Grouse Mountains, British Columbia, Canada

The beautiful Grouse Mountains is only a 15 minute drive from downtown Vancouver in the British Columbia, Canada.  

Frozen Lake on the Grouse Mountain

It must be among the few places in the world that one can reach from the sea level of Vancouver to above the forest line and among the snow capped Grouse Mountains to ski in a matter of minutes.

Frozen Lake in foreground with native painting on a wall

Be it day or night a winter playground can be found in the Grouse Mountains. In the winters Grouse Mountains is a popular tourist attraction as lot of locals come here to have a fun time not only during the day but also during the night. Of course lot many people miss the lake as it is slightly off route so I had plenty of time to myself here away from the crowd.

Black lizard on snow

I saw this black lizard making a slow but steady progress towards its destination and the contrast of colour was stark.

View from the Grouse Mountains

The best part is one can view from atop the Grouse mountains forested  green mountains in the foreground and the skyline of the Vancouver city (as is visible in the center foreground in the photo above), the Pacific Ocean with the barges and the distant snow clad mountains as a birds eye-view.

After a trek or ski if you are hungry then there are plenty of good options on the top like the Observatory for fine dining, the Altitudes Bistro for British Columbian cuisine from where I could see the Vancouver city as well as the Pacific Ocean 3700 feet below, Lupins Cafe for casual dining, Grouse Grind Coffee Bar, the Starbucks, among others.

The general admission ticket to reach the Grouse Mountains is $40 (Canadian Dollars) and this ticket is valid for the skyride, trails, skating pond etc.