Olympic Venues in Whistler

New venues and spruced up stalwarts will welcome the bulk of the outdoor events, including downhill skiing, bobsledding, cross-country, and more.

Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler: During the Games, athletes will be housed in a mix of apartments, town houses, and hostels in a purpose-built neighborhood in the Cheakamus Valley, a few miles south of Whistler Village near the resort's southern entrance. All Whistler competition venues are less than a 30-minute drive away.

Whistler Creekside: Whistler's oldest (and now completely updated and improved) section will host the Games' alpine skiing events. Men's events will be held on the Dave Murray Downhill, while women's events and Paralympic alpine skiing will take place on Franz's Run. Whistler Creekside is located about 3 miles southwest of Whistler Village on the Sea to Sky Hwy (www.whistlerblackcomb.com)

Whistler Olympic Celebration Plaza: This new plaza will be the site of nightly Victory Ceremonies (aka medal ceremonies) during the Olympics and will also host the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games. Located along the Stroll in Village North, just off Blackcomb Way, north of the Whistler Brewhouse.

Whistler Olympic Park/Whistler Paralympic Park: The Olympic and Paralympic biathlon and cross-country ski events and the Olympic Nordic combined and men's individual and team ski jumping events will be held in a compact, 1-sq.-km area that's home to three separate stadiums and 15km (9 miles) of cross-country and biathlon trails. Located off the Callaghan Valley access road, 16km (10 miles) southwest of Whistler Village. (tel. 877/764-2455; www.whistlerolympicpark.com)

Whistler Sliding Center: Bobsled, luge, and skeleton competitions will take place on Blackcomb Mountain, at a new track featuring the world's highest vertical drop (152m/499 ft.). (Glacier Lane, near the Tube Park, Blackcomb Mountain; tel. 888/972-7533; www.whistlerslidingcentre.com)