Make Family Memories at Mount Washington Alpine Resort

Last weekend my family headed to our local mountain – Mount Washington after a long week of work. We were so excited to head to a snowy destination only a few hours drive from our home.

We’ve been to Mount Washington before but this was the first time we spend the entire weekend there (two nights!). The kids love skiing and I love any excuse to get them on skis to practice their skills.

Mount Washington is a lovely mountain situated on Vancouver Island. It has 1700 acres of terrain. Mount Washington has 81 alpine runs, a great learning area for beginners (including easy to use magic carpets) and the most amazing views.

What to do on Mount Washington

In the winter, Mount Washington is a snowy wonderland. There are many fun things to do on the mountain including:

• Alpine skiing (including night skiing on Thursdays – Sundays)
• Nordic skiing
• Snowshoeing
• Sledding
• Tubing

We started our weekend on Mount Washington by picking up our rentals in the Alpine Lodge. This was a very easy process. The first step is to head to the self-serve boot section to select the right size, then you head over to an attendant to get skis and poles. The entire process took about 20 minutes.

During our two days on the mountain, my family participated in alpine skiing, sledding, and tubing. I even got to sneak away and do some solo night skiing. This was a highlight for me!

My kids really enjoyed the green runs from the Hawk Express chairlift. We also took the fun magic carpet a few times to enjoy Easy Street.

After a day of skiing, we changed into our snow boots and did a bit of tubing. There are three tubing runs available. We loved zipping down these runs and using the magic carpet to get back to the top of the mountain.

Snow School

Mount Washington offers a wide range of lesson packages for kids and adults.

Mountain Kids offers half and full day lessons for little ones. Packages include lifts and rentals. There is the popular Discover Skiing and Snowboarding package for first timers and private lessons for all ages.

Eating at Mount Washington

Mount Washington has a few spots to eat located in the main Alpine Lodge. The new Eagle View Bistro offers fresh baked goods, coffees, wine, beer and more.

You’ll also find Ted’s Bar + Grill, the Alpine Lodge Cafe, the Raven Lodge and the Marmot Express to fuel up on during your day on the mountain.

Where to Stay

All accommodations on Mount Washington are privately owned. We rented a 2 bedroom suite in Deer Lodge for our stay. We loved that it was ski-in-ski-out and had underground parking. You can find many accommodations listed on the Mount Washington website.

Mount Washington has some amazing March Break specials available now. Check out how your kids can eat, tube and ski for FREE with select packages.

Special Events

The season is not done yet on Mount Washington! You can find out what’s going on on the mountain on the Mount Washington Events page. 

TIP: Check out the Never Ever Days in March. These are the PERFECT days to go up to the mountain and finally learn how to ski or snowboard.

Overall my family had a great time at Mount Washington. We love that this mountain is only a few hours drive from our house. We love the easy runs, taking in all the fresh mountain air and playing in the snow. The mountain is not overly large so you don’t feel overwhelmed. If planned out right you can get a lot of runs in on one day.

I highly recommend spending some time on Mount Washington. You’ll see that this charming mountain has so much to offer.

To learn more about Mount Washington check out:

• The Mount Washington website
• The Mount Washington Facebook page
• Follow Mount Washington on Instagram

I’d love to know, do you ski as a family? What’s your favourite thing about skiing with kids?

Disclosure: Mount Washington provided a press pass to facilate this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We really love Mount Washington and can’t wait to go back!