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Ski Canada - BC

Grouse Mountain Resort Reviews


Grouse Mountain Forecasts
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Visitor reviews for Grouse Mountain Ski Resort

Grouse Mountain Ratings

Overall: 3.5. Based on 66 votes and 46 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.6

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Grouse Mountain is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.4

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Grouse Mountain has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.0

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.6

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 4.6

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Grouse Mountain

Public Transport: 4.8

  • There are no buses or taxis to Grouse Mountain
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.4

  • No places to stay in/near Grouse Mountain
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.0

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 3.1

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Grouse Mountain

Ski in/Ski out: 2.7

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 2.9

  • There are no child care facilities at Grouse Mountain
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 4.1

  • Grouse Mountain relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.0

  • There are no snow groomers at Grouse Mountain
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Grouse Mountain are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.6

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Grouse Mountain is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.1

  • If snow conditions are poor at Grouse Mountain, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 3.4

  • Grouse Mountain usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.4

  • The staff at Grouse Mountain are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Grouse Mountain are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 2.9

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.2

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 3.9

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.8

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.0

  • No intermediate terrain at Grouse Mountain
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.4

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 4.2

  • Not even a kicker at Grouse Mountain
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 1.8

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Grouse Mountain
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.7

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Grouse Mountain has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.9

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.8

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.2

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 2.8

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 3.6

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 4.1

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.7

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.5

  • Overall, Grouse Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.6

  • Overall, Grouse Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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September 10, 2024
Nick
Grouse Mountain has the most expensive gondola, They charged $27 to get on the mountain. Guess what, they will never see me again and I remember years ago when there was no snow on the mountain all other mountains were giving next season for free or with big discount except Grouse. And during the Covid their gondola was packed with people, So I'm done with Grouse Mountain.
January 02, 2022
Howard Kennedy
Grouse has no reservation system for winter 2021/2022; however, proof of vaccination is required & masks are mandatory on the gondola & indoor areas. The snow pack this year is healthy. Visitors can enjoy snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing. Grouse is being cautious with the weather & operational changes are made due to weather. Late openings & early closures should be expected. If you're visiting the North Shore mountains for any reason then please visit the North Shore Rescue site to prepare for your outing. They now offer an interactive video to demonstrate proper decision making because they are experiencing record call volumes from unprepared backcountry users.
March 14, 2021
Howard Kennedy
Covid conditions require reservations resulting in reasonable gondola upload lines & tolerable chair lines once on the mountain. Booking requires some forethought & predictive snow forecasting. Best days are mid-week storm days; the tourists, hikers, snowshoers, & fair-weather skiers stay home. It's all below treeline, so contrast is never an issue & there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. Great tree terrain off the Olympic Chair - short, but sweet, rivalling anything skiable on the North Shore.
February 18, 2019
Nick
Fun mountain and in my opinion, better than Seymour and equal or even better than Cypress. On the beginner chair the lines on weekends are 5 - 10 minutes. But over at the blue and black chair, lines get to over 5 minutes on powder days.
January 24, 2019
Carey Robson
Jan. 24, 2019. Groomed into concrete. Maybe they are trying to save the snow from an early melt.
January 04, 2018
Cryophile
Handy Dandy slopes within range of the city. Gondola access, no snow driving or winter tyres needed. Watch out for busy days, lineups and limited parking. All local mountains have this problem. Mid week is the best; almost a private hill and still groomed snow. Ski or ride from 8:30am morning to 10pm at night. Cheap eats on the mountain. Save your time and pick your days. Whistler is now too expensive for locals. Night skiing is great (watch out for ice if temperature drops) with a spectacular view of the city lights.
January 28, 2017
Josef
Great local ski hill. Excellent value if you buy the Y2-play pass that comes out mid February. Best local steep runs if you ski the Olympic chair. Avoid weekends; go early or late to find good parking. It's only $40 parking for a year (before 9am or after 4pm). My go-to place for the last 15 years. Quick & easy if you live on the North shore. No long car rides to get there. Awesome staff great service and mountain preparations.
January 18, 2017
Caroline L
After purchasing an annual parking pass, within less than a month I realized I would not be using it due to the parking lots being full on numerous occasions. I did not realize how much they must oversell their parking passes. I requested a refund, which I was denied by Nick Sutherby, the Base Operations Supervisor. As he said: "we find that the number of passes sold meets the needs of our guests". I guess I am not a guest, as it certainly did not meet my needs. Customer service is appalling for a tourist spot! We will be writing reviews everywhere. Hope the $40 they gained from me is worth losing at least three customers. And I hope many more read my reviews.
December 19, 2015
ShredJesus
Grouse Mountain is known as the iconic backdrop of Vancouver BC and is a host to many tourist activities ranging from shopping to skiing. Technically, the ski resort is home to some of the most accessible fall line and tree skiing in the Vancouver area. But it can be hard to find amongst the hoards of tourists. With tram-only access, there isn't much of a mountain road to deal with and you get a spectacular view of Vancouver on the way up. Be prepared to pay for parking. If you time it right (check the snow phone for the most up to date snow report) you can be hot-lapping amazing snow 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver. For the best terrain ride the Olympic chair; for park riding, the Screaming Eagle is your friend. Avoid weekends and holidays (or expect to wait) and watch the weather closely as it can fluctuate between freezing and raining which will affect the snow immensely. I've had some of the best snowboarding of my life up Grouse. And it's an amazing place to crew up and ride with a big group of friends. Hell, you can take the city bus there! Accessible amazing terrain. Sweet!
January 18, 2015
Country Grammer
Best park in Vancouver hands down; super fun. Everything is on point. Seen this place go from average to Bear Mtn Park status. Just needs snow. Oh yeah, hardest working park crew.