Grouse Mountain is Vancouver’s most famous mountain; It is the second most-climbed mountain in the world (after Mount Fuji.) An average of 370,000 hikers make it up each year according to Metro Vancouver Regional Parks! Marc and I have now visited this mountain oodles of times; We’ve hiked up almost all of the possible trails. We’ve visited 8 different peaks with trails that start from the Grouse Mountain resort. We’ve watched the lumberjack show, met the owls and raptors, skied down the slopes and I’ve even ridden the zipline. This post is going to be as close as I can get to an ultimate guide to Grouse Mountain, especially for folks that love adventures!

How to Get to Grouse

Public transit: First get to the North Shore via the Seabus from Waterfront Station to the Lonsdale Quay. From there, take Bus #236 directly to the Mountain.
Shuttle: In the summertime there is a free shuttle bus from Canada Place every half hour.
Driving: The base of the skyride is located at the top of Nancy Greene Way. That link will take you to their closest parking lot. We tend to park in lot D, on the right just before you reach the skyride and gondola.

Grouse Mountain – the basics

Cost: The price has gone up in recent years. In 2025 it is $82 to ride the skyride (or the new gondola once it opens.) Annual passes are now $255
How to visit for free: There are several routes up for free if you don’t mind a tough hike. I’ll list them below, but the most famous is the Grouse Grind.
Cost for Download: If you hike up, it costs $20 to ride back down.
Dogs: Dogs are not allowed on the gondola or skyride, so if you want to bring your furry friend, you’ll need to hike in both directions.
When can you visit? Grouse is open year-round, but people visit for different reasons in the summer and wintertime. There are some days in the shoulder season when the skyrides close for maintenance, so check what is open before you go.

Trails up Grouse Mountain

One of the most infamous workout trails in Vancouver is the Grouse Grind. This might be short, but it is designed as a natural stairmaster, so do not underestimate how hard it’ll be. Non-hikers normally take 2+ hours, although you’ll see athletes running past who can run up as quickly as 23 minutes 48 seconds (that’s the fastest time as I write this)

Trail	Distance	How hard is it?	Details
Grouse Grind	1.9 km	Intermediate	Busy. Very well maintained with good solid steps Not open in winter
BCMC	2.6 km	Intermediate	Less busy than GG Well maintained but a bit more rugged Possible in winter
Baden Powell + Larsen	3.75 km	Challenging	Very quiet trail Rugged, rooty trail Possible in winter
Flint and Feather	3.4 km	Very Challenging	Very quiet trail No signposts. Rugged trail with scramble Avoid in winter
Grouse Mountain Highway	12 km	Intermediate	Quiet trail Well maintained logging road

Ziplines

I LOVE the ziplines! This year the zipline was included in the cost of an annual pass, so I made the most of it and gave it a try. If you visit in the summertime, you can zoom down 5 different zip lines. In winter you can still give this a try but it is on 3 zip lines.

 

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I think the biggest zipline (between Dam Mountain and Grouse) has some of the best views on Vancouver’s North Shore.

Grizzly Bears

Who doesn’t love meeting the resident bears, Grinder and Cooler!?  These are two male grizzly bears that were orphaned as babies. Their 5 acres refuge on Grouse Mountain was set up to give them a safe place to live since 2001. These gorgeous bears help educate the public about grizzly bears and conservation efforts.

Here are some close ups of them both.

Birds in Motion

Grouse is also home to birds of prey (Owls, bald eagles and Red-tailed hawks) as part of the refuge’s raptor program. In the summer they put on regular demonstrations to educate visitors about the birds. Even in winter, I have bumped into birds being exercised.

The Lumberjack Show

In the summertime every few hours there is a lumberjack show, close to the bear enclosure. It’s a funny show where two lumberjacks show off their skills (along with explosions and some fun to watch twists.) They encourage the crowd to shout and get involved so it has an atmosphere a bit like a summer panto.

Chairlift

Once you are up on Grouse Mountain, you’ll want to head up to the highest point to see the views! The easiest way to do this is via the chairlift.

Or, if you like to stretch your legs, you can hike up the road to the top. In 2024, I noticed a new trail that goes up the front side of Grouse Mountain. This is a lot nicer than the dusty road that we used to hike up!

Once you’ve made it to the peak of Grouse Mountain, head a little further north for the lovely wilderness lookout. This has fabulous views over to Mount Baker.

Hikes from Grouse Mountain

The area behind the Grouse Mountain resort is a total paradise for hikers. I will list the peaks we have visited with basic statistics about each adventure. There is a trip report for each one, so click through for more details. Please note, this area is not normally open to hikers until late spring (late June, or even July). This is because the area past Little Goat Mountain is considered complex avalanche terrain.

Trail	Rating	Distance	Elevation gain	Time Needed	Extra Details
Top of Grouse Mountain	Easy-ish	2.9 km	290m	1 hour	You can cheat and take a chairlift up here. But there is a nice new trail to hike up. You cannot hike up when ski resort is open.
Thunderbird Ridge	Easy-ish	6 km	270m	1-1.5 hours	Quiet trail that leads to incredible views. Fun year round (with the right equipment)
Dam Mountain	Intermediate	4.5 km – 5 km	240m	1-1.5 hours	Steep but fun trail. Fun year round  (with the right equipment)
Little Goat Mountain	Intermediate	5.6 km	300m	2-3 hours	Avoid in winter and spring. Same as Dam Mountain, just keep going slightly further to the next peak.
Goat Mountain	Intermediate/ hard	7.5 km	370m	3+ hours	My favourite hike for effort to view ratio. Easy-ish to follow and gorgeous.
Goat Ridge	Intermediate/ hard	13 km	690m	3-4 hours	Quiet trail if you have time to go beyond Goat Mountain.
Crown Mountain	Very Challenging	10km	800m	6-8 hours	Popular but tough trail. Some scrambling with exposure. Fabulous views.
Beauty Peak	Very Challenging	13km	1050m	6-8 hours	Less well known and very tough trail (it’s in the watershed). I think this has the best view of Vancouver.

Snowshoeing from Grouse Mountain

There are three main routes for snowshoeing on Grouse Mountain.

Trail	Rating	Distance	Elevation gain	Time Needed	Extra Details
Grouse Light Walk	Very Easy	1-1.5 km	20m	30-40 min	Super short trail with festive lights and music
Snowshoe Grind	Moderate	4.5-5 km	250m	1-1.5 hours	Steep but fun trail up Dam Mountain
Thunderbird Ridge	Moderate	6 km	270m	2-3 hours	Quiet trail with spectacular views of Vancouver
Snowshoe Grind plus Thunderbird Ridge	Moderate	6.3 km	290m	3+ hours	I like to pair the snowshoe grind with Thunderbird ridge to both trails at once.

Skiing on Grouse Mountain

We’ve been skiing on Grouse Mountain a few times now. I wrote about it the first time, but since then I have been back to ski more of the terrain. I highly recommend visiting on weekdays as it is not busy at all. The views down to Vancouver are fabulous as you ski.

Food Options

There are quite a few options for food on Grouse Mountain. There is a Starbucks at the base of the Grouse Grind and a cafe at the top. For cheap (ish) eats there is a cafeteria. There are two pub-like restaurants; Altitudes Bistro in the main lodge, and the Rusty Rail which is a BBQ beer garden that is open in the summertime. Lastly, there is a posh restaurant called the Observatory.

Shoulder Season

As you can probably tell, most people visit Grouse in the middle of winter to ski, or in the middle of summer for the hiking trails and various shows. However if you visit Vancouver in springtime, it is still worth heading up Grouse. You’ll find massive snow walls leading up to the bear enclosure.

Will you see Grouse?

You might! There are a few Grouse that live on Grouse. I normally seem to meet them beyond the grind, close to the peak. The first time I saw some it was a mother with her chicks (cheepers!) In the springtime, you’re likely to hear the low whump-like noise of the male grouse. Sometimes they’ll jump out of the bushes to scare you. Still, even if you can’t see the Grouse, you’ll be able to meet the bears.

Once you are ready to descend, you can either take the new gondola, the sky ride or hike down the BCMC (don’t hike down the Grind.)

As you can probably see, I am a big fan of Grouse Mountain. This is partly because the various steep trails up (while not actually enjoyable) are really great for strengthening your legs! Once you’ve made it up above the clouds, you can either explore further (via snowshoes in winter, or hiking in summer.) Or, make the most of all the fun activities up above Vancouver.

Have you been up Grouse? Which part did you like best, or do you avoid the crowds and head straight into the beautiful back country?