This year, the Winter Games are kicking off in Vancouver, giving Canada a chance to showcase its glorious slopes and friendly citizenry. But that doesn't mean Whistler is the only Olympic-powered playground.

As it turns out, both the U.S. and Canada are packed with professional-grade terrain just ripe for the carving. So even if you can't make it out to the 2010 festivities, you can still bundle up and trace the tracks of the Olympic skiers, figure skaters, curlers, bobsledders, and other athletes that starred in Winter Games past.

Lake Placid, New York
1932, 1980
Vintage skiier.

You know the snow's divine when they choose the same location twice. Lake Placid had the honor of being the site of both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games, and was also the site of the Miracle on Ice hockey game, where a ragtag U.S. team bested the long-standing U.S.S.R. champs. Today, visitors can skate the Olympic Center rink where that famous win occurred, or watch future Olympic competitors practice their jumps at the intensely steep Olympic Jumping Complex.

Squaw Valley, California
1960
Squaw Valley.

California might call up images of sun-drenched beaches, but the Golden State is as rich in snow as it is in sand. That's why it was no surprise when the Olympic committee appointed Lake Tahoe's Squaw Valley as the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games--the first Winter Olympics to be televised live. The energy of the event was enough to transform what was formerly a one-lift mountain into a site worthy of international attention. This snow-packed resort now spans six peaks and is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 1960 games.

Calgary, Canada
1988
Eddie the Eagle executes a jump.

With amazing resorts like Banff and Whistler under its big northern belt, I assumed that Canada would've been a natural first pick for the Winter Olympic Games. But it wasn't until 1988--more than sixty years after the first Winter Olympics--that Canada finally got to strut its snowy stuff. Calgary served as the host for the year's festivities, and the resulting Canada Olympic Park remains a popular training facility for Olympic athletes and locals alike. There's even an exact replica of the half-pipe that will be in use at the 2010 Games. You can't get much closer than that!

Salt Lake City, Utah
2002
The National Guard's bobsled team.

The most recent U.S. site to host the Winter Olympics was Salt Lake City in 2002. This year marked the return of Skeleton as a medal sport and the debut of the Women's Bobsled Event. Now, eight years later, this is one of the best places you can go to experience an Olympic-style vacation. While most resorts focus on skiing and snowboarding, the Utah Olympic Park will also set you up on 80mph bobsled rides, teach you to luge, or even plummet head-first down the 2002 Olympic skeleton track.

Reading through all this Olympic history has got me pretty revved up for the upcoming games. Anyone else planning to watch this year?

 

Picture credits, from top to bottom: Vintage skier from SkiMuseum.org; Squaw Valley by Jennifer-Sierra Angel; Army National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program bobsled team at start of U.S. World Cup Team Trials by The National Guard; Eddie the Eagle from Sports Legends Revealed.