Visitor reviews for Grouse Mountain Ski Resort

Grouse Mountain Ratings

Overall: 3.6. Based on 52 votes and 45 reviews. Vote

Snowsure: 3.5

(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Grouse Mountain is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Variety of pistes: 3.5

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Grouse Mountain has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Off-piste: 3.0

(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.

Scenery: 4.6

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Access: 4.6

(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Grouse Mountain.

Public Transport: 4.8

(1) There are no buses or taxis to Grouse Mountain, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Accommodation: 3.4

(1) No places to stay in/near Grouse Mountain, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 3.0

(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.

Luxury Hotels: 3.2

(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Grouse Mountain.

Ski in/Ski out: 2.7

(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.

Childcare: 2.9

(1) There are no child care facilities at Grouse Mountain, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowmaking: 4.1

(1) Grouse Mountain relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 4.1

(1) There are no snow groomers at Grouse Mountain, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Grouse Mountain are groomed daily.

Shelter: 3.7

(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Grouse Mountain is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 3.0

(1) If snow conditions are poor at Grouse Mountain, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.

Regional rating: 3.4

(1) Grouse Mountain usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.

Lift Staff: 4.5

(1) The staff at Grouse Mountain are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Grouse Mountain are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.

Crowds/Queues: 2.9

(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.

Ski Schools: 4.2

(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.

Hire and Repairs: 3.9

(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.

Beginners: 3.8

(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.

Intermediates: 4.0

(1) No intermediate terrain at Grouse Mountain, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 3.5

(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.

Snow Park: 4.2

(1) Not even a kicker at Grouse Mountain, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Cross-country: 1.9

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Grouse Mountain, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 1.6

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Grouse Mountain has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 3.9

(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.

Eating: 3.8

(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.

Apres-Ski: 3.5

(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.

Other Sports: 2.8

(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.

Entertainment: 3.6

(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.

Winter Walks: 4.1

(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.

Ski Pass Value: 3.7

(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.

Value (National): 3.5

(1) Overall, Grouse Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.

Value (Global): 3.7

(1) Overall, Grouse Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

Show all 35 ratings

October 31, 2009
Stu V from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Grouse (Grouse Mountain) holds a special place for me, it was the 1st "real mountain" that my wife and I snowboarded on, as we stopped at Vancouver on our way to Whistler. We liked it so much we returned there from the UK a couple of years later(in the depths of winter) and got married there. The runs are short but enjoyable, the staff are great and the views down to Vancouver are amazing (if the fog stays away). If you're going to Whistler, tack on a couple of days at Vancouver (great city), go up Grouse (Grouse Mountain), ski or board all day, have a meal and watch the sun set on Vancouver, then go back out and ride again by floodlight till 10pm. Perfect!
March 04, 2009
Thomas from Ski Switzerland Switzerland
What a great mountain and so close to down town Vancouver. Grouse Mountain has an incredible view with more snow depth than Whistler. There are great runs for beginners to experts at Grouse Mountain but they are short. Lot of activities to do. Awesome.
January 14, 2009
Armada skier from Ski Canada Canada
Grouse Mountain is a good warm-up for Whistler, that saying it will not be a "Whistler" experience. The terrain is modest, with a variety of difficulties and the terrain parks are above average. One thing Grouse cannot handle is lineups. They recently put in 2 somewhat useless chairs to try and cut down on the lines but it has been to no avail. On a sunny Sunday, or just Sunday for that matter, you can be expecting an hour long gondola line just to get up with 20-60 minute chairlift lineups. It's rediculous. For all travellers heading to Grouse, I recommend coming mid week, where the conditions are usually the best and lines are non-existent. Happy skiing.
November 22, 2008
Habib Abtar from Ski Afghanistan Afghanistan
Hello, I recently visited your resort and had an amazing time. I was having trouble finding my way in the fog, when a man in a red vest with a cross came out of nowhere and helped me find my way. He was not a spirit, just a ski patroller but he was very kind and helpful. I think his name was Brad K or something close. What a great hill and great staff. Thanks a lot.
January 28, 2006
Derek from Ski Canada Canada
Grouse Mountain is the most scenic mountain resort in the world. This mountain is excellent for everybody. Beginners will enjoy Grouse's nice wide scenic runs with a spectacular view of the city of Vancouver while expert skiers will enjoy some of the nicest terrain of any double black diamond run. Grouse has many other facilities which include great snow shoe trails that lead you to the top of Dam Mountain. Also, it has an 8000 sq feet ice pond with skate rentals. Grouse is an all year round mountain as there is a lot happening up the mountain in the Summer as well.