Things to Do in Revelstoke with Kids: Our Family Favourites

Living near Banff National Park, we’re fortunate to have some incredible mountain scenery and outdoor adventures right in our backyard. As locals who spend a lot of time hiking and biking in the Canadian Rockies, we were curious to see how a family vacation to Revelstoke would compare. After spending a week exploring Revelstoke with kids, we came home impressed by just how much this beautiful mountain town has to offer.

There are plenty of fun things to do in Revelstoke with kids, especially if your family enjoys being outdoors. We spent our days exploring easy hiking trails through lush cedar forests, visiting waterfalls, mountain biking on beginner-friendly trails and riding the Pipe Mountain Coaster at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. With beautiful mountain scenery everywhere we went, even getting between activities was enjoyable.

One thing we particularly appreciated about Revelstoke was the variety of outdoor activities suitable for younger children. Our kids were just 5 and 8 years old during our visit, and we found plenty of adventures that were manageable for their ages while still being fun for us as parents. Whether your family loves hiking, wants to try mountain biking or prefers a mix of outdoor adventures and sightseeing, Revelstoke is well worth considering for a summer family vacation.

In this guide, we’ll share our favourite Revelstoke kids’ activities based on our own experiences, along with practical tips to help you decide which ones are right for your family. We’ll also cover where to eat, family-friendly places to stay and what you need to know about getting to Revelstoke.

If you’re planning to explore more of the Canadian Rockies with your family, don’t miss our guide to visiting Banff with kids. As locals who have spent years exploring Banff National Park with our own children, we share our favourite family-friendly hikes, activities and practical tips to help you plan a memorable trip.

This post contains compensated links.

Quick Guide to Revelstoke with Kids

Revelstoke is a great destination for families who love outdoor adventures. Some of the best things to do in Revelstoke with kids include beginner mountain biking, easy hikes through cedar forests, waterfall walks and riding the Pipe Mountain Coaster.

Best Things to do in Revelstoke with Kids

One of the things we enjoyed most about visiting Revelstoke with kids was the variety of outdoor activities we could do as a family. We came for the mountain scenery, family-friendly hiking trails and beginner mountain biking, but there was plenty more to keep us busy. From walking through enormous cedar forests and visiting waterfalls to riding the Pipe Mountain Coaster, we found lots of fun things to do in Revelstoke with kids.

Below, we’ll share our favourite Revelstoke family activities from our week-long visit, including what our kids enjoyed most and our tips for making the most of each experience.

1. Mountain Biking in Revelstoke with Kids

Our kids have been loving their mountain biking lessons back home in Canmore, so we wanted to find a destination with lots of easy mountain biking trails. Mountain biking was actually the main reason we chose Revelstoke for our family vacation.

Easy Mountain Biking at Mount Macpherson

There are several excellent places to go mountain biking with kids in Revelstoke, but our favourite was 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 has an extensive trail network, but families looking for easy mountain biking trails should start at the Griffith Creek parking area. Nearby trails include Miller Time, the training runs and Dusty Beaver.

Mountain Biking in Mount Revelstoke National Park

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 1.5 km Soren Sorenson loop. This scenic trail winds through dense forest on the lower slopes of Mount Revelstoke and crosses a mountain stream.

Kids under 5 will love the Beaver Lodge Kids’ Bike Park. The park features short trails and fun obstacles, including a tunnel, a dragonfly teeter-totter and a giant snail spiral.

Our Favourite Beginner Mountain Bike Trails

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. Easy Hiking in Revelstoke with Kids

Surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers, Revelstoke, BC is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. Despite the steep mountain terrain, there are plenty of family-friendly hiking trails in Revelstoke, including some excellent easy hikes for kids.

You’ll find plenty of kid-friendly hiking trails around Revelstoke, including the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, the Columbia River and Arrow Lakes.

To help families plan their time, we’ve also written a post about the best easy hikes in Revelstoke, BC. The hikes cover a variety of terrain, scenery and distances. We’ve organized them by area to make planning your family’s hiking adventures easier.

If you’re planning several hikes in Revelstoke with kids, our Tips for Hiking with Kids and Best Hiking Gear for Kids can help you prepare.

3. Ride the Pipe Mountain Coaster

The first time I saw a video of the Pipe Mountain Coaster at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, I knew I wanted to try it. I’m glad we waited until the kids were old enough to enjoy it with us.

The Pipe Mountain Coaster is a thrilling 1.4 km ride down the mountain in a gravity-powered cart. 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 and 125 cm tall to ride a mountain coaster car by themselves, but kids aged 3-9 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 42 km/h and has 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.

Where to Stay in Revelstoke with Kids

Family-Friendly Hotels in Revelstoke

Sutton Place Hotel

For our week in Revelstoke with kids, we stayed at the Sutton Place Hotel, located 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.

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!

Our Two-Bedroom Premium Suite gave us the space and convenience of a vacation rental, with the benefits of staying in a hotel. Each bedroom has a king-sized bed and an ensuite bathroom. It also has a fully equipped kitchen with a fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, coffee maker, dishwasher, pots, pans, plates, glasses and cutlery.

When travelling 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 used the large outdoor pool at the Sutton Place Hotel every day during our week-long 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 family-friendly Revelstoke suites are also pet-friendly. 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.

Vacation Rentals in Revelstoke

When we travel with younger kids, we typically look at our Airbnb and VRBO options first. We find everyone sleeps better when they have their own bedrooms, and well-rested kids are better travellers.

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. Another benefit of booking a Revelstoke vacation rental is being able to pack fewer clothes and do laundry during your stay.

Camping in Revelstoke with Kids

There are plenty of family-friendly campgrounds around Revelstoke:

Mount Revelstoke National Park Camping

The Snowforest Campground is the only campground in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Snowforest Campground is just minutes from downtown Revelstoke and is relatively small, so we recommend booking your campsite early.

Provincial Park Campgrounds 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 108 campsites, many of which are lakeside. The Martha Creek campground takes online reservations.

Other Campgrounds Near Revelstoke

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. Crazy Creek Resort has three hot pools at different temperatures, plus a cold plunge. They also have a bike track for kids, scenic hikes and close proximity to the Crazy Creek Suspension Bridge. Accommodation options include tent or RV camping.

Boulder Mountain Resort: Just minutes west of town, this kid-friendly Revelstoke campsite has a beautiful forest setting. Accommodation 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.

Visiting Revelstoke as Part of a Canadian Rockies Road Trip

If you’re planning a Western Canada road trip between Vancouver and Banff, Revelstoke is well worth adding to your itinerary. Many travellers pass through Revelstoke on their way to the Canadian Rockies, but we recommend spending at least a couple of days here if time permits. There are plenty of fun things to do in Revelstoke with kids, especially for families who enjoy hiking, mountain biking and exploring the outdoors.

We spent a full week in Revelstoke with our kids and easily filled our days with family-friendly activities. While you don’t necessarily need a week to enjoy the area, spending two or three nights would give you time to experience some of Revelstoke’s highlights without feeling rushed.

If you’re travelling east from Revelstoke towards Banff, the drive takes you through Glacier National Park, Rogers Pass and Yoho National Park before reaching Banff National Park. It’s a beautiful stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, with plenty of opportunities to stop and explore along the way. Don’t miss a stop at Emerald Lake!

For more information on driving routes, travel times and stops along the way, see our guide to getting to Banff National Park.

If you’re continuing your road trip into the Canadian Rockies, our 7-day Banff and Jasper itinerary is a great place to start planning the next part of your adventure. We’ve put together a week-long route featuring the highlights of both national parks, with sightseeing stops, scenic drives and hiking opportunities to help you make the most of your time in the mountains.

Kid-Friendly Restaurants in Revelstoke

We enjoyed some excellent restaurant meals during our stay. Here are the kid-friendly Revelstoke restaurants we visited during our family vacation.

1. The Modern Bakeshop & Café

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 and paninis. 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!

2. 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 whenever we ask where the kids want to eat while travelling, 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.

3. Village Idiot Bar & Grill

Despite its name, the ski-themed Village Idiot Bar & Grill is a good family-friendly restaurant in Revelstoke. During our visit, about half the tables were occupied by families with children, many under the age of 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 and hamburgers.

We ordered perogies and mini-hamburgers for our kids off the starters menu, 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. It was a huge bowl of cinnamon-sugar doughnut bites served with caramel sauce for dipping. It’s a dessert the kids will remember for a long time.. Our giant bowl lasted mere minutes!

4. The Taco Club

We’ve travelled extensively in Mexico with kids, so we always jump at the chance to enjoy good Mexican food when we’re travelling.

Located just down the street from the Modern Bakery, the Taco Club has a large outdoor dining area. The kids menu at 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.