Revelstoke with Kids

We live near Banff National Park, so we are used to world-class Rocky Mountain scenery and outstanding kid-friendly outdoor activities. Given how amazing our own backyard is, we were curious to see how much we’d enjoy a week-long family vacation to Revelstoke, BC. With amazing scenery and so many fun things to do, we loved visiting Revelstoke with kids.

The spectacular Columbia Mountain scenery in Revelstoke, BC will leave you speechless. Everywhere you go in Revelstoke is beautiful with jagged mountain peaks, incredibly lush cedar forests, cascading waterfalls and deep blue mountain lakes.

A family vacation to Revelstoke, BC is worth it for the scenery alone, but there also are so many fun things to do in Revelstoke with kids. Revelstoke is home to some excellent mountain biking trails for beginners, easy hiking trails, a mountain coaster, a pirate river float and so much more.

The list of things to do with kids in Revelstoke, BC is nearly endless. With so many fun family activities and amazing mountain scenery, you will love visiting Revelstoke with kids! We visited Revelstoke with our kids (aged 5 & 8) for a week in the summer.

Here is what you need to know about taking a family vacation to Revelstoke with kids:

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Getting into Revelstoke with Kids

Revelstoke, BC is a little remote, which is a big part of its charm. It’s close enough to drive in a day from several major cities, but far enough away that you’ll feel like your family really got away.

The closest international airports to Revelstoke are in Kelowna and Calgary.

To get to Revelstoke from the Kelowna airport, it’s a 2 hour and 20 minute drive with a rental car. If you’d prefer not to drive, there’s a shuttle bus to Revelstoke from the Kelowna Airport.

To get to Revelstoke from the Calgary Airport, it’s a 4 hour 30 minute drive with a rental car. If you’d prefer not to drive, there’s a bus to Revelstoke from Calgary (but it’s not from the airport). If your family trip to Revelstoke starts in Calgary, you may wish to consider a stop in Banff with your kids as it’s another very kid-friendly Canadian mountain destination.

In addition to Kelowna and Calgary, you can also drive to Revelstoke in less than a day from Kamloops (2.5 hours), Banff (3.5 hours), Vancouver (6.5 hours), Edmonton (7 hours) and Seattle (8 hours).

Please note that winter tires are mandatory in British Columbia between October – April.

Where to Stay in Revelstoke with Kids

Kid-Friendly Revelstoke Hotels

For our week in Revelstoke with kids, we stayed at the Sutton Place Hotel situated at the base of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort. We were drawn to this Revelstoke hotel by its amazing family-friendly offerings and location at the base of the Pipe Mountain Coaster (which we’ve wanted to try for a long time).

The Sutton Place Hotel is a luxury Revelstoke hotel with some amazing family-friendly rooms. We stayed in a Two-bedroom Premium Suite overlooking the base of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort gondola and the terminus of the Pipe Mountain Coaster. Talk about a fun view from your balcony!

The Two-bedroom Premium Suite is like staying at an Airbnb, but with all the benefits of a hotel. Each bedroom has a king-sized bed and an ensuite bathroom. It has a fully equipped kitchen complete with a fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, coffee maker, dishwasher and a full complement of pots, pans, plates, glasses, cutlery etc.

When traveling with kids, we love being able to cook some of our own meals as we find going to restaurants with kids three times a day to be exhausting and a waste of time.

We spent time in the large outdoor swimming pool at the Sutton Place Hotel every day of our weeklong stay in Revelstoke with kids. It has a shallow end which was perfect for our kids and there were lots of beach balls and pool noodles for the kids to play with.

We came to Revelstoke with our kids in large part to enjoy some mountain biking, so we were happy that the Sutton Place Hotel had a secure bike storage room within their secure underground parking garage.

Here are a few additional kid-friendly Revelstoke hotels to choose from:

Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke: The Basecamp hotel in Revelstoke has a wide variety of family-friendly hotel rooms, ranging from 2-bedroom apartments to massive 5-bedroom apartments! Many of these kid-friendly Revelstoke suites are also pet friendly too. Families will appreciate that each hotel room at the Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke has a full kitchen for those times when you don’t feel like going out to eat with your kids.

Swiss Chalet Motel: The most central family-friendly hotel in Revelstoke, the Swiss Chalet Motel offers free passes to the Revelstoke aquatic centre. Families staying at the Swiss Chalet Motel in Revelstoke will enjoy staying in a 2-bedroom suite.

Peaks Lodge: Located a few minutes west of Revelstoke, the Peaks Lodge is another well-reviewed kid-friendly hotel in Revelstoke with a good selection of hotel rooms for families. At the Peaks Lodge, you can choose from a 3-bedroom suite or a family suite with bunk beds for the kids.

If you’d like to see the full list of kid-friendly hotels in Revelstoke, hop on over to Booking.com to see their Top Picks for Families. When we stay at a hotel with kids, we almost always use Booking.com as we can rely on their kid-friendly hotel search results.

Vacation Rental Homes in Revelstoke

When we travel with kids, we typically look at our Airbnb and VRBO options first. As a family, we find that everyone sleeps better when they have their own bedrooms, and well rested kids are better travelers!

Related: 7 Tips to Find the Best Airbnb with Kids

We also don’t enjoy eating out at restaurants three times a day with our kids, so we are grateful for having a full kitchen. A big benefit of renting a Revelstoke vacation rental is that you can pack less clothes and simply do laundry throughout your stay.

Revelstoke Camping with Kids

As you’d expect in a rugged mountain wilderness environment, there are plenty of kid-friendly Revelstoke campgrounds to choose from.

Mount Revelstoke National Park Camping

The Snowforest Campground is the only campground in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Located mere minutes from central Revelstoke, the Snowforest Campground is reasonably small with only 63 sites, so reserve your Mount Revelstoke campground spot as early as possible.

Provincial Parks Camping near Revelstoke

There are three Revelstoke campgrounds located in nearby BC provincial parks:

Blanket Creek campground: A decent sized lakefront Revelstoke campground with 105 sites, the Blanket Creek campground takes online reservations. The Blanket Creek campground is 25 minutes south of Revelstoke.

Arrow Lakes campground: The Arrow Lakes campground is a small, first-come first-served campground near Revelstoke about 35 minutes south of town.

Martha Creek campground: Located on a beautiful peninsula on Lake Revelstoke, the Martha Creek campground has 75 campsites, many of which are lakeside. The Martha Creek campground takes online reservations.

More Revelstoke Campgrounds

In addition to the Revelstoke campgrounds in Mount Revelstoke National Park and the nearby BC provincial parks, there are many additional family-friendly campgrounds near Revelstoke:

Crazy Creek Resort: Just a half hour away from Revelstoke, the Crazy Creek Resort has a ton of fun things to do for kids. The Crazy Creek Resort has 4 hot pools in a range of temperatures, a bike track for kids, scenic hikes and close proximity to the Crazy Creek Suspension Bridge. Accommodation options include tent or RV camping, or you can even rent a full kitchen 1 or 2 bedroom suite.

Boulder Mountain Resort: Just minutes west of town, this kid-friendly Revelstoke campsite has a beautiful forest setting. Accomodation options range from RV or tent camping to more comfortable options such as glamping, luxury cabins and 1-2 bedroom suites.

Revelstoke Campground: With 175 sites, the Revelstoke Campground is the largest campground near Revelstoke, BC. Just minutes outside of town, the family-friendly Revelstoke campground has a pool, two playgrounds and even a rock climbing wall.

Lamplighter Campground: The best part of this traditional, no-frills tent and RV campground near Revelstoke is its location. The Lamplighter Campground is just across the Columbia River from the shops and restaurants of downtown Revelstoke.

Williamson Lake Campground: If you were hoping to go camping near the Revelstoke Mountain Resort, check out the Williamson Lake Campground. Located next to the (reputedly) warmest lake near Revelstoke, the Williamson Lake Campground is just a 5 minute drive to the Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Glamping options are available for families with one child.

Best Things to do in Revelstoke with Kids

We were drawn to Revelstoke for its beautiful mountain scenery and its excellent variety of kid-friendly hiking and easy mountain biking trails. When your family needs a break from all the fun outdoor activities, there are many non-active Revelstoke attractions that are kid friendly. With so many fun things to do in Revelstoke, you will love going on a Revelstoke family vacation!

1. Mountain Biking in Revelstoke with Kids

Our kids have been loving their mountain biking lessons in Canmore, Alberta, so we wanted to find a destination with lots of easy mountain biking trails. Going on a family mountain biking trip was the primary reason we decided to visit Revelstoke with kids.

Easy Mount Macpherson Mountain Biking Trails

There are a lot of excellent places to go mountain biking with kids in Revelstoke, but the best place to go is the Mount Macpherson Recreational Trails. Located just across the Upper Arrow Lake from Revelstoke, there are plenty of easy mountain biking trails for kids to enjoy.

Mount Macpherson is a huge mountain biking area, but the best spot to find easy mountain biking trails for kids is parking lot 3, where you’ll find kid-friendly trails such as Miller Time, the training runs and Dusty Beaver.

Revelstoke Mountain Biking Map (pdf)

Easy Mount Revelstoke National Park Mountain Biking Trails

Mount Macpherson may be the best place to go mountain biking in Revelstoke with kids, but it’s not the only place to go. Mount Revelstoke National Park, located just north of Revelstoke, has several easy mountain bike trails, suitable for kids or beginner mountain bikers.

Families looking for an easy mountain biking trail in Mount Revelstoke National Park will enjoy the 1.5km Soren Sorenson – a short loop through a beautiful dense forest on the lower slopes of Mount Revelstoke. For added beauty, the trail also crosses a mountain stream on both directions.

Kids under 5 will love the new Beaver Lode Kids’ Bike Park. This bike skills park near Revelstoke has a series of short bike trails with many kid-friendly bike features built in, such as a large tunnel to ride through, a dragonfly teeter-totter, or a snails tail spiral track.

7 Best Easy Mountain Biking Trails in Revelstoke

We’ve written a post to help you find the best kid-friendly mountain biking trails in Revelstoke. It’s hard to make a list of the best easy mountain biking trails in Revelstoke as the trails have such different characteristics.

Rather than list these easy mountain biking trails in order of best-to-worst, we list them in order of difficulty, starting with the easiest mountain biking trail in Revelstoke first, then getting increasingly difficult.

2. Kid-Friendly Revelstoke Hiking

Surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers on all side, Revelstoke, BC is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. With so much vertical terrain, you might wonder if there are any kid-friendly hikes near Revelstoke. We’re happy to report that there are an abundance of family-friendly Revelstoke hiking trails for you to enjoy!

With excellent easy hiking trails around the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, the summit of Mount Revelstoke National Park, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, the Columbia River and around the Arrow Lakes, you’ll have no issues finding kid-friendly hikes around Revelstoke.

To help families plan their time, we’ve also written a post about the 11 best easy hikes in Revelstoke, BC. Within this list of the best easy Revelstoke hikes, there’s a wide variety of terrain, scenery and distances. Given many of these Revelstoke hiking trails are close together, we’ve sorted the easy Revelstoke hiking trails by area.

If you plan on doing a lot of hiking in Revelstoke, BC with your kids, take a moment to check out our Tips for Hiking with Kids and the Best Hiking Gear for Kids. The miles will go faster and you’ll all have more fun with these hiking songs for kids.

Revelstoke Hiking Map (pdf)

3. Pipe Mountain Coaster

From the first moment I saw a video of the mountain coaster in Revelstoke, I knew I had to give it a try. I knew it’d be something I’d love to do, but I’m glad we waited until the kids were old enough as the Pipe Mountain Coaster at Revelstoke Mountain Resort is one of the most fun things to do in Revelstoke with kids.

The RMR Pipe Mountain Coaster is a thrilling 1.4km ride down the mountain in a gravity powered car. Following a metal pipe which winds its way down the lower ski slopes of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort, your exhilarating mountain coaster journey will be a lasting family memory.

Kids need to be a minimum of 8 years old to ride a mountain coaster car by themselves, but kids aged 3-12 can catch a ride down the coaster with an adult. Control of the Revelstoke mountain coaster car is simple enough for a responsible kid to control with a single lever – press forward to go fast and pull back to slow down.

The Revelstoke Pipe Mountain Coaster can go pretty fast, with a maximum speed of 42km/h, with some pretty tight turns. If you are unsure, we’d recommend letting your kids go as a passenger first, before deciding to let them drive their own mountain coaster car.

If you’d like to go super-fast, ask the attendant at the top of the mountain to let you wait a bit, so you don’t catch up with the mountain coaster car in front of you.

The Pipe Mountain Coaster was super fun and both our kids loved their experience as passengers in the adult cars. They loved the speed of the mountain coaster and the tunnels the car goes through on its journey down.

4. Revelstoke River Pirates

Revelstoke is well known for its kid-friendly activities on its mountains, but did you know there’s a super fun thing to do on the water as well? Wild Blue Yonder Rafting Adventures puts on a pirate adventure for kids on the Columbia River.

The fun starts at the Wild Blue Yonder office in Revelstoke, where the kids are greeted by the pirate crew, who help them get changed into their own pirate outfit. The kids loved getting their faces painted and their cool pirate bandanas.

We then loaded up on the bus and drove to Moses Falls (one of our kid-friendly hikes) where the pirate adventures begin at the base of a very beautiful Revelstoke waterfall. Before long, we load up on the boat and start our gentle float down the Columbia River back towards Revelstoke.

The pirate crew were great with the kids and provided plenty of great laughs and entertainment. There were plenty of pirate stories, sing-along-songs and jokes to keep the kids interested. The pirate crew even took the time to point out cool wildlife, such as the bald eagle we saw on our Revelstoke river pirate journey.

The pirate adventure gets exciting when the crew takes the boat ashore and give the little pirates foam swords. The pirates learn some awesome pirate moves with their swords and then look for treasure.

Our kids had a great time on the Revelstoke River Pirates float trip, and the adults had some good laughs too. We recommend the Revelstoke River Pirates as a great thing to do in Revelstoke with kids.

5. Family Photo Session

When we visited Rome with our kids, we were lucky enough to capture some special moments from our family trip with a session with a professional photographer. Some of the family photos which came from this photo session are some of our most treasured possessions.

We didn’t have a chance on our trip, but you can book a family photo shoot in Revelstoke. Your professional photographer will make you feel relaxed and help you find photo friendly locations in and around Revelstoke.

Kid-Friendly Restaurants in Revelstoke

We seek out highly rated, family friendly restaurants when we travel. Here are the kid-friendly Revelstoke restaurants we visited during our family vacation.

1. Killa B’s Grilla Cheese

Our first meal in Revelstoke with kids was shortly after we arrived. We had stopped at the Revelstoke Visitor Centre to grab a Revelstoke hiking map and a mountain biking map, and wanted to grab a quick bite before checking into our kid-friendly Revelstoke hotel.

The nearby Killa B’s Grilla Cheese food truck was a perfect kid-friendly lunch option. The guy working the Killa B’s Grilla Cheese food truck was super friendly and was really good to the kids.

The kids split a ‘Mericano grilled cheese sandwich which features a double-shot of bacon, served with ketchup on the side. The kids devoured their Killa B’s grilled cheese sandwich in record time!

The parents each ordered a Buffalo Wings grilled cheese because it sounded so good, and it delivered big time – it was delicious!

The one downside to the Killa B’s Grilla Cheese is a lack of seating, but it was a quick 3 minute drive to a lakefront picnic table at Centennial Park. Our grilled cheese sandwiches and large order of fries were still piping hot and we had a great view of the Columbia River over lunch.

2. The Modern Bakeshop & Cafe

We stopped at the Modern Bakeshop & Café as it was the highest rated bakery in Revelstoke and we needed to get a birthday cake. The line-up was out the door when we arrived, which we understand is a typical occurrence at this popular Revelstoke bakery and café.

For those looking for a good kid-friendly meal, the Modern Bakeshop & Café offers a wide variety of bread, sandwiches, soups, bowls, panini’s etc. In addition, this excellent Revelstoke bakery has a huge selection of tempting baked goods such as cakes, brownies, cheesecakes and more.

We came to the Modern Bakeshop for some cake, but we left with much more as everything looked so good. The kids loved their Nanaimo Bars (which we got for a pre-mountain coaster treat) and the carrot cake we got for the birthday celebration was delicious!

3. Kawakubo Revelstoke

Ever since our daughter tried sushi on our family trip to Kyoto (when she was three), she’s been addicted to sushi. Her little brother has since joined the sushi madness in our house, so now when we ask the kids where they want to go for dinner when traveling, the answer is almost always ‘sushi!’.

Kawakubo Revelstoke is a popular Revelstoke sushi restaurant in the downtown district. We arrived shortly after opening and the restaurant was nearly full already. The décor was typical of a Japanese sushi restaurant, which always helps the food taste better.

If you are looking for a kid-friendly sushi restaurant in Revelstoke, we recommend Kawakubo Revelstoke. The service was fast and friendly, and the sushi was excellent.

4. Village Idiot Bar and Grill

Despite its name, the ski-themed Village Idiot Bar and Grill is a good family-friendly restaurant in Revelstoke. During our visit to the Village Idiot, about half the tables were families with underage kids, many of them below 10.

One of the most popular restaurants in Revelstoke, the Village Idiot is known for its reliably good pub food. The Village Idiot doesn’t have a kid’s menu, but their main menu is loaded with kid-friendly options such as pizzas, hamburgers, etc.

We ordered perogies and mini-hamburgers for our kids off the starters menu at the Village Idiot, and both were a big hit with the kids. Celine had one of the best pulled pork sandwiches she’s ever had, while I tackled a huge platter of very cheesy, loaded nachos (which were too big to finish).

The Idiot Toast Crunch was a great dessert to share with the whole family. A large bowl of small, cinnamon sugar donut bits with a large portion of caramel sauce for dipping, the Idiot Toast Crunch will be a dessert the kids will talk about for a long time. Our giant bowl lasted mere minutes… I haven’t seen a dessert disappear so fast since we devoured Hummingbird Cake on our family trip to Wilmington, NC.

5. The Taco Club

We have traveled extensively in Mexico with kids and we always jump at the chance to eat good Mexican food when we are traveling. The best kid-friendly Revelstoke restaurant for Mexican food is the Taco Club.

Located just down the street from the Modern Bakery, the Taco Club has a large outdoor dining area. The kids menu at the Taco Club has something for everyone, including tacos, quesadillas, burritos and cheese nachos. Our daughter really enjoyed her chicken nachos, while our son had an excellent avocado burrito.

The burritos the adults ordered were also very good. The pork burrito was good, but the chicken burrito at the Taco Club was excellent.

We hope you enjoy your trip to Revelstoke with kids as much as we did!

Enjoy More British Columbia with Kids