Winter
Dec – FebGrouse opens for skiing as soon as there's enough snow. In December there's Peak of Christmas up top and Canyon Lights at Capilano, and the sauna earns its spot on the dark evenings.
The guide
Here’s where we’dsend a friend.
Our guide to the North Shore starts with the walks from the house and works outwards. The first five chapters are places we go ourselves.
In this guide
Drive times are from our driveway, and walking times are at an easy pace. The chapters start close to home and get further away as you go.
01Out the front door
You can walk to the river from the house.
Cleveland Dam is about a sixteen-minute walk from our door. From the top you look up Capilano Lake to the Lions, and the spillway drops straight into the canyon below. There are picnic tables near the dam if you want to bring lunch.
From the dam it's another fifteen minutes down to the Capilano River Hatchery. It opened in 1971 to help the salmon, and most falls you can watch them work their way up the fish ladder. The building is closed for construction for now, but the trails around it are open, and they carry on along the river and over a few bridges for as long as you feel like walking.
02Up the mountain
Grouse Mountain is five minutes up the road.
You can drive to the base in five minutes, or walk there in about half an hour to warm up first. In summer that means the Grouse Grind, about 2.5 kilometres and 800 metres of climbing on 2,830 steps. The Grind is one way, so you ride the Skyride gondola back down.
At the top there's a wildlife refuge with two resident grizzlies, and The Observatory does decent food with a huge view of the city. Once the snow comes the same mountain turns into a ski hill, and there's a skating pond up top.
03Down in the village
Edgemont Village has whatever you forgot to pack.
Edgemont is the little village six minutes down the hill. It's where we do our groceries, and where we end up most weekend mornings for a coffee and something from the bakery.
04Where we eat
These are the restaurants we keep going back to.
Most of them are within ten minutes of the house. The Beach House is the one worth the longer drive.
05Further along the Shore
A short drive opens up the rest of the Shore.
Most of these are under half an hour away by car. Downtown Vancouver is about twenty-five minutes over the Lions Gate Bridge, through Stanley Park.
06Through the year
Here's what each season is good for.
Spring
Mar – MayThe garden comes back fast and the rhododendrons go off. Skiing hangs on into April, and the lower trails dry out first.
Summer
Jun – AugYou get long evenings on the patio. The Grind opens once the snow is gone, and the Shipyards night market runs on Friday nights down at Lonsdale.
Autumn
Sep – NovThe salmon come back up the Capilano, and the trails empty out once the rain starts.
07The map
Most of it is within fifteen minutes.
The gold pin is roughly where we are. We send the exact address once you’ve booked.
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08 · Plan your days
Give us your dates andwe’ll sketch out your days.
Pick what you’re into and the planner builds a loose day-by-day plan. It uses the forecast where it can.
1Dates
2Interests
3Itinerary
When are you visiting?
Pick your arrival and departure dates and we'll plan the days in between.
09The long list
We keep a longer list too.
It covers everything from trails to rainy-day plans across the Shore. Tap a place to read about it.
65 places
Book a stay
Come stay with us.
Booking happens on Airbnb, where you’ll see the price for your dates. Message us there with any questions first. We usually reply within the hour.
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