Best Places in North America to Get Your Olympics Fix - Trip Canvas
Editor Pick
Best Places in North America to Get Your Olympics Fix
Published: April 05, 2023
Written byAAA Travel Editor, Katie Broome
Even if you couldn't make it to Paris, there are quite a few cities in North America where you can get your fix of all things Olympic Games. We've assembled a list of places that offer the chance to tour former Olympic venues, learn about the history of the games and even try out unique sports like bobsledding on an Olympic track. If planning an Olympics-themed vacation sounds right up your alley, check out this list of go-for-the-gold inspiration.
Note: Keep in mind that many of the attractions that follow could be closed to the public. Please use this list as inspiration, and consult each facility in advance for current schedules and restrictions.
Canada Olympic Park
Calgary, Alberta
Site of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games
What to see: Constructed for the 1988 Games, WinSport is the winter training and competition facility still in use by Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls. During the ’88 Games, the park hosted ski jumping, freestyle skiing, bobsled and luge events. (You may remember scenes of Canada Olympic Park from the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings,” which portrayed the Olympic debut of the Jamaican bobsled team.)
Modern-day visitors can learn to ski and snowboard in winter and even tackle jumps and half-pipes in the terrain park. In summer, the former Olympic ski jump tower serves as the starting point for a zipline course that’s said to be one of the fastest in North America, reaching speeds up to 75 mph.Near Olympic Park is Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, where you can see torches from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, an interactive ski jump exhibit, a 1964 bobsled and all sorts of memorabilia and medals from celebrated Canadian athletes.
flickr / CC BY
Lake Placid, New York
Site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games
What to see: The Olympic Center in Lake Placid Village is the starting point for all things Olympics in Lake Placid. Originally built for the ice events of the ’32 Games, the center is home to a speed skating oval and the Herb Brooks Arena, where the underdogs of the 1980 U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in the “Miracle On Ice” medal-round game. The center also includes the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum, with photos, videos and memorabilia from athletes.To see the impressive ski jump towers from the ’80 Olympics, head to the Olympic Jumping Complex, a year-round training and event facility. Visitors can watch ski jumpers from a base lodge or from the top of a 120-meter jump tower, accessible via a gondola and elevator ride.Bobsled, luge and skeleton competitions continue to take place at the Olympic Sports Complex, where you’ll also find a biathlon course and more than 50 miles of groomed trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Want to try bobsledding yourself? Visitors over 48 inches tall can take a trip down the bobsled track and reach speeds up to 60 mph.
flickr / CC BY SA
Los Angeles, California
Site of the 1932, 1984 and upcoming 2028 Summer Olympic Games
What to see: In an effort to keep costs down, Los Angeles chose to use many existing venues rather than construct new ones for the ’84 Games. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is an example of this thriftiness—built for the ’32 Olympics as a memorial to those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I, it is now said to be the only venue to have hosted two Olympic Games. (The Memorial Coliseum will soon host a third when the Summer Olympics return to Los Angeles in 2028.) The opening and closing ceremonies as well as many track and field events took place at the Memorial Coliseum during the 1984 Games; visitors today can see the Olympic rings hanging above the entrance.
flickr / GrumpyDwarf93
Montréal, Quebec
Site of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games
What to see: The ’76 Olympics brought the Games to Canada for the first time in history, and the event marks the first time that the Summer Olympics were hosted in Canada. Many venues are located in the appropriately named Olympic Park. Guided tours of Olympic Stadium will let you see where the opening and closing ceremonies were held as well as explore Since 1976, an exhibit about the construction and history of the park. The Olympic Park Sports Centre is open to the public and houses the competition pool where swimmers and divers continue to train.On the southwest corner of the park, a podium under the Olympic rings makes for a good photo op. Other buildings have been converted since the games; the velodrome used for track cycling events is now the futuristic-looking Montréal Biodôme, with various ecosystems inside.
sharply_done / iStockphoto.com
Olympic Valley, California
Site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games
What to see: When the Olympic bid was awarded in 1955, the Squaw Valley ski resort (now called Palisades Tahoe) seemed an unlikely choice for the location of the ’60 Games. At the time, the ski resort had just one chairlift and one lodge. But the success of the games transformed the resort and the surrounding Olympic Valley into a well-known ski destination.Today you’ll find 29 lifts and plenty of family-friendly (and beginner-friendly) ski terrain at Palisades Tahoe, the new name for the resort area. The Aerial Tram provides beautiful aerial views of Lake Tahoe and beyond as it ascends to the 8,200-foot High Camp, where an Olympic Museum displays memorabilia from the 1960 Games. Ski passes include access to the slopes in both the Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows.
The one venue you won’t find around the Olympic Valley? A bobsled track. The 1960 Olympics marked the only time in history that bobsled was left out of the official program.
AAA / Inspector 31
Salt Lake City, Utah
Site of the 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games
What to see: Much of Utah’s Olympic history is actually centered around Park City, the mountain resort town 30 miles (about 40 minutes) east of Salt Lake City. Originally built for the 2002 Winter Games, Utah Olympic Park features six Nordic ski jumps and a sliding track for bobsled, skeleton and luge events. The park hosts world championship events and serves as an official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic year-round training center for athletes. Visitors who aren’t Olympic-caliber athletes can have fun on the alpine slide, a zipline and ropes course, extreme tubing on the ski jumps and a seasonal bobsled experience.The park is home to the Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum, filled with uniforms, equipment and medals donated by athletes.
AAA / Diana Wix
AAA/Diana Beyer
Vancouver, British Columbia
Site of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games
What to see: Around downtown Vancouver, guided behind-the-scenes tours of Rogers Arena will show you where the Vancouver Olympics’ ice hockey finals were held; the 33-foot-tall Olympic Cauldron outside the Vancouver Convention Centre provides a perfect photo op; and the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum displays memorabilia from the games at BC Place, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Just 30 minutes northwest of downtown Vancouver is Cypress Mountain ski area, which hosted the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. Today it’s a popular destination for skiing, snowboarding, tubing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.To see where athletes competed in sliding sports and Nordic events like ski jumping, you’ll need to drive a bit farther to Whistler, B.C. (The scenic 1.75-hour road trip on the is more than worth it for the views alone.) You can ski, toboggan and even try a biathlon in summer at Whistler Olympic Park, or experience a thrilling bobsled ride at the Whistler Sliding Centre on what is said to be the world’s fastest sliding track.
flickr / CC BY
Bonus: U.S. Olympic Training Centers
If you’re interested in seeing where elite athletes train for the Olympics and Paralympics, facilities in the U.S. are open to the public for tours (check online for current schedules). The U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the flagship U.S. Olympic training facility and can accommodate more than 500 athletes and coaches for boxing, cycling, gymnastics, shooting, swimming and other sports. Guided tours cover the gymnasium, Olympic-size swimming pool, indoor shooting center and dining hall.Just 2 miles away is the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, a state-of-the-art facility with interactive exhibits that allow visitors of all abilities to try various sports and discover what it takes to be a Team USA athlete.The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., has state-of-the-art facilities for many summer Olympic and Paralympic sports including rugby, cycling, track and field, tennis, rowing, soccer, BMX racing and more. In-depth tours get you into the strength and conditioning center and the athletes’ dining hall.
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