While British Columbia boasts numerous exceptional snow sports destinations, SilverStar has remained somewhat under the radar.

Deer Valley offers beginner-friendly terrain, limits on skier numbers, uncompromising customer service and a world-class ski school.

Tucked into northern California’s scenic Lake Tahoe region, Northstar California, Kirkwood, and Heavenly rival some of the top snow sports destinations in B.C. and Alberta.

The original and only Disney park designed by Walt Disney himself, this enduring symbol of the American imagination beside a freeway in Anaheim, California, remains a bucket list item for many Canadian families contemplating a midwinter getaway.

For every custom-tailored Eleven Experience adventure, there is a corresponding intimate, uber-luxe lodge, chalet, or private boat where guests stay in pampered comfort.

The setting may recall the family fortress in the Godfather: Part II, but the only thing criminal about the Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe—is having to check out.

In Tuscany, the pursuit of mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) has been popular since the Etruscans first discovered the pleasures of communal bathing in the region’s many natural thermal spas.

Krampus

According to alpine folklore here, good St. Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with presents while his demonic counterparts—called Krampus—punish miscreants.

For solitude seekers, the island’s Robinson Crusoe siren call is irresistible.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: A group of men in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, some of whom used to be poachers, now spearhead the Scorpions, an NGO-funded anti-poaching squad.