Grouse Grind Trail opens June 17

The Grouse Grind Trail will officially open on Saturday, June 17 and will be open 6:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily.

Hikers should be prepared as it is an extremely steep ascent that begins at the 300-metre elevation and climbs to 1,100 metres over a distance of approximately 2.9 kilometres. Subscribe to Metro Vancouver’s Grouse Grind mailing list to receive updates on changes to hours of operation.

An unusually cold and wet 2017 winter brought a hefty snowpack to the North Shore mountains, which resulted in the Grouse Grind being covered in snow and ice until the May long weekend. Following the thaw, Metro Vancouver crews performed necessary trail safety maintenance, including rock scaling, danger tree removal, step repair and safety netting replacement.

“We are delighted to open the Grouse Grind for the season, as the flagship trail of our newest Regional Park,” said Heather Deal, Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Regional Parks Committee. “A big thank you to all the hikers who respected the trail maintenance closure, which allowed our crews to work with few interruptions.”

In April, Metro Vancouver announced the creation of a new park, which will be called Grouse Mountain Regional Park, as the 24th regional park in its portfolio. The new park covers 75 hectares (185 acres) of mature forest and protects important wildlife habitat for a variety of species, including black bear, cougar, barred owl, black-tailed deer and northern red-legged frog.

In addition to the Grouse Grind, the park includes the BC Mountaineering Club Trail and a portion of the Baden-Powell Trail. The park is adjacent to the privately-owned Grouse Mountain Resorts.

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks receive more than 11 million visits per year. As part of the Regional Parks’ 50th Anniversary, Metro Vancouver hopes to draw an additional 250,000 people to its parks, park reserves, greenways and ecological conservancy areas throughout 2017. Residents are encouraged to celebrate this milestone by discovering a new trail, learning about wildlife or attending one of the many outdoor events taking place. More information about the Regional Parks’ 50th Anniversary can be found at www.metrovancouver.org (search ‘celebrate parks’).