The Ultimate Sun Peaks Summer Weekend Family Getaway

A Sun Peaks summer getaway involves so many fun activities and we arrived at Sun Peaks Grand Hotel prepared and ready for our weekend staycation.

This summer, traveling and exploring local is at the top of our list, and what better way to start our summer off than a quick 40-minute drive to Sun Peaks from Kamloops, BC.

Sun Peaks summer getaways have many outdoor activities and outdoor dining options, and we were able to safely socially distance ourselves while still having fun.

Sun Peaks Summer Getaway – FRIDAY

On this visit, our stay was sponsored by Sun Peaks Grand Hotel, and we had the pleasure of staying in one of their deluxe guest rooms with two queen beds and a balcony, which came with a beautiful view of the mountains.

We checked in at 4 p.m. as instructed in their reopening guide, and the front desk agent went through all the safety protocols with us in addition to directing us to the various outlets available in the hotel.

The guest room and bathroom were both spotless, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a bottle of mini hand sanitizer with the other bathroom amenities. This was a nice touch and really spoke to the fact that the hotel put a lot of thought into the smaller details of its safety protocols, which put my mind at ease.

Related: Top 25 Things To Do at Sun Peaks Resort in Winter

Sun Peaks Summer Geocaching

The first adventure we had planned was to do some geocaching on the outskirts of the village. We had started geocaching during quarantine, and our boys loved it, so we have since started doing it on our road trips. It is a great way to explore new locations, and it’s always fun for the boys when they are successful in finding the geocache.

Without giving away too much to other fellow geocachers, this geocache was located just past the ice rink on a clearly marked trail.

Sun Peaks Summer Dining at Mantle Restaurant

After geocaching, we headed back to the hotel and had a lovely dinner at Mantles Restaurant. We have eaten there several times over the years, and we really enjoyed their new menu. We lucked out and had Ryan serve us, who we have had a few times over the past couple of years. He’s witty, fun, and a fantastic server. And he always chooses a great wine to go with our dinner choices.

After dinner, we decided to retire to our room and just relax before our activity-packed adventures the following day. While the boys had some downtime, Andrew and I enjoyed the view and a bottle of wine on the balcony.

Sun Peaks Summer Getaway – SATURDAY

One of my favourite things to do when we travel and stay in hotels is having lazy mornings, which means getting room service for breakfast. Even though room service isn’t available during these times, we were able to get take out from Mantles Restaurant.

We called and ordered our breakfast, then just relaxed in our room until the restaurant let us know us when it is was ready to be picked up. The breakfast menu was fantastic. We wanted to try out all the dishes but settled on our favourites: eggs, toast, hashbrowns and waffles.

Sun Peaks Summer Hiking

After our delicious breakfast, we headed out to hit the hiking trails. Our original plan was to hike up to Tod Lake and have a picnic. Unfortunately the trail was closed, so we opted to hike over to see the new Crystal Chair being built.

Sun Peaks Resort has clearly put in great effort to try and keep everyone socially distanced and safe. There was signage everywhere, and I mean everywhere! All of their protocols were easy to read, and we had no trouble following the new rules.

We saw a lot of deer on our hike, but thankfully there were no bear sightings for us! There were other hikers who reported seeing a bear cub and momma bear the same day from a safe distance.

The landscape on our hike was so beautiful, and even though it was a bit cloudy it didn’t take away from the views. The boys had fun every time we crossed a stream or found a puddle to play in. We spent a couple hours cruising around on the Crystal Loop Trail and then took the cat track back so that we could take the chairlift back down to the village.

Sun Peaks Summer Dining – Mantles Patio

The first place we headed to after our hike was the patio at Mantles Restaurant. It is one of our favourite spots in the village during the summer, as it looks out over the village, chairlifts and ski runs. It is also a great spot to safely socially distance in the fresh air while enjoying a yummy lunch.

We warmed up with some hot chocolate and had a very relaxing lunch in the sunshine. My oldest son, Holter, asked to have the sliders from the kids menu for the second day in a row as we watched all the mountain bikers coming and going throughout the village.

The village was packed with mountain bikers, and I think the boys had some bike envy watching them. We were supposed to spend the afternoon at the pool, but they asked to go mountain biking instead. The bike passes were sold out by this time, so we got passes for the Progression Park instead and it turned out to be a fun few hours.

Our bikes were safely stored at check-in on the lower level of the hotel with Elevation Bikes, so we just grabbed them, pumped up our tires and headed out the door straight into the village.

Summer Progression Park

The Sun Peaks Summer Progression Park was perfect for my youngest son, Heath. At six years old, he still isn’t quite ready to bike down the mountain trails safely, so we did laps on the trail Level Up. It has all sorts of downhill turns and jumps, and parts of it goes through the trees, which our boys love doing.

Mountain biking isn’t particularly my favorite sport, so I spent most of the time taking photos and trying not to fall off my bike on the tight turns. We biked right until the lifts closed and then got in line to wash the mud off our bikes before putting them back in the bike storage.

Hot tip! The line to rinse bikes off at the end of the day was very long, so plan accordingly. If you don’t want to wait in the lineup, consider ending your day a half hour before the lifts close or have a drink on Mantles Patio, where you have full view of the bike rinse area, and then rinse your bikes afterwards.

If you don’t want to wait in the long lineup to rinse your bikes at the end of the day, have a drink on Mantles Patio until the line is gone or consider ending your day a half hour before lifts close.

Pool at Sun Peaks Grand

I left Andrew to wait in line to rinse off the bikes, and I took the boys to the pool while we still had some sunshine. The hot tubs were closed because of the COVID-19 rules, but the pool water was nice and warm and it felt heavenly to relax while the boys did cannonballs over and over.

There was a limit of 25 guests in the pool at any time, but there were only a handful of other guests there when we arrived. Everyone kept their distance and stayed close to their own group, so it felt comfortable for us to enjoy our time poolside with this magnificent view.

Sun Peaks Summer Dining – Morrisey’s Public House

We were all famished after our full day of activities, so we got dressed and made our way to dinner at Morrisey’s Public House. One of the nice things about staying at Sun Peaks Grand is that you don’t have to walk outside to get to any of their restaurants. It comes in handy during the winter season, but in the summertime it is nice to stroll through the village to get there.

We were hoping we would luck out and snag a patio table where there is cozy seating next to the fire tables, but it is a popular spot and was already full when we arrived.

We should have taken the opportunity on our first day to enjoy a seat on the patio as we walked by on our way to geocache, but we won’t make that mistake again next time!

Instead we opted for a booth inside, which was lovely and quiet, especially with the extra spacing between tables to allow for proper social distancing. The boys were immersed in doing the word search on the kids menu and we ordered the nachos of course, as Morrisey’s is well known for them.

The nachos came deconstructed, which was something we haven’t had before. It is a great option, especially if kids want to share. They can choose whatever toppings they want to add, and it gives them a little bit of freedom at the dinner table.

I personally prefer Morrisey’s traditional nacho style of years past, but I ordered the fish tacos and both Andrew and our youngest son devoured them in record time.

Read more about the restaurants in our post “Why We Love the Family Friendly Restaurants at Sun Peaks Grand.”

After another delicious meal, we took a stroll back through the village, taking in the sights and sounds of people enjoying socializing again. It’s funny the small things you take for granted until they get taken away from you.

After a long, fun-filled day, it was time to get some rest in our cozy hotel room. They boys were tired, and Andrew and I were both exhausted, so we all got in our jammies and shared some bedtime stories before hitting the hay.

It seems lately whenever we stay in hotels, both of our sons ask to sleep with us. So Andrew and I divided and conquered and each slept with one of our boys. It’s not often they ask to do this, but they are growing up so quickly that we try and cherish these moments while we still can.

Sun Peaks Summer Getaway – SUNDAY

For our last day at Sun Peaks Grand, we had another big day planned. Since it was check-out day, we couldn’t laze around like we did the previous morning, so we headed straight down for breakfast in Mantles Restaurant and picked out a table by the windows.

By now, the boys had become obsessed with doing the word search on the kid’s menu, so that kept them occupied pretty much the entire time we were there. I was thrilled to have our own pot of coffee so that we didn’t have to keep bugging the server for refills. We would need lots of caffeine for our planned adventures that day.

Sun Peaks Summer Market Day

During the summer, every Sunday from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. is Market Day in the village of Sun Peaks. There are booths with local farmers, ranchers and artisans and plenty of fun things for the kids too. It is a great way to start the day before heading out on the trails, and it is literally right outside the doors of Sun Peaks Grand.

There was a lot of fresh produce and local honey to choose from. Fresh cherries were plentiful, so we stocked up before heading back to the hotel to check out.

Sun Peaks Summer Getaway – Lake McGillivray

Check-out day is always a bit sad as it means our travels come to an end. But our Sun Peaks summer adventures didn’t stop at check-out time. Sun Peaks Grand allowed us to keep our vehicle parked in the underground parking for the day, so we were able to continue on with some cross-country biking before we started the drive home.

We have been to Lake McGillivray several times, but we had always driven there. Our boys love fishing, and since our youngest is six and a pretty good bike rider, we thought we would attempt the slow incline to the lake.

It would have been a lovely ride except Andrew decided to take us on a “shortcut” through the woods, which was all muddy and full of mosquitoes! Needless to say, on the way back to the hotel we stuck to the main double track trail and enjoyed the gentle downhill all the way back. It was certainly a lovely way to end a fantastic weekend staycation.

Related: A Winter Getaway to Sun Peaks Grand Hotel for Families

More Sun Peaks Summer Activities

We packed a lot of adventure into our weekend staycation, but there are so many other activities that you can do in the summertime at Sun Peaks.

• Go golfing at the golf course at Sun Peaks Resort
• Experience a horseback trail ride with Sun Peaks Stables
• Hike to Whitecroft Falls, just 10 minutes from Sun Peaks Resort
• Take a yoga class at Sun Peaks Yoga
• Enjoy spa services at Sun Peaks Spa
• Get a massage in your hotel room with Hands on the Move Mobile Massage
• Canoe & Kayak Rentals at Lake McGillivray
• Go fly fishing
• Stand Up Paddle Board at Heffley Lake
• Play a game of tennis at the local public courts

Check out our post “Five Reasons to Stay at Sun Peaks Grand Hotel in the Summer“

If you live in the area and are looking to explore local and get away for a few days or a week, you can’t beat staying at Sun Peaks Grand Hotel. We were very happy with the new safety protocols in the hotel and throughout the resort, which made social distancing easy. We were able to spend 95 percent of our time outside in the fresh air, and the whole weekend was just plain fun!