SilverStar Lifestyle: Skiing, Biking, Dining & Seasons

People buy at SilverStar for the skiing and stay for everything else. Summer has become as busy as winter, the Nordic network is one of the best in the country, and Vernon’s lakes, hospital and big-box stores are 20 to 25 minutes down the road. This page covers the fun and the practical: seasons, events, dining, schools, healthcare and getting around.

Winter

Alpine: 133 runs on four faces (Vance Creek, Attridge, Silver Woods and Putnam Creek), 3,300+ acres and about 700 cm of snow in an average year. The Schumann Summit Express gondola reaches the summit in about four and a half minutes. There’s night skiing too.

Nordic: about 55 km of groomed trails at SilverStar connect with about 50 km at Sovereign Lake, roughly 105 km in all, with a night loop, warming huts and some dog-friendly trails.

Everything else: Tube Town, skating on Brewer’s Pond, fat biking, snowshoeing, snowmobile tours and heli-skiing operators.

Spring

Long, sunny spring skiing days and the SEISMIC Spring Mountain Festival, which ran for ten days in late March 2026 with free sports, music, arts and food. The Sovereign Lake Nordic season can run to about mid-April.

Spring is also a good time to look at property: you see how a home handles the full snowpack, where the roof sheds, and how the driveway drains as it melts.

Summer

Biking: a lift-served bike park described as Canada’s second largest, using the Comet Express and the gondola, plus about 70 km of cross-country trails including the IMBA EPIC-rated Beowulf.

Hiking: about 10 km of wildflower routes such as Milky Way, Attridge Scenic Loop, Ridgewalk, Villageview, Prospector and Silver Queen. Ride the gondola to The Lookout, a fire lookout with a branch of the Silver Star Mountain Museum.

Events in 2026: Dark Horse (Casey Brown’s women’s bike camp and invitational), Pedalfest enduro, Wine Fest, a summer carnival raising money for the Vernon Jubilee Hospital emergency department, Crankworx World Tour (Aug. 6 to 9) and a beer and cider festival.

Fall

The quiet season. Trails stay open until the snow comes, and owners get their snow removal contracts, chimney sweeps and roof checks done. Season passes go on sale: early-bird pricing and the My1 pass, which covers alpine, Nordic, snowshoeing, night skiing, skating, fat biking and tubing, ran until Sept. 30, 2026.

Sources: SilverStar Mountain Resort; Sovereign Lake; HikeBikeTravel; Vernon Morning Star; Castanet.

Passes owners talk about

Pass options have multiplied since the resort changed hands. For 2026–27 SilverStar is on the Ikon Pass (seven days with no blackouts on the full Ikon Pass, five days with blackouts on Ikon Base), and it offers its own season passes including My1. In February 2026 it adopted the “Mission Affordable” discount ticket program, with midweek adult tickets from $115. Confirm current products and prices on the resort’s site.

Clubs and programs

Kids and adults can join the Vernon Ski Club, the SilverStar Freestyle Ski Club and an adaptive skiing program. The Sovereign2SilverStar ski marathon runs point to point from Sovereign Lake to SilverStar’s Main Street, with classic and skate days at 40 km and 21 km. For mountain bikers, the North Okanagan Cycling Society runs Pedalfest.

Dining and shopping in the village

The village has pubs, restaurants, cafés, ski shops, a gallery (Gallery Odin) and a grocery and general store, all a short walk along Main Street. Which places are open, and when, changes with the seasons and ownership, so we don’t publish a restaurant list. Ask Sean for his current favourites. For a full grocery shop, most owners stock up in Vernon on the way up.

Schools

SilverStar is in School District 22 (Vernon). SD22 buses in-catchment students who live more than 2.4 km from their school, riders must register, and busing is not guaranteed to out-of-catchment schools. Confirm your address’s catchment school and whether a bus runs to the mountain with SD22 Transportation (250-542-3331) before you buy. Vernon’s secondary schools, independent schools and Okanagan College’s Vernon campus are all in the valley. More in full-time mountain living.

Source: SD22 bus transportation.

Healthcare

The village has health and wellness offices. The nearest hospital is Vernon Jubilee Hospital in Vernon, 20 to 25 minutes’ drive in good conditions. The Silver Star Fire Department serves the village. For family doctors, specialists and pharmacies you’ll be heading into Vernon.

Getting around

To Vernon: about 22 km on Silver Star Road, roughly 20 to 25 minutes.
To Kelowna International Airport (YLW): about 55 minutes.
To Vancouver: about six hours by car.
In the village: Main Street is vehicle-free, and a free ski shuttle connects the areas in winter.
Winter tires: BC requires winter tires or chains on most highways from Oct. 1 to March 31. Good winter tires are strongly recommended for Silver Star Road; check DriveBC before you go.

Sources: Wikivoyage; kelownahomes.ca; Tourism North Okanagan.

Pets, wildlife and the provincial park

Silver Star Provincial Park, established in 1989, wraps around the resort and covers about 5,573 ha. BC Parks lists black bear, moose, mule and white-tailed deer, cougar, lynx, grouse and owls in the park, so owners learn to store garbage properly, keep dogs close on trails and give wildlife space. Snowmobiles must stay on designated trails. Dogs are welcome in The Knoll, Alpine Meadows and The Ridge, and some Nordic trails are dog-friendly; check trail signage and your strata’s pet bylaws before you bring a dog to a Village condo.

Sources: BC Parks, Silver Star Park; area profiles cited on the neighbourhood guide.

The valley below

Part of the appeal is how close the lakes are. You can ski in the morning in March and walk the beach at Kalamalka Lake in the afternoon, or bike the mountain in July and swim in Okanagan Lake before dinner. If you’re weighing a mountain place against one on the water, Sean’s guide to Vernon waterfront homes covers the lake side of the decision.

Living the SilverStar year, season by season