A quick stop off in Sun Peaks, British Columbia, Canada

Sun Peaks isn’t really somewhere many people think of visiting when they are in Canada. However, it was the perfect overnight stop when travelling from Jasper to Whistler, otherwise it would have been a 10 hour journey! As it is, the journey from Jasper to Sun Peaks takes 5 hours plus stops, so this portion of the trip was a couple of long days of driving but it was so much more than worth it.

If I’m honest, the drive wasn’t anything too spectacular, we stopped often enough to stretch our legs and there were some good views on the way, but nothing worth writing about. We also didn’t see any bears on the route which I was disappointed about, but at the same time I think we’d seen more than our fair share already!

What we did / ate

I loved the actual village in Sun Peaks, it wasn’t huge but everything was right on your doorstep. There was also some outdoor games for anyone to enjoy such as table tennis, connect 4 and giant jenga – we definitely had a quick play in the evening…

Sunburst Chairlift

After a long day in the car we really wanted to stretch our legs. What better way to do this than have a little hike up the top of a mountain?! The Sunburst Chairlift took us up to the top where we followed the Vista Trail through some lovely alpine meadows. You could also see the ski runs where all the big vegetation had been removed, it made the mountains look stripey!

This area also seemed to be a bit of a mecca for mountain biking, they even had special racks on the chairlift to get the bikes to the top! There seemed to be some good riding trails as well, although David would be much better suited to tell you about them than me.

Abby and mum spotted another black bear when we were on the way back down on the chairlift beside one of the bike tracks – it would have been pretty scary to zoom past one of those on your bike!

Morrisey’s Public House

Our chosen place for dinner was here, as the food all sounded delicious and it wasn’t massively expensive either. The decor was very cosy and rustic which I liked, and the staff were all very friendly.

Unfortunately the dish I choose (their Braised Alberta Beef Mac and Cheese) wasn’t their best, as half my hunk of beef was fat which really put me off my food. Even the mac and cheese wasn’t particularly tasty, and even a bit floury in places and almost stodgy. We did have a word with the waitress about this which she apologised for and gave us free drinks, but it was a real shame as it looked so nice on the plate!

What everyone else had was good though, and Abby had a huge pile of nachos that she couldn’t eat all of so I certainly didn’t go hungry!

Tod Mountain Cafe

This little cafe in the heart of Sun Peaks village doesn’t have a huge amount of seating but we managed to get in after a bit of a wait! The breakfasts we had came up nice and quickly and tasted good, but they weren’t anything spectacular. The place was relatively expensive but that’s because it is in a small village and they all are!

I had an egg and cheddar savoury crepe which I also asked for spinach in but they forgot that, but it was too much effort to go up and ask them make a whole new one so I just ate it. There was nothing wrong with it per se, it just wasn’t very inspiring. I also had a chai tea latte to drink which was just what I expected and washed the meal down nicely.

Kamloops Lake

This was actually our first stop on our onward drive to Whislter, but Kamloops and Sun Peaks are so close together I thought I’d feature it on here. The lake looked massive from where we were standing, as far as the eye could see in places. But it was only when we looked at the map that we realised we couldn’t even see half of it!!! I can’t get over just how big some of these lakes are.

It was a really pretty lake as well, the colour of it was a stark contrast to the other lakes we had seen so far.

Where we stayed

Coast Sundance Lodge

Sun Peaks is definitely a typical ski resort town, and this accommodation really looked and felt like a ski lodge-type place and was really comfortable and well-situated in the village – not too far out but not right in the heart so it was quieter at night.

The room that we stayed in had a fridge, microwave and a toaster which was handy because it meant we could have breakfast and milk in the room – coffee creamer in tea just doesn’t sit right with me.

There was also a fitness centre which guests could use for free, we didn’t go in here as we weren’t in Sun Peaks long but this is something worth considering if you want these facilities!

I hope the Canada series isn’t boring you just yet, there’s still 5 places to go!

Happy travelling!

Zoe x