Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre

The centre stands on the shared territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the Líl̓wat Nation, and the two Nations built it together under a protocol agreement they signed in 2001. A charitable society runs it on behalf of both. Squamish people speak Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and the Líl̓wat speak Ucwalmícwts. Both languages use a 7 for a glottal stop, the centre explains, so Spo7ez sounds like spo, then a short pause before ez.

Cultural Ambassadors welcome you with a song and walk you through the Great Hall and the galleries. The permanent exhibit is called What We Treasure, and it fills the Great Hall and Gallery One with baskets, blankets, canoes, spindle whorls, house posts, drums and regalia. Master carver Ray Natraoro carved the 40-foot Squamish hunting canoe in the Great Hall from a single cedar, and each year it leaves the exhibition for an ocean journey to honour its spirit. Ten Squamish Nation weavers made the great wool blankets, and their techniques come from the blankets a delegation of BC Chiefs wore to meet King Edward VII in London in 1906.

The Thunderbird Café sells bannock and Indigenous-inspired lunches, and the gift shop carries work by local Indigenous artists. Both sit in the admission-free lower level, and from 6 November 2026 both move to pop-ups while that floor is refreshed. Parking on site is limited, so use the two-hour street parking on Blackcomb Way or the Day Lots on Lorimer Road.

From Vancouver, Epic Rides coaches run from Burrard Station to Whistler's Gateway Loop in 1 hour 45 minutes. The centre sits in the Upper Village at 4584 Blackcomb Way, about 1.2 km on foot from the loop through the village.