Kicking Horse Resort
Overview
Kicking Horse Resort rises above Golden, British Columbia, on terrain that began as the smaller Whitetooth Ski Area in 1986 before a major redevelopment reopened it under its current name in December 2000. The mountain now carries a 1,161.9 m vertical drop between its 1,261.6 m base and 2,423.5 m summit, reached by the Golden Eagle Express gondola, one of five lifts on the mountain alongside three chairlifts and a magic carpet. That lift fleet is small for a mountain of this size, a deliberate trade-off that keeps lift lines short but concentrates skier traffic onto a handful of routes. That vertical figure places Kicking Horse among the taller ski mountains covered in this guide, and Wikipedia credits the broader resort with closer to 1,315 m of vertical when the full skiable footprint is counted.
The 58 marked runs cover 46.14 km, split fairly evenly across difficulty: 16.19 km easy, 14.74 km intermediate, and 15.2 km advanced. That balance undersells how the terrain actually skis, though, since the resort is built around four connected alpine bowls — Crystal, Bowl Over, Feuz, and Ozone — rather than a single pisted face. Ozone was folded into the in-bounds terrain in 2018 after several years hosting Freeride World Tour competitions, adding steep, exposed lines to a mountain already known for big-mountain skiing above treeline. A long green-rated connector run nicknamed “It’s a 10” threads roughly 10 km through the bowls back to the base, giving lower-intensity skiers a way to sample the upper mountain’s scenery without the steeps.
Kicking Horse is owned by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which took over the property in 2011, and it plugs into the Epic Pass as a partner resort rather than a full Epic destination — pass holders get up to 7 days per season combined across all six RCR-operated resorts, without blackout dates. Getting there means flying into Calgary, Cranbrook, or Kelowna and driving roughly 210 to 220 km depending on the airport, or basing in Golden itself, which sits just 6.4 km from the lifts. Beyond the skiing, the resort operates a small grizzly bear refuge, home to a bear named Boo, that runs as a summer attraction on the same mountain. The combination of a compact lift network, four big bowls, and terrain that leans advanced makes Kicking Horse better suited to skiers chasing vertical and variety than to a family looking for a gentle, all-levels base area. Nearby population centers are all a drive away rather than a short hop: Kelowna and Kamloops both sit well over 200 km from the resort, leaving Golden itself as the only lodging base within easy reach of the lifts.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-14
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| gondola | 1 |
| chair lift | 3 |
| magic carpet | 1 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 16.19 km |
| advanced | 15.2 km |
| intermediate | 14.74 km |
Maps
View official Kicking Horse Resort trail map (PDF) →
Run & lift overview
Kicking Horse Resort: 58 runs, 5 lifts. Generated from community-mapped OpenStreetMap data, not Kicking Horse Resort's official map artwork. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Kicking Horse Resort is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Epic Pass — Partner access: up to 7 days/season combined across all 6 RCR resorts, no blackouts
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC) — 207.6 km straight-line
- Calgary International Airport (YYC) — 214.1 km straight-line
- Kelowna International Airport (YLW) — 219.9 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Calgary, Alberta — 209.9 km straight-line
- Kelowna, British Columbia — 231.1 km straight-line
- Kamloops, British Columbia — 237.6 km straight-line
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Kicking Horse Resort is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Lake Louise Ski Area — 68 km straight-line, 995.2 m vertical
- Revelstoke Mountain Resort — 82 km straight-line, 1709.2 m vertical
- Banff Sunshine Village — 93 km straight-line, 1024.8 m vertical
- Mount Norquay — 102 km straight-line, 460.2 m vertical
- Panorama Mountain Resort — 111 km straight-line, 1216.5 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Kicking Horse Resort?
- Kicking Horse has 46.14 km of marked runs spread across 58 trails, served by 5 lifts including the Golden Eagle Express gondola. Its 1,161.9 m vertical drop (base 1,261.6 m, top 2,423.5 m) is among the largest of any resort in this guide, and Wikipedia lists the resort's full skiable terrain as roughly 1,315 m of vertical when counting the entire mountain.
- Is Kicking Horse good for experts?
- Yes. Of its 46.14 km of runs, 15.2 km are rated advanced versus 16.19 km easy and 14.74 km intermediate, and the resort's four alpine bowls (Crystal, Bowl Over, Feuz, and the Ozone area added in 2018 after hosting Freeride World Tour events) give experienced skiers steep, open terrain above treeline.
- Is Kicking Horse good for beginners?
- There is beginner terrain, including a magic carpet lift and 16.19 km of easy-rated runs, but the resort's reputation and much of its acreage skew toward intermediate and advanced skiing. Beginners should expect a smaller, gentler slice of a mountain built around steep bowl skiing rather than a dedicated learning area.
- What is the nearest airport to Kicking Horse Resort?
- Calgary International Airport (YYC) is the designated gateway airport at 214.1 km away, though Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC) is slightly closer at 207.6 km. Kelowna International Airport (YLW), 219.9 km away, is a third option for travelers coming from British Columbia.
- Which ski pass covers Kicking Horse?
- Kicking Horse participates in the Epic Pass as a partner resort, giving Epic Pass holders up to 7 days per season combined across all six Resorts of the Canadian Rockies properties, with no blackout dates. It is not a home-mountain Epic destination, so access is capped rather than unlimited.
- How do I get to Kicking Horse Resort?
- The resort sits about 6.4 km west of the town of Golden, British Columbia, along the Trans-Canada Highway corridor. Calgary is the largest nearby city at roughly 210 km away, making it the typical fly-in and drive option for most visitors, while Kelowna (219.9 km) and Kamloops (237.6 km) offer alternative routes in from the British Columbia interior.
- What town is closest to Kicking Horse Resort?
- Golden, British Columbia sits just 6.4 km from the resort base and functions as its service town for lodging and dining. Larger population centers like Calgary (population 1,306,784) and Kelowna (144,576) are both over 200 km away, and Kamloops, with about 104,460 residents, is a third option at 237.6 km.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.