Exploring Grouse Mountain near Vancouver, B.C.

by Keith and Heather Nicol    

The View of Vancouver from the top of Grouse

      On our recent trip to Vancouver we decided to head up to Grouse to try the famous “Grouse  Grind”. While Heather took the aerial tram to the top I decided to hike the popular Grouse Grind with our daughter Kristie. This hike starts near the base of Grouse Mountain and gains about 850 meters in 3 km which makes for a very steep climb. Over 150,000 people do the uphill trek each year and then most take the tram down to the bottom. Many people use the “Grind” as a fitness routine and we were passed by many people dressed light trail running gear and some were literally flying up the mountain. The hike has been done in an amazing 25 minutes but we took a more leisurely 1 hour and 20 minutes. The hike is mostly through the tall trees so you get few views except at the top when you reach the Grouse Mountain Peak Chalet which houses a gift store, restaurant, movie theatre and has other visitor services. Grouse Mountain has many other activities to do once you reach the top but by the time we hiked up it had started to rain so we missed out on their large range of outdoor offerings. That will have to wait until our next visit when we hope to see the grizzly bears and the raptor show. You can also ride a chairlift, go on a zipline, take in a lumberjack show and even go to the top of large wind turbine which has been built at the top of Grouse Mountain.  For more information on Grouse Mountain check out: https://www.grousemountain.com/

Kristie hiking up the "Grouse Grind"

Keith taking the final steps to the Peak Chalet at the top of Grouse