The Sea to Sky Highway runs about 75 miles north from Vancouver to Whistler, climbing from the ocean at Howe Sound into the Coast Mountains in under two hours. This three-day loop breaks up the drive with a towering waterfall and a gondola ride on the way up, a full day in Whistler Village and its lift system, and one more waterfall stop on the way back down.
Day 1Vancouver to Squamish: Shannon Falls & the Sea to Sky Gondola
Pick up a rental car in Vancouver and drive north along the Sea to Sky Highway, BC’s famous mountain-to-ocean corridor, stopping for a towering waterfall and a gondola ride above the clouds.
🚗 Car Rental — Vancouver (YVR or downtown)
Pick up morning · rentals from around C$65/day
Pick up a car at Vancouver International Airport or downtown before heading north; Highway 99, signed as the Sea to Sky Highway, runs the whole route to Whistler and beyond.
💧 Shannon Falls Provincial Park
~45 min stop · free, day-use parking
A short, flat walk from the parking lot leads to a viewing platform at the base of one of British Columbia’s tallest waterfalls, posted at 1,100 feet — a quick, easy stop just south of Squamish.
🚠 Sea to Sky Gondola
~2–3 hrs · adult tickets around C$75 ($55 USD)
A ten-minute gondola ride climbs to 2,900 feet on the slopes of Mount Habrich, where the 312-foot Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge crosses to a viewing platform looking over Howe Sound, the Tantalus Range and the Stawamus Chief below.
Sea to Sky Gondola · seatoskygondola.com
🍽️ Dinner — Fergie’s Cafe, Squamish
Dinner · $15–25 per person
A long-running, no-frills local diner in downtown Squamish known for big breakfasts and comfort food — a reliable, unpretentious stop before continuing north to Whistler.
Day 2Whistler Village & the Peaks Above It
Continue north into Whistler Village, then head up into the alpine on the resort’s own lift system.
🛎️ Check-In — The Listel Hotel Whistler
Check-in 4pm · rooms often from around $220/night in summer
A boutique hotel steps from both the Whistler and Blackcomb gondola bases in the heart of the village, with West Coast-styled rooms and an on-site restaurant — about as central a base as Whistler Village offers.
The Listel Hotel Whistler · thelistelhotel.com
🚡 Whistler Village Gondola & the Peak 2 Peak
Half-day · sightseeing passes vary by season — check current rates
Ride up Whistler Mountain’s gondola and cross between the two peaks on the Peak 2 Peak, one of the longest and highest lift spans in the world, for alpine views over the Coast Mountains in any season.
🚶 Whistler Village Stroll & Lunch
~1–2 hrs · free to wander
A car-free, cobblestoned village built around the base of the lifts, packed with patios, shops and the Olympic rings left over from the 2010 Winter Games — an easy place to spend an hour between lifts.
🍽️ Dinner — Araxi Restaurant + Bar, Whistler Village
Dinner · $50–80 per person
A long-standing, locally sourced West Coast restaurant on the village square with an oyster bar and an extensive BC wine list — one of Whistler’s best-known dinner reservations.
Day 3Brandywine Falls & the Drive Back South
Make one more waterfall stop on the way out of Whistler, then retrace the Sea to Sky Highway back to Vancouver.
💧 Brandywine Falls Provincial Park
~30 min stop · free, day-use parking
A short, flat walk from the parking lot leads to a viewing platform looking straight across at a waterfall dropping over a basalt cliff — one of the most photographed quick stops on the whole highway.
🌲 Train Wreck Trail, Whistler
~1 hr round trip · free, suspension bridge access
A short forest walk and a suspension bridge over the Cheakamus River lead to a cluster of decades-old derailed box cars, now covered in graffiti art and tucked into the trees — an offbeat stop most drive-through visitors miss.
🚗 Drive — Whistler to Vancouver
~2 hr drive · return the rental car before your flight
The return drive retraces Highway 99 south along Howe Sound, with pull-offs for one last look at the water before dropping back into the city — leave a buffer before an evening flight out of YVR.
Download your itinerary here
