Cypress Provincial Park, Horseshoe Bay

This place is a nice place to go if for skiing and snowboarding in the winter. You can take lessons, and if you are a beginner there are a couple green (easy) runs that you can start on. Most of the runs are actually black (hard) runs. On top of the mountains, if it is not foggy, you can see some nice views of Vancouver and Howe Sound. I believe snowshoe trails are also available, as I have seen a couple snowshoers around. One drawback about Cypress is the parking. There is one main parking lot closest to the ski hills, but it gets filled pretty quickly. There are other parking lots farther down the road, but its so far away just getting from the parking spot to the lift is a workout. One way to sneak through to get closer to the main parking lot is to press the hazard light button on your car, so that they'll let you "drop off". If you're lucky, the traffic guy might even give you a spot. Also, there are three main ski lifts on Cypress for skiing/snowboarding: Raven, Lions, and Eagle. Raven is usually the least crowded and waiting for the chair is very minimal.

A great park right at Vancouver's back door. Great views of Howe sound, the city and the mountains behind the North mountains. Good starting point for the Howe sound Crest trail and fun ski hill included. A swim in cabin lake is also recommended.