Grouse Mountain, Vancouver's Most Visited Attraction

The Skyride
Part of North America's largest aerial tramway system, the Grouse Mountain Super Skyride transports 100 passengers to the mountaintop in a little as 4 minutes (though the standard trip is 8 minutes). Leaving from the base of the mountain every 15 minutes from 9am to 10pm, the Skyride takes passengers to the Peak Chalet, roughly 1100m or 3700' above sea level.

The Theatre in the Sky
This 100 seat mountaintop theatre presents Canada's first high definition video "Born to Fly", which includes a bit of history about Grouse Mountain and an overview of Southwestern British Columbia from an aerial view. Born to Fly is a 30 minute presentation starting every hour on the hour from 10am to 9pm daily. On the half hour, from 9:30am to 8:30pm is Discovery Channel's "Animal Tracks: Baby Grizzlies", a story about orphaned grizzly bears, Grinder and Coola, and their journey to their home atop Grouse Mountain.

The Refuge for Endangered Wildlife
This research, education, and conservation centre at Grouse Mountain is home to two orphaned grizzly bears and three grey wolves. The Wildlife Refuge is dedicated to becoming a world leader in preserving both wildlife and flora at risk and offers leading-edge interpretative programs to visitors and thousands of local school children each year.

World Famous Lumberjack Shows
World-champion lumberjacks (i.e. competitors who do those Iron-Jack style contests) put on a great 45 minute show of skill, strength and agility centered on a story of two competing logging camps.

Birds in Motion Demonstrations
This 30-minute presentation takes place in the scenic outdoor amphitheatre overlooking blueberry bowl. Some of the fastest birds in the world are on hand to show off their speed and beauty.

Grizzly Bear Interpretive Sessions
Trained wildlife rangers give regular interpretive talks at the Grizzly Bear habitat.

Guided or Self-Guided Eco-Walks
These 45 minute guided walks take place 4 times a day, or you can follow the trails on your own to see and learn a little about the local indigenous plants and animals.

Scenic Chair Lift Rides
Take a ride on a high speed detachable quad chair lift overlooking the Burrard Inlet and the city of Vancouver. You'll travel down and back up one of Vancouver's best-known ski runs: The Cut, which is visible from most of the Greater Vancouver area.

Mountaintop Sleigh Rides
Enjoy a modern take on a classic Canadian tradition as a bio-fuelled snow cat takes you on sleighride around the mountaintop plateau. This is a big hit with kids! Tours leave every 20 minutes during the day.

Outdoor Mountaintop Ice Skating
Vancouver's only outdoor mountaintop ice skating pond is 8,000 square feet in size. There aren't too many places around to enjoy outdoor ice skating anymore; this one is not to be missed. Ice skate (and helmet) rentals are available.

Snowshoeing
There are 4 nice snowshoeing trails on the mountain, the most challenging of which takes you to the peak of Dam Mountain, just behind Grouse Mountain. There are also regular drop-in snowshoe training sessions for those who want to get a great workout. Personally, I prefer the snowshoe fondue tour myself.

Grouse Mountain is Vancouver's most popular ski area with one of the largest passholder bases in North America. It's Y2Play pass, which has been around for nearly 10 years now and is sold starting in February each year, offers unbeatable value for a season and a half of skiing and snowboarding. Grouse Mountain features 26 runs and keeps 14 of them open for night skiing until 10pm during the winter season. Grouse Mountain's winter trail map and statistics.

Grouse Mountain's terrain parks are sponsored by Quiksilver, international snow, surf and skate retailer, and are made up of two main park zones - the Quiksilver Park (M-L-XL) and the Rookie Park (S-M-L). In the early season, Grouse Mountain also sets up a small Jib Park (S-M) for people to remind their bodies what it's like to hit small jibs - boxes, rails etc. before they kill themselves in the big parks.

Each year, Grouse Mountain hosts the Quiksilver Showdown Over the City, a TTR World Tour pro/am snowboard contest.

Grouse Mountain is home to Vancouver's onlyZipline circuit, that includes 3 lines currently, with plans to open two more in 2009. Word on the street is Grouse is going to have the longest line in North America.

While at Grouse Mountain, visitors can take a Tandem Paragliding ride with an experienced pilot from First Flight Paragliding.

Also, Helijet offers helicopter tours from the top of Grouse Mountain with various tour options to choose from.

The Observatory offers fine dining with a sensational menu, award-winning wine list, elegant ambiance and what is perhaps the finest view in Vancouver. For casual dining, Altitudes Bistro provides an eclectic blend of West Coast cuisine on Vancouver's best outdoor patio (remember, 3,700 feet above the city!). There is also an outdoor BBQ, a stylish quick service restaurant, and coffee bar at the top of the mountain, and a Starbucks location at the bottom of the mountain.

The Observatory and Altitudes Bistro are both Green Table certified and members of the Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise program.

There are two retail stores at Grouse Mountain.

On the main floor of the chalet is the Outfitters store, which carries a full range of technical outdoor and athletic gear.

On the lower floor of the chalet (where you exit from the Theatre In The Sky) is the Spirit Gallery gift shop, where you can find everything from locally-made high end baby fashions to fridge magnets and t-shirts. Don't forget to pick up your "I Survived the Grouse Grind" t-shirt if you hiked up the Grouse Grind.