Vancouver Island Snowboard Mountains are some of the finest mountains in BC, Canada for tree runs, powder snow runs and terrain parks. Some boarders even venture into the backcountry with snowshoes in hand looking for a small hill to board down. And there are some dandy ones!

The west coast mountains are notoriously famous for receiving some of the highest volumes of snowfall in BC, Canada (and in many years in Canada). The snow fall continues into early spring at the higher elevations keeping the snowboard hills open, usually, until the Easter weekend in April.

Because of the mild temperatures and the weather systems blowing in off the coastal mountains from the Pacific Ocean... down drafts coming off the Strait of Georgia are created... a combination of systems, a weather cocktail that delivers some of the heaviest snow fall in BC to island mountains.

The local island mountain ranges are often layered in powder snow during the winter months, with two mountain resorts catering to snowboarders. In the Comox Valley, a community located centrally on Vancouver Island, is where the larger snowboard resort of the two is located on Mount Washington. Further north up island, south of Port McNeill is the second of the island boarding hills, Mount Cain.

Mount Washington enjoys over 60 snow runs. The green runs are nicely separated near the T-bar Discovery Platter and the Green Chair for the beginners. The blue and black snowboarding runs are located throughout the mountain are accessed by the Hawk Highspeed and Eagle Express Six Pack Chair, Whiskey Jack Triple Chair and the Sunrise Quad. The double black runs are located on the backside of the mountain and are accessed by the Boomerang Quad. (prepare for a tricky dismount as snowboarders must go through a tunnel. It hurts when you catch an edge, take it from us...ha ha).

One of the sweet treats for snowboarders on Washington is the two terrain parks. The Upper Terrain Park is a chute of snow shooting down the mountain starting from the offloading area of the Whiskey Jack Chair. The terrain park run includes jumps, rails, rollers, wall rides and snow mounds. The Lower Terrain Park is a line up of snow mound jumps with some rollers.

The closest snowboarding accommodations are located on Mount Washington where you are able to board to and from your front door. Next closest accommodations are in the communities located at the base of the mountain. Courtenay, Comox, Campbell River and Saratoga Beach are only a 1/2 - 1 hour drive away but with more amenities and services.

Mount Cain is a smaller snowboard resort located further north on Vancouver Island near the community of Port McNeill, BC. It is a scenic 60 minute wilderness drive to the mountain south of Port McNeill or 2 hrs north from Campbell River. Often the road is not as well maintained by plows once your vehicle leaves the highway. The mountain is run by volunteers. It is a beautiful setting with a rural feel.. um... so bring chains or phone ahead for road conditions. There are accommodations on Mt. Cain, although few. Most of the accommodations are located in the northern communities including Port Hardy and McNeill.

Vancouver Island Snowboarding