The wait to climb mother nature’s stairmaster is finally over: the Grouse Grind trail at Grouse Mountain will reopen for hiking this Friday.
The trail’s initial opening hours this season will be from 6:15 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and these hours are managed with the gate that is manually unlocked and locked at the morning and evening of each day. During the fall months, the Grouse Grind opens and closes earlier due to shortening daylight.
Hikers are reminded that the Grouse Grind trail is only to be used for ascents. Descents are prohibited for safety reasons – the high number of hikers ascending the trail and the impact to the trail’s conditions. Descents can only be made using the Grouse Mountain aerial tram for a $10 fee.
For the 2014 season, the Grouse Grind opened on May 17 and closed on December 4, one of the trail’s latest closing dates in recent memory.
About 150,000 people annually complete the trail, which is a 853-metre vertical gain over a distance of 2.9-kilometres to the “peak of Vancouver.” It takes most hikers an average of 90 minutes to complete the gruelling workout.
Although the Grouse Grind ends at Grouse Mountain Resort, the trail is maintained and operated by the Metro Vancouver Regional District.