Hop on an ATV if you’re looking for outdoor adventure in Whistler
If you’ve been following me for a while then you know that I love adventure. I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie. ATV’ing, or riding an all-terrain vehicle, is a favourite outdoor activity of mine. It’s great for those days you want both nature and adventure, combined with a bit of adrenaline. ATVing Whistler is definitely all of the above.
Since I don’t own my own ATV, I headed up to Callaghan Valley just outside of Whistler for an afternoon of fun. I booked with the company Canadian Wilderness Adventures. I wasn’t hosted, nor is this a promotional or paid post. I’m just sharing my experience because I had so much fun I can’t wait to go back! There are several companies that offer a variety of different Whistler ATV adventures.
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I should start of by saying that I have done a lot of ATV’ing before this day – this was not my first time. It was, however, the first time my friend had ever been on an ATV and they did an excellent job of instructing her while keeping me entertained 😉
The first part of our tour was getting to know our ATV in Whistler and ensuring that we knew how to properly operate it. Each ATV is slightly different so it’s always a good idea to get to know the one you’re riding before heading out. Some of them don’t go in reverse and you definitely want to know this before you get going. I learned this one the hard way.
Canadian Wilderness Adventures offers a few different Whistler ATV tours based on your level of experience and how long you wish to ride for. Their Mountain Explorer tour is perfect for beginners so if you haven’t ever ridden before, don’t let that scare you off trying it. You have full control over how fast you ride so just take it slow in the beginning and you’ll be just fine.
Some of you may wonder what to wear when going on a Whistler ATV adventure. The answer is to dress similar to what you’d wear on a hike. You want to be comfortable and able to move around easily. For this reason, I prefer wearing yoga pants to jeans.
If you haven’t tried Fabletics yet, definitely check them out! I love the side pockets they have for storing your cell phone. In the photo above you can see that my iPhone is easily accessible, but isn’t going to fall out during the ride.
Depending on the season, I recommend layering. Living in BC, it’s pretty typical that the weather changes as the day goes on. You can see that I’m sitting on my jacket in the photo above.
For footwear, in winter months I wear my hiking boots because they are waterproof, but otherwise, I simply wear my runners. The weather can change while you’re out ATVing Whistler so be prepared.
I definitely recommend wearing quick-drying pants in case you get wet. In the video above you’ll see that we rode through a giant puddle and got wet. It was definitely nice to know that my yoga pants would be dry again soon. Riding in wet jeans would have been pretty uncomfortable.
Our afternoon Whistler ATV ride was 3 hours, but I could have stayed and enjoyed these views all day. Riding around Callaghan Valley is one of the most picturesque rides I have ever done. The scenery varies from riding through the forest, among the trees and over tree roots, to alongside a lake, as well as sweeping views of the snow-capped mountains. It’s simply stunning!
During our ATV Whistler ride, we stopped a few different times to check out the scenery and take photos. If you’ve ever gone ATV’ing or horseback riding then you’ll know that it’s nice to get off and stretch your legs.
Plus, Whistler is so gorgeous you’re going to want to take photos and that requires stopping. Unless you have a GoPro strapped to you, you won’t be able to video while riding – you need both hands.
Note that in order to ride an ATV, you must be at least 19 years old and have a valid driver’s license. All of the companies that do tours will provide you with a helmet if you don’t have your own. While some people ride with sunglasses, I prefer the protection of goggles so I brought my own.
Check out all of the available ATV tours for Whistler on TripAdvisor. If you go, let me know! I want to hear all about it.
Writing this post makes me want to go again already. Don’t be surprised if you see me on Instagram riding again one day very soon… What about you, have you tried ATVing Whistler? If not, would you?
Pin this post for your next trip to Whistler!
