I struggled with the idea of putting Mount Washington under the tourist listings as an island community. But after much thought, I realized that if it has all the amenities of a village, then a village it must be. You can rent a hotel room, buy food or gifts in shops, eat in fine dining establishments or get a beer and burger in a pub. You can rent a condo or buy a house here, you can even rent a mountain bike and go riding.
I do believe that this ski resort will become bigger with much more to offer in retail in the near future. Its location right beside Strathcona Park and its Paradise Meadows Trails is a big plus, as the resort adds more year-round activities the location will get more year-round residents, thus the need for more varied retail services will grow.
Mount Washington is the largest ski hill resort on Vancouver Island, although this is not all it offers, yes they have skiing, snowboarding, and Nordic trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, but they also have summer activities and the lifts operate all year. You can ride a lift up with your mountain bike, or rent one on the mountain and then ride one of the bike trails down, this is a great sport. You can lift up and hike around the mountain on many trails if hiking is your choice.
During the summer months, there are various festivals that take place, and occasionally you can take in a concert while enjoying the incredible views. There are many lakes on the plateau and trails that will take you to them, there are campsites along the way, so you can spend as many days as you like hiking in the meadows.
The village itself is filled with ski cabins and chalets, modern homes, and many condo buildings. All amenities are open year-round, and you can still rent a room in one of the establishments at any time. The summer is a great time to head to photograph the Vancouver Island Marmots, a rare and much-loved resident of the mountain. They are such a wonder to see.
The birdlife is awesome, and you will love the whiskey jacks, these beautiful robin-sized gray and white birds will land on you to take food from your hand, they are also called camp robbers and will do just that to any food sources they can get at. l have literally been covered in birds as they all squabble for a piece of pepperoni (their favourite treat), it is such a great feeling.
The wildflowers are, how do you say, just bloody incredible, you can see a great variety of awe-inspiring plants on the mountain, and sometimes the view will just take your breath away with its beauty. There is nothing more exciting than hiking in late spring to view the wildflower display that gets laid out in front of you.
All in all, this mountain village has much to offer so come on, put on your hiking boots, grab your pack and bring your camera because up on the mountain is where paradise can be found.