Where is Sunshine Village Ski Resort?

The Sunshine Ski Resort is located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Parts of the ski resort actually sit on the border between the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, but the access from the base area is in Alberta.

In the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Sunshine Village is 15km southwest (a 20 minute drive) from the town of Banff.

Getting To Banff

Banff is located 143km west of the Calgary International Airport, which is only about 1.5 hours drive away.

There are lots of airport shuttles available from Calgary to Banff, which can be incorporated in Banff ski packages. Alternatively there are lots of options for car rentals at the airport. See our Banff travel page for advice on how to get to Banff.


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Travel from Banff to Sunshine Village

Shuttle Bus from Banff to Sunshine
A shuttle bus operates between Banff and Sunshine Village, with various convenient hotel pick-up points (e.g. Rocky Mountain Resort, Inns of Banff, Banff Caribou Lodge, Delta Royal Canadian Lodge High Country Inn, Ptarmigan Inn, Fairmont Banff Springs, Mt Royal Hotel). The morning times vary between those wanting first tracks, and those wanting a sleep in, and return trips to Banff are throughout the afternoon. For holders of a Big 3 tri-area lift ticket, these buses are complimentary.

For those staying in other Banff hotels, you can either walk to one of the bus stops, the local ROAM bus (various hotels will give guests a free bus pass) can take you into town (there’s also a ROAM bus from Canmore), or some hotels such as the Rimrock Hotel can provide shuttles to connect you to the Sunshine Village bus.

Driving to Sunshine Village
From Banff, head west on the Trans-Canada Highway 1, and 10km out of Banff turn left at the well signposted turnoff to Sunshine Village. The carpark is not far off the highway, so there’s no hairy driving up a windy mountain road. The parking lot is massive and there are shuttles to aid the commute to the base of the gondola. On busy weekends, the parking lot fills up, cars have to park up the road, and the wait to get a shuttle may be long.

Parking Lot to Ski Area
From the carpark (or bus terminal) the ski lifts and runs are accessed by catching a gondola up, which takes about 20 minutes. On busy weekends (powder days or fine weather), there can be significant queues for the gondola.

Many think of Sunshine Village as being closer to Banff than Lake Louise but by the time you factor in the gondola time in, the travel time is pretty similar. Make sure you consider the gondola time if you’re trying to get up the hill for a ski or snowboard lesson at a specified time.

Visitors staying at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge will receive assistance to load and unload luggage on the gondola, and then there’s over-snow transport to the hotel.

Getting Around Sunshine

Sunshine Village is only tiny, so the main mode of transport is locomotion. Of course, skiing, snowboarding, and the lifts will also help you get around.

Other Ski Resorts Nearby

Norquay is another of the Banff ski resorts, which is located only 7km north of Banff and 22km from Sunshine Village.

Lake Louise Ski Resort is also in the Banff National Park, situated 59km northwest of Banff (40 min drive) and 58km from Sunshine Mountain.

Kicking Horse is 150km to the west of Banff. You can do day trips from Banff/Lake Louise to Kicking Horse with the Powder Express Ski Bus (it is very reasonably priced because it includes a lift ticket). The bus does pick-ups at hotels such as Inns of Banff, Fox Hotel, Banff Ptarmigan Inn, Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff Park Lodge, and the Lake Louise Inn.