Before this year, I would not have thought that going home to visit my family just outside of Vancouver BC from Seattle was really travel. We can get there in 2.5 hours and some months we often visit a couple times for family and friends’ birthdays and events. But this year it suddenly became a 14 day journey that consists of a quarantine in isolation the moment we arrived and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do to see family. I am not good with isolation at all so I promised myself a trip to a hotel in Whistler to celebrate and near the end of our visit to Vancouver this summer, we went to Nita Lake Lodge with my kids, my mom and our little dog Scout.
Why Nita Lake Lodge is a Great Choice for Whistler BC
I love Whistler all year round and usually want to stay in the heart of the village and really enjoyed my stay at the Four Seasons with Tourism Whistler last year. But, this time I was a little tentative to be around crowds especially visiting Whistler with kids and a dog in tow. The hubby and I stayed at Nita Lake Lodge years ago and really liked its location outside the main village near Nita lake and near Rim Rock Cafe and Creekbread.
When I booked our room I was able to get a suite style room with a lake view. I wish we didn’t have to pay for parking but it wasn’t too expensive so it wasn’t a dealbreaker. I liked that we could also bring along our yorkie poo puppy to the hotel for a small fee too. When we arrived we were given a bottom floor room which worked out well because I wanted to avoid elevators and there was ample room for all of us. If you are a BC resident it is good to check on the website before you book because there are often BC resident and return visitor rates at Nita Lake Lodge
Whistler Creekside Village is a quiet alternative to the hustle and bustle of the main Whistler area
We didn’t have to move our car at all to go to Whistler Creekside Village-it was only a short walk away from Nita Lake Lodge and it was delightfully crowd-free. I had seen a picture of a poke bowl from Whistler Samurai Bowls so we stopped in and had some really delicious food-I thoroughly enjoyed the vegan ramen here so much and my mom and I were both tempted to visit twice on the same trip. The kids liked their blended fruit ice cream from nearby Confetti and the grocery store in Creekside was not nearly as busy as the one in the main Whistler Village. We also wanted to try the bread from Bred but it wasn’t open the day we were there. For dinner we just ordered room service at Nita Lake Lodge because our room was so comfortable. This was the kind of trip where we weren’t here to sight-see so much as just hang out together and relax.
Canoeing, Kayaking, Biking and Stand up Paddle boards are included at Nita Lake Lodge
I don’t remember the last time I ever biked with my mom but because they were free to rent for guests at Nita Lake Lodge, the two of us borrowed bikes and rode along the paths almost to Whistler Village. Neither of us are good at directions and thought we might get lost so we didn’t go too far, but we still had a lot of fun. We also borrowed a canoe and a kayak and paddled out on Nita Lake the day we left. This is the perfect way to do summer in Whistler with kids and the pup even enjoyed it too- it was so nice to be on the water in such a gorgeous place.
The Train Wreck Hike near Function Junction in Whistler BC is also close to Nita Lake Lodge
The Train Wreck Hike has been on my list of places I have wanted to visit in Whistler for a while and it was a short drive from Nita Lake Lodge. I didn’t realize there was a suspension bridge there too, but I saw it on a post from “On The Road Again Family” and it looked really cool. The hike was only about a 30 minute trek each way through a scenic forest to a site where a train wreck from the 1950’s rests. We didn’t explore the trains too much because it was quite crowded during our visit but we were really intrigued by the history and looked it up on our drive home.
Pure Bread has a location in Function Junction nearby the hike trailhead too and it isn’t as busy as the one in Whistler Village so we picked up souvenirs here as well as from Whistler Brewing Company across the street. Camp Lifestyle and Coffee in the area is a beautifully curated coffee shop and store that is worth checking out if you love coffee like we do.
And really good ice cream between Whistler and Vancouver where pups can get ice cream too
We usually stop in Squamish on our usual trips to Whistler especially if we’re driving the Tesla to recharge. There are great shops and yummy food in the area. This time we also stopped at Alice and Brahm’s for some fabulous real fruit ice cream. The flavor of the day was a blackberry with basil and it was so refreshing. I noticed there is even a dog-friendly ice cream listed on the menu but we’ll have to try it next time with Scout.
This whole trip with my mom, my kids and dog was the type of relaxing mini-vacation that we needed and I really wish we could do this again soon.
Have you been to Whistler? And do you have a favorite place to stay?
(PS. there also was a small swimming pool at Nita Lake Lodge which is so important for families with kids, but this time we did so many other things that my guys didn’t feel like they needed to try it out.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)