Great views on the ride up. Left spring almost summer weather on the waterfront and arrived in winter on a snow covered mountain half an hour later. Lots of activities available for winter sport enthusiasts and a sleigh ride, interesting movie and decent souvenir shopping for the others.
We took the free bus from the Canada Centre. It is a good idea to purchase a ticket that includes the chair lift - it is cheaper to buy it before you get on the bus than when you arrive on the mountain. It also means you skip the queue at the gondola.
The bears were visible, but it is a good idea to get a position near the water well before the scheduled time of feeding, otherwise you may find it difficult to take photographs.
The bird show was very good - again, get there early if you want a seat.
Be prepared for a lot of walking and if it is a hot day you might want to take an umbrella for shade.
This was our first stop of the day so we were there early. It was better that we did, as when we left it was much busier and harder to get good photos. There were camps there when we started but as we moved on, they dispersed to do their own activities. The facilities were nice and kept clean. The staff were friendly and answered any questions we had. The Lumberjack show was cute and funny and informative at the same time. There is a working wind turbine at the top that you can go up and see unobstucted views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, we did not do this as it was an extra cost and my daughter is a little bit afraid of heights. You could also parachute off the mountain (for a cost). The views were really stunning and the resident bears were playful (in their huge enclosure, of course). They tell the story of how they resuced the two orphaned cubs at 5 months old and now they are 15 years old. Worth the stop
We brought our 3 teenage boys to the park for a little outdoor activity, and were impressed with how well it's run. You can see a real live wolf and two real live grizzlies up close, as well as a pretty impressive show involving trained hawks. We liked riding the gondola up and hiking around at the top of the mountain, and we thought the lunch at the cafe was tasty and well-priced, though it was rather meat-oriented.
We didn't pay the extra admission fee to get to the very top, and we didn't pay for the zip line attraction, and we didn't stay for the lumberjack show, but we still enjoyed it and thought there was plenty to see.
Coming back into town on a weekend afternoon was a study in aggravation, though. One scrawny little bridge choked with nearly motionless traffic. It was the only part of our visit to Vancouver where we thought California actually came out ahead in comparison.
We spent one day visiting Grouse Mountain, the Peak of Vancouver and it has been a great time walking and visiting the wildlife and watching the bears. Furthermore we visited the Eye of the Wind a great piece of Italian Technology at the top of the mountain. It is an huge eolic generator that is also a 360 ° view point over Vancouver bay and the mountains. If you will go to Vancouver this is a resort you have to visit!!!
