Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MOTHER NATURE'S STAIRMASTER
If you're finding your vacation a little too relaxing, head over to North Vancouver
and join the perspiring throng snaking - almost vertically - up the
Grouse Grind
trail. The entrance is near the parking lot, across the street from where slightly
more sane Grouse Mountain visitors pile into the Skyride gondola and trundle up
to the summit without breaking a sweat.
Around 3km in total, this steep, rock-studded forest trek will likely have your
joints screaming for mercy within 15 minutes as you focus on the feet of the per-
son in front of you. Most people take around an hour to reach the top, where they
collapse like fish gasping on the rocks. If you're feeling energetic, you might want
to try and beat the record of Vancouverite Sebastian Albrecht, who nailed the trail
14 times in one day in 2010.
Things to keep in mind if you're planning to join the 110,000 who hike the Grind
every year: take a bottle of water, dress in thin layers so you can strip down, and
bring $10 with you: the trail is one way, so when you reach the summit you have
to take the Skyride back down - your consolation is that you get to enjoy the
summit's many attractions for free in exchange for your exploding calf muscles.
West Vancouver
CYPRESS PROVINCIAL PARK
OUTDOORS
OFFLINE MAP
(
www.bcparks.ca
;
Cypress Bowl Rd; dawn-dusk)
Around 8km north of West Van via Hwy
99, Cypress offers great summertime hikes, including the Baden-Powell, Yew Lake and
Howe Sound Crest trails, which plunge through forests of cedar, yellow cypress and
Douglas fir, and wind past little lakes and alpine meadows. It's also a popular area for
mountain bikers, and Cypress becomes a snowy playground in winter.
If you're driving from downtown Vancouver, cross the Lions Gate Bridge to the Up-
per Levels Hwy via Taylor Way in West Vancouver. Then, follow the signs to the park
entrance.
LIGHTHOUSE PARK
PARK
OFFLINE MAP
(
www.lighthousepark.ca
;
cnr Beacon Lane & Marine Dr; dawn-dusk; 250)
Some of the re-
gion's oldest trees live within this accessible 75-hectare park, including a rare stand of
