What is the Grouse Grind?
The Grouse Grind is a hiking trail in Vancouver, Canada. It is roughly 2.9km (1.8mi) in length and gains approximately 850m (2800ft) in elevation over that short distance. The trail begins at the base of Grouse Mountain - Vancouver's most popular attraction with over 1.1M visitors annually - and ends at the mountaintop chalet, some 1,100m (3,700ft) above the West Coast's largest harbour: the Burrard Inlet.
The Grouse Grind is gruelling, but it is quite suited to Vancouver's active, outdoorsy lifestyle. No matter how many people have to be plucked off the trail each year by North Shore Rescue, visitors to the area continue to be enticed by the thrill of this "must-do" Vancouver experience.
Grouse Mountain's Grouse Grind Page
The Grouse Grind is gruelling, but it is quite suited to Vancouver's active, outdoorsy lifestyle. No matter how many people have to be plucked off the trail each year by North Shore Rescue, visitors to the area continue to be enticed by the thrill of this "must-do" Vancouver experience.
Grouse Mountain's Grouse Grind Page
Grind Timer Program
Grouse Mountain offers a really groovy product called the Grind Timer. You buy a Grind Timer Card that's good for a year and you can use it to time yourself hiking the Grouse Grind. You swipe the card at the bottom and the top of the trail and then your time is recorded and displayed in the chalet. The info is also gathered and shown online on grousemountain.com. You can see how you rank against other hikers in your age and gender category as well as find out the fastest season times and other great stats.
Grind Timer Program
Grind Timer Program
Grouse Grind Hours of Operations
The Grouse Grind hours of operations fluctuate depending on daylight hours and trail conditions. It usually closes completely for the winter. You can get up-to-date hours of operations info at the Metro Vancouver website.
The Grouse Grind is on Facebook
Find other nutbars (er, I should say... like-minded individuals)
The best place to find other Grouse Grinders, all in one spot (other than on the trail, of course), is Facebook. Grouse Mountain updates this with grind-specific info like trail closures, changes of hours of operations or upcoming events. You can also just chat with other Grinders and find out what people are doing to improve their grind time or arrange for meet-ups etc.Grouse Grind Facebook Page
The history of the Grouse Grind
This is stolen from Grouse Mountain, but I don't think they'll mind if you visit their site from here
Hikers were first recorded on Grouse Mountain back in 1894 when a hunting party shot a blue grouse bird and named the mountain in the bird's honour. It wasn't until the 1920's and early 30's, however, that Grouse Mountain saw the first big wave of adventurous hikers. Several thousand people flocked to the face of the mountain each year looking reach the cabins located in the Grouse Mountain village, at the foot of what is now known as The Cut ski run.The Grouse Grind, as we know it today, was first developed in 1981 by mountaineers looking for a challenging, convenient aerobic workout to sustain them for their longer hikes. They began by following the existing British Columbia Mountaineering Club trail, which still exists today, and offers a slightly less strenuous climb. People soon wanted a steeper route and about a quarter of the way up began using well-worn animal paths as their guide. The trail route was completed in the winter of 1983.
The Grouse Grind Today
Again, stolen. Yep, ctrl+c. ctrl+v.
The revival began in the early 90s, when the trail was appropriately named the Grouse Grind in conjunction with the first ever Grouse Grind Mountain Run, now Western Canada's premiere trail challenge. Often referred to as "Mother Nature's Stairmaster," the trail has become part of the fabric of Vancouver. More than 100-thousand hikers a year take on the challenge of the rugged terrain and steep climb, up an approximate 56 per cent slope (30°), which starts at the Valley Station of Grouse Mountain and finishes at the Peak's plateau.
In 1996, the original cast of builders, along with a number of enthusiasts from the B.C. Federation of Mountaineering Club and Grouse Mountain, rebuilt the trail ensuring optimum safety and enjoyment for the high volume of hikers while maintaining the highest level of environmental protection from erosion.
In 1996, the original cast of builders, along with a number of enthusiasts from the B.C. Federation of Mountaineering Club and Grouse Mountain, rebuilt the trail ensuring optimum safety and enjoyment for the high volume of hikers while maintaining the highest level of environmental protection from erosion.
What people are saying...
- Ski shorts: VIMFF continues; doing the Grouse Grind on snowshoes
- Grinding at Grouse... on Snowshoes Hikers throughout the Lower Mainland have tackled the infamous Grouse Grind ? ?Mother Nature's StairMaster? as it's been described. But did you know there is a winter equivalent that's not quite as physically ...
- Turn Mount Benson into Nanaimo tourist draw
- Something similar to the Grouse Grind on Grouse Mountain, which is world-renowned. If possible, there could be an observation room, restaurant service or even gift shops at the top for people to enjoy the fantastic ocean and mountain views, ...
- Health notes
- 25 at 10 am Snowshoers of all ages and abilities are welcome to try the winter alternative to the Grouse Grind. The 5.1-kilometre course begins at the chalet and journeys to Dam Mountain on a challenging alpine trail before looping back to the chalet.
- Hiking trail task force releases draft report
- "Whistler has no equivalent to the Grouse Grind in North Vancouver or the Stawamus Chief in Squamish," reads the report. "The Chief Trail saw an average of 1400 hikers per day on summer weekends, with a peak of 2500 on one long weekend day.
The Annual Grouse Grind Mountain Run
The Grouse Grind Mountain run is now in it's 18th year (2008). For those for whom simply hiking up the Grouse Grind is not enough of a challenge, they can race up it with all the other crazies. This race has drawn up to 1000 participants and is considered to be the summer hiking season wrap-up event.People can race solo or join a team (Open men, open women, co-ed and corporate categories). There's also an elite category of runners who can compete for a combined $5,000 cash purse.
The Grouse Grind Mountain Run is a fundraiser for the Lung Association of British Columbia.
For more event info, visit ggmr.ca.
Grouse Grind News
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Done the Grind? Tell us about it...
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desdemony
Apr 8, 2011 @ 10:24 am | delete
- Ooh I've done it! I wasn't in good shape then... ;) You can read the story on my lense Hiking for Beginners too. Anybody care to share their times?
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xtnshun
Jul 3, 2008 @ 9:22 am | delete
- This sounds wonderful. I doubt I'd ever visit, but it would be nice to!
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