Most people know Panorama as a ski hill, and in winter that is exactly what it is. What surprises first-time summer visitors is how much the mountain does once the snow goes. The lifts keep turning for bikes and hikers, the golf course opens below the village, and the whole place empties out enough that you rarely queue for anything.

It is roughly twenty minutes from Invermere up the Toby Creek road — close enough to go for an afternoon and be back at the property for dinner, which is the main reason it fits so easily into a valley trip.

Best Times to Go

A Full Day on the Bikes

The bike park is the reason most people drive up in July and August. Lift-served descending means you ride down rather than earn every metre, and the trail network covers everything from wide flowing green runs to genuinely technical black. Rentals and protective gear are available in the village, so you do not need to arrive with a bike on the roof.

Go early. Mornings are cooler, the trails are quieter, and afternoon thunderstorms are common in the Purcells through midsummer.

A Round at Greywolf

Greywolf sits just below the village and is the reason a lot of people come up without ever getting on a lift. Its signature hole, Cliffhanger, asks you to carry Hopeful Creek and hold a green perched on the canyon edge — it is the shot people photograph and the one they talk about afterwards.

Because Greywolf sits higher than the valley-bottom courses, it usually opens later in spring. Worth checking before you plan a May round.

Walking, Without the Bike

You do not need to ride to use the mountain. There is walkable terrain from the village, and the elevation means wildflowers run later here than down in Invermere. Taking a lift up and walking down is a good compromise if you want the views without the climb.

There are places to stop at altitude — the Summit Hut sits at roughly 2,350 metres, and Elkhorn Cabin and the Cappucino Hut are both around the 2,000 metre mark. Being able to buy a coffee that far up changes the character of a walk.

An Evening Without the Drive

The village has a small cluster of places to eat and drink — Alto, Earl Grey Lodge and the T-Bar among them. If you have been on the hill all day and nobody fancies the drive back down before dinner, staying up for an early meal is a reasonable call. The road down is unlit and winding, so most people prefer to be off it before full dark.

What to Do, and Roughly How Long

The drive from most of our Invermere homes is around twenty minutes each way, which makes even the shortest of these viable on a half day.

What to Bring

The mountain sits well above the valley floor, and people routinely underestimate what that does to the temperature.

Bring:

• A layer more than you think you need — it is consistently cooler at the village than in Invermere

• Sunscreen, because altitude burns faster than the temperature suggests

• Water, and more of it than usual

• Proper shoes if you plan to walk any distance

• A card for the lifts, rentals and lunch

For a bike day:

• Gloves of your own, even if you are renting everything else

• A change of clothes for the drive home

• A plan for muddy kit — please do not put it straight into the hot tub with you

• Something to eat mid-morning, since the queues at lunch are the busiest part of the day

Back at the property, the hot tub after a day on the bikes is the single best thing about staying down in the valley rather than on the hill.