Grouse Mountain has replaced the cabins of the Red Skyride for the first time in 50 years
After half a century of carrying visitors up Grouse Mountain Resort, the Red Skyride’s original pair of cabins have been replaced.
The resort on Metro Vancouver’s North Shore mountains is introducing two brand-new cabins, featuring the latest modern design standards for an aerial tram cabin.
On-site installation work was highly apparent last week, with the old cabins being detached from the cables and swapped out for the new cabins at the base terminal at the parking lot. This replacement is the latest major upgrade project at Grouse Mountain Resort, coinciding with the ski hill attraction’s 100th anniversary.
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Both new cabins feature larger windows and fold-out seating, marking the first full cabin replacement since the Red Skyride aerial tramway opened in 1976. Passengers can expect wider views of Vancouver, the ocean, and surrounding mountains through larger panoramic windows. Inside, fold-out benches are intended to improve comfort and accessibility during the journey.
Installation work for the brand-new cabins for the Red Skyride of Grouse Mountain Resort, as seen on Sept. 29, 2026. (Doppelmayr Canada)
Installation work for the brand-new cabins for the Red Skyride of Grouse Mountain Resort, as seen on Sept. 29, 2026. (Doppelmayr Canada)
Swiss gondola manufacturer CWA, an affiliate of the Doppelmayr Group, built the new pair of cabins. The company also manufactured the original cabins.
However, the new cabins will carry slightly fewer people. Each cabin will accommodate up to 95 guests, compared with the original cabins’ capacity of 100 passengers per vehicle.
“The Red Skyride has been an iconic part of the Grouse Mountain experience for 50 years, and as we celebrate our centennial, we’re excited to introduce a new generation of tram cabins to carry guests into our next 100 years,” Nick Dean, president of Grouse Mountain Resort, told Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry.
“We’re always looking for ways to enhance the guest experience, and these new cabins introduce thoughtful improvements while preserving the character and incredible views that make the Red Skyride so special.”
Installation work for the brand-new cabins for the Red Skyride of Grouse Mountain Resort, as seen on Sept. 29, 2026. (Doppelmayr Canada)
The original cabins could still have a future at the resort. Grouse Mountain says its goal is to creatively repurpose them for a new use on the mountain, although details of their potential new uses have yet to be released.
A precise reopening date for the Red Skyride with its new cabins has not yet been announced. The resort says it will share that date shortly. This replacement work is occurring just weeks ahead of the expected start of the winter ski season, which typically begins in early December each year, depending on accumulated snowfall levels.
For decades, the Red Skyride and its original cabins were the primary way for visitors to travel up and down the mountain. Its original trams also became a defining symbol of the resort, featured prominently in its marketing materials and social media photos by visitors.
For one season of the Amazing Race Australia, competitors rode on the roof of the cabin during a high-altitude challenge. This led to the resort’s offering of the public Skyride Surf Adventure, which allows guests to stand on an open-air rooftop platform of a cabin during an ascent. As well, as part of the Olympic Torch Relay, an Olympic torchbearer carried the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Flame to the top of the mountain by riding on the rooftop of a cabin.
The original now-retired cabins for the Red Skyride aerial tram of Grouse Mountain Resort. (Justek16/Shuttertsock)
The original now-retired cabins for the Red Skyride aerial tram of Grouse Mountain Resort. (Grouse Mountain Resort)
The original now-retired cabins for the Red Skyride aerial tram of Grouse Mountain Resort. (Lissandra Melo/ Shutterstock)
The reinvestment in the Red Skyride also comes soon after the December 2024 opening of the resort’s brand-new Blue Grouse Gondola — providing a new additional way to travel between the parking lot and mountaintop, drastically improving the resort’s operational capacity and redundancy. Complementing the Red Skyride, the new gondola boasts a capacity for 1,000 passengers per hour on its 27 enclosed gondola cars, each with a capacity to hold up to eight passengers.
The Blue Grouse Gondola replaced the previous 1966-built Blue Skyride — Grouse Mountain Resort’s original aerial tramway — which had a far lower capacity than the new gondola or the Red Skyride. In recent decades, prior to its complete decommissioning, it saw very limited use. Similarly, its two aerial tram cabins have been retained for potential creative reuse.
Other major investments made at the resort recently focused on significantly expanding its summertime offerings, creating a year-round resort that goes far beyond wintertime skiing and snowboarding. This includes a major new mountain bike park, which opened last year, and a new permanently-installed, gravity-fed coaster ride attraction, which opened in May 2026. The gravity coaster has a track length of 1,434 metres (4,700 ft.) on a downhill descent of 919 metres (3,015 ft.) and a vertical drop of 91 metres (298.5 ft.).
Opening day of the Blue Grouse Gondola at Grouse Mountain Resort on Dec. 12, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Opening day of the Blue Grouse Gondola at Grouse Mountain Resort on Dec. 12, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Opening day of the Blue Grouse Gondola at Grouse Mountain Resort on Dec. 12, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Opening day of the Blue Grouse Gondola at Grouse Mountain Resort on Dec. 12, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)