Grouse Mountain is a popular attraction located just fifteen minutes from downtown Vancouver. The mountain offers educational and outdoor adventures, making it a great destination for a rewarding and memorable experience. Grouse mountain has that name because it has a lot of Grouse.
A lot of people are also moving to the area to be closer to nature. At the same time, it’s only around 25 minute drive to downtown Vancouver.
If you want to look at available real estate in the Grousewoods area you can click the link for Realtor.ca. You can then contact a Realtor.
Upper Capilano
The area where people live near Grouse Mountain is called Upper Capilano or Grousewoods.
You will note in the graph below that Upper Capilano is part of the District of North Vancouver, but not in the City of North Vancouver.
Photo: From the District of North Vancouver website
Upper Capilano is an area located beneath Grouse Mountain in the District Municipality of North Vancouver. The area is defined by its thick stands of mature evergreens and its proximity to the Capilano River and Mosquito Creek. One day I plan to start a petition to re-name Mosquito Creek. There aren’t even that many mosquito’s there in the summer! Just a terrible name…
The Upper Capilano area includes the neighborhoods of Grousewoods, Cleveland, Canyon Heights, Handsworth, Highlands, and Edgemont.
Upper Capilano is known for its quiet roads and its easy access to hiking trails. The area is home to several tourist attractions like Edgemont Village. Edgemont Village is a cute area with lots of coffee stores. BjornBar Bakery is my favorite. There is also a Thiftys.
There are better things to do than Edgemont Village in Upper Capilano, like the Cleveland Dam.
My favorite spot in the entire world is Cleveland Dam. It often gets left off the maps, and very few people know about it. I bring people there that have lived in Vancouver their entire lifes, and they are stunned. It’s a popular filming spot for Hollywood. Check out the video below.
You get to Cleveland Dam via Capilano River Regional Park. Also make sure you check out the Capilano River Hatchery, which you can walk down to. It might sound lame, but it will blow your mind.
You can then walk over to the Tree of Life (Grandfather Capilano) and Ancient Sentinel across a nice bridge.
If you have time while in Upper Capilano, complete the Shinglebolt trail.
Grouse Grind
Outside of snowboarding on Grouse Mountain and going to Lynn Valley, the Grouse Grind is the most popular thing to do in North Vancouver.
The Grouse Grind is almost 3K long and climbs 853 m. The total number of stairs is 2,830. The trail is known for its steepness and challenging terrain, and hikers often time themselves on the trail. The average time to complete the trail is 90 minutes, but some very fit hikers can finish in under 50 minutes. The Grouse Grind is closed by Metro Vancouver during the winter, usually from November to April or May, due to hazardous conditions.
There are other ways to get up Grouse Mountain, but this is the easiest trial. I also enjoy the Skid Road Intersect that you can connect to from the Skyline Trail.
The Grouse Grind was built in the early 1980s by Don McPherson and Phil Severy as a winter conditioning trail for climbers. The trail was not authorized by the city or the owners of Grouse Mountain Resort, who only own the top of the mountain ( the sking part.)
Try different trails and let us know which are your favorite. There are waterfalls on Grouse Mountain too, but they are hidden on the map… Reach out to us if you want us to give you the location.
Photo: Photo from Grouse Mountain Resort
The Ski Mountain
Grouse Mountain is a mountain located in North Vancouver. It’s around 1200M high, and is the site of Grouse Mountain Resort. The resort offers skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing in the winter, and hiking, mountain biking, and paragliding in the summer. The mountain also features a wildlife refuge and a 100-seat mountaintop theatre. Public access to the top of the mountain is provided by a gondola. The Grouse Grind hiking trail is also open for hiking during the spring and summer.
There are lounges for staff, but you can’t rent rooms on Grouse Mountain. We have no idea why they wouldn’t build a small hotel on the resort.
Unlike Cypress and Seymour, there is no road that you can drive up. If you decide you want to live in the Grousewoods area, you can just get a season pass for the cable cars.
What Is The Temperature Like?
Grouse Mountain has cool, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. It’s always around ten degrees colder at the top of the mountain than at the bottom.
The mountain receives an average of 2700 mm of rain per year, with the wettest month being in November. Grouse Mountain is known for its heavy snowfall in the winter, with an average of 870cm of snow falling annually. Despite its elevation, the mountain is moderated by the Pacific Ocean, so winters are not as cold as other parts of Canada.
The coldest month in December.