Random Thoughts About Whistler

As part of our "staying close to home" vacation, we have decided to visit some places in beautiful British Columbia, that we haven't had a chance to visit yet.

One of these places is Whistler.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out it is only 120 km from Vancouver. We both thought it would be farther. Based on some excellent advice from my mom, I took a motion sickness tablet for the drive up. (Strongly recommended if you are prone to car sickness.)

The drive is beautiful! For a large part of it you see the ocean to your left and the mountains all around you. It is a beautiful winding road... especially beautiful if you are lucky enough to be riding up in a convertible in the sunshine!

Whistler is a beautiful resort town. Perfect for people who like nature and resorts! An excellent mix 😀 There are plenty of biking trails, lakes, hikes and a multitude of shopping and restaurants available.

The village is beautiful to walk through. You can see lovely views like this:

We had a nice lunch on a patio when we arrived, and then took a walk through the town. You can find a large assortment of restaurants (most with patios), stores selling tourist type things, and of course the ice cream. My first ice cream was from Cow's  ice cream shop... and you'll be happy to know that even the cows are wearing masks in Whistler!

Speaking of wildlife there are a lot of signs warning about bears in Whistler. Luckily and thankfully we didn't see any on our trip, but a friend of Steve's told him that when he went in May he saw a bear on EVERY hike he went on. So if you plan to hike in Whistler, brush up on your bear safety!

this sign was posted at Lost Lake:

Sorry it's blurry! Basically it says be prepared... you might run into a bear... this is their home and you are visitors.

I am happy to report that these are the only bears we ran into in Whistler!

One of our main things we were excited about, was the condo we rented in Whistler. We had our own hot tub on our balcony, and our own BBQ. The BBQ may not seem exciting to most of you... but we haven't had one for ages... so enjoyed a BBQ dinner most nights!

I think Steve hit the hot tub three times a day while we were here!

One of the things we did while we were here, was check out some of the lakes. Lost Lake was recommended to us. While we did find it lovely, it was packed with people.  We walked the loop around the lake, but didn't go to the beach. Here is a view of Lost Lake:

We also drove to see Green Lake. This is the largest lake in the area and is glacial fed. This makes it a beautiful turquoise green colour. There is not much beach space here, but you should visit if you like to see pretty lakes that can freeze your tootsies off!

Here I am freezing my feet. This is about as far in as I wanted to go 😀

This looks like a great lake for having a paddle in a kayak on... but we didn't find a place you can do that (although I'm sure there must be one).

* FUN FACT ABOUT GREEN LAKE!

Green Lake also acts as Whistler's airport (airport code YWS)... a water aerodrome!

There are also some pretty great nature spots just as you walk around the village and just to the outside of the main village. Here are some photos of my favourite spots.

Whistler also has some amazing art installed in the public spaces. Steve really liked this one by artist James Stewart titled "Jeri" which is described as "a significant bronze sculpture" which depicts a man resting after performing/fighting capoeira. Steve is resting with him 😀

My favourite things around town were the multitude of large and unique chairs to sit in. I particularly liked this one because the sound of the rushing river definitely added to the ambience. I was happy to wait here while Steve wandered around taking photos!

 I think that's all for my random thoughts about Whistler. The next post will be about my three favourite things we did in Whistler this time.