a terrain park for those who want it. New for this winter is cat skiing — a snowcat from the top of the Eagle Chair to Baldy's upper terrain, 180 more metres of vertical and 120 acres of new lines, running Friday to Sunday by single ride or private booking with an Eagle lift ticket. The Magic Carpet stays open until 7 pm on Friday and Saturday nights for tubing and beginner skiing under the lights, the tubing lane runs straight off its top, and for something completely different you can borrow discs at the ticket office and play winter disc golf on the course beside the Sugarlump Chair. About 13 kilometres of snowshoe trail, with rentals and guided tours, has its own page on Okanagan Roam, as does the volunteer-run McKinney Nordic snowshoe area on the road up. The Corduroy Café and the upstairs Baldy Bar anchor the lodge, and in summer the Roundhouse Station Coffee Bar opens Fridays and Saturdays alongside the Pine & Peak Artisan Markets. The access road turns to gravel near the top: winter tyres are strongly recommended.