A Family-Friendly Travel Gem in British Columbia
Vernon, B.C. is worth a visit for skiers, hikers and families—and mark your calendars for its 2020 Winter Carnival
By Kendall Upton January 28, 2020
This article originally appeared in the January 2020 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the January 2020 issue. Click here to subscribe.
Vernon, British Columbia, rests nestled between the northern shores of Okanagan and Kalamalka lakes. It’s not a sleepy small town, but an active one, particularly in the winter. Vernon is the closest town to SilverStar Mountain Resort, known for its 132 runs on powdery snow and nearby, a daily-groomed cross-country skiing network, the largest in Canada. Those who aren’t skiers or snowboarders can take a hike along the Okanagan Rail Trail, a nearly 50-kilometer walking path converted from a discontinued rail corridor connecting Vernon and Kelowna. Also worth noting: 2020 marks the 60th year of Vernon’s popular Winter Carnival, a citywide celebration with more than 100 different events, from craft beer and cider tastings to a parade, and even hot-air balloon rides (February 7–16). This Canadian destination is a family-friendly winter gem, barely unearthed.
Follow Us
A New Place to Ice Skate by the Water
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington’s dockside rink offers lake views and eco-friendly synthetic ice.
Skating season has officially arrived. There’s a particular joy in gliding—or trying to—on cold days. I always go for the outdoor rinks, especially the ones strung with twinkling lights. It can be so romantic. And this year, there’s a new place to lace up. A 71-foot by 38-foot covered Glice rink is up and running…
Bergen: Finding a Home, Abroad
A trip across western Norway reveals strikingly Northwest sensibilities.
A few months ago, we randomly walked into Wallingford’s Fat Cat Records. Greeting us, face-out by the cash register, was not Nirvana, not Soundgarden, but Peer Gynt Suite, by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Was this a Norse omen, a mischievous prank from Loki? For us, two Seattleites with a trip to Norway on the…
Hives Among the Headstones
Inside a north Seattle project reimagining cemeteries as sanctuaries for pollinators.
In many old stories, bees are more than just insects. They’re messengers—tiny intermediaries between the living and the dead. There was once even a custom in Europe and America known as “telling the bees:” When a family member died, or another significant life event occurred, someone would go to the hive to share the news….
Dispatches from Greenland, Part Two: Nuuk
An insider’s guide to Greenland’s mysterious, overlooked, and charming capital.
Greenland is too vast to take in all at once. Yet a few days in Nuuk—the island’s compact, curious capital, just a four-hour flight from Newark—offer a surprisingly complete portrait. Nuuk changes like the weather that shapes it: by turns wild and polished; intimate and bold. To Northerners, it feels as hectic as Manhattan; to…