Lake Louise vs Sunshine Village: which has better snow?
Lake Louise gets snow more often than Sunshine Village: about 40 snowy days across the four core winter months against 35, at mid-mountain, averaged over 2016 to 2025. Sunshine Village goes higher, with a top lift at 2,730 m (9,000 ft).
Lake Louise and Sunshine Village side by side
Snow record figures are for mid-mountain, 2016 to 2025, from ERA5 reanalysis.
| Lake Louise | Sunshine Village | |
|---|---|---|
| Top lift | 2,637 m (8,700 ft) | 2,730 m (9,000 ft) |
| Village | 1,646 m (5,400 ft) | 1,660 m (5,400 ft) |
| Snowy days a year | 85 | 78 |
| Snowiest month | November | November |
| Snowy days in the four winter months | 40 | 35 |
| January temperatures | −17 to −9 °C (1 to 16 °F) | −16 to −9 °C (3 to 16 °F) |
| Snow on the ground on Christmas Day | 10 of 10 years | 10 of 10 years |
| Snowiest recent winter | 2025/26, 16% above average | 2025/26, 14% above average |
| Forecast, next 7 days | 0–5 cm this week | No snow this week |
What the numbers can and cannot tell you
Both resorts are measured the same way, which is what makes this a fair comparison: the same climate record, the same ten years, each at the height halfway between its village and top lift. It compares how often it snows and how cold it is, not total snowfall in centimetres, which the record underestimates in the mountains. It is also not a comparison of the skiing. Terrain, lift systems, crowds, price and how well a resort holds its snow on the slopes that matter are not in this data.
For the full picture of each, see the Lake Louise snow forecast and the Sunshine Village snow forecast, which include month-by-month records and every winter since 2016.