Incredibly scenic course with amazing views of Vancouver, Cascade Mountains, Mt Baker and Vancouver Island. You can often see wildlife such as bear, deer, eagles and of course, grouse.

The course is set on a ski hill and features tons of elevation changes. There are shorter ace run holes and huge wide open bombs that test even the longest arms. Front 9 is easier and has family tees on the longer holes. The back 9 is more challenging with 5 par 4's. You can choose to do just the the front 9 as it goes down hill and loops back up before heading down again for the back 9.

The course designers used many natural features like cliffs, rocks, old growth trees and hills to create a truly unique challenge.

Signage is great!! Directional signage between each hole ensures that you can find your way around and info signage at each hole has pictures of the holes, distances and even difficulty ratings.

The mountain has recently done maintenance to cut down the tall grass on fairways. They have also added benches on holes 2, 4, 6 and 8. Baskets are DISCatcher's (my favorite) and the tee pads are solid.

Maps and scorecards are available at the "Outpost" or "Peak Office"

To play the full 18 holes will take 2-3 hours. It is a big hike and is definitely a good work out.The terrain is very playable but would still be challenging for young kids or unfit people. Bring lots of water as there is no where to fill out on the course.

Cost: to get to the top of the mountain you need to pay about $50 to ride the tram. If you're interested there are a bunch of other activities up top to spend the day doing that make the cost seem much more reasonable. Some locals purchase an annual pass for $150. Alternatively, you can hike up, but it's steep, difficult and will take about an hour.

There is a garbage can at the 1st tee, but none on the rest of the course.

Errant throws into the bushes and trees can be difficult to find. The elevation changes can further punish poor throws. USE SPOTTERS where recommended. They have signage to remind you on certain holes.

Depending on the time of year there are bugs. Spray doesn't seem to help, just keep moving.

Really awesome course. It's definitely worth checking out.

- Worth a trip up the mountain if you've never been up, a sort of unique destination course.
- A couple of incredible view holes you won't forget.
- Good tee pads.
- Some great places to unload massive drives.
- Decent mix of hole lengths including some very long Par 4s.
- Full 18 holes
- Good baskets

- Great signage, but wrong for a lot of holes, they've changed some of the hole layouts since the signage first went up.
- Not the most interesting hole layouts, not much shot shaping.
- Depending on time of year, can be busy with people hiking.
- uDisc maps were off too, we had some poorly judged throws because we were way off on distances.
- No benches/seating.
- We saw a surprising amount of garbage on the course.
- Some spots where it's easy to lose discs.

- Definitely can use a spotter on a few holes.
- $40 to gondola up and down, free to hike up, only $15 to Gondola down-only, also free to hike down. (Pretty tough hike, it's a 3,000 foot elevation gain or so)
- I wouldn't try to bring a cart up the gondola really, they pack you in like sardines, if you're super claustrophobic the gondola may not be for you.
- There are disc rentals and a limited supply of branded discs (basic Innova stuff) for sale at the zip line building.

- Extreme elevation change on many holes results in many exciting and challenging shots
- Many gorgeous views of mountains and downtown Vancouver throughout the round
- Multiple tees and two, 9-hole loops help accommodate different skill levels
- Good baskets and very nice, informative tee-signs

- Thick brush both off and in the fairways can make finding even good drives difficult
- Most holes are either wide open or straight in front of you, rather limited line shaping required
- Benches (and trash cans) are missed on a course that easily takes 3 hours to play
- Gravel tee pads were usually fine, but some larger aggregate can result in dangerous footing

Grouse Mountain is a great experience I would recommend to anyone visiting Vancouver. As others have mentioned, the cost of entry is not insignificant (around 45 CAD for basic adult admission) but you definitely get your money's worth if you plan on spending at least half a day on the mountain. My wife and I arrived around 9:15, and stayed until about 3:30, without spending any additional money on attractions not included with our $48 Peak experience ticket. The round took us about 3 hours, and the Birds in Motion show at the end of our day was a personal favorite.

Moving on to the course itself, this really is a unique experience compared to most disc golf courses, especially if you live in an area devoid of significant elevation. The views were great, and we frequently paused our round to admire the scenery and take pictures. This is a fairly rough course, however, and the low but thick brush present in many of the fairways can make finding even good drives a challenge, especially on the longer or blind holes. I definitely recommend using a spotter, we almost lost two discs even using a spotter, only finding them by dumb luck after giving up, and spent a lot of time looking throughout the round. Routing at least is fairly straight forward, and signs to the next tee are present near most baskets. Picking up a course map makes things even easier. We had the course almost entirely to ourselves, briefly encountering only three groups of hikers.

The equipment here is a bit of a mixed bag. The Discatcher baskets are good and the tee signs are among the best I've seen with a large number and name of the hole, clear depiction of the fairway, distance information for both "Pro" and "Family" tees, par, and a color coded difficulty rating which I found to be mostly accurate. The gravel tee pads are adequate, usually nice and level, but can still result in occasionally problematic footing. Benches and maybe an occasional trash can would be appreciated, this is a long course with a lot of hill climbing, and even for those in shape it will be tiring at some point mid round.

Elevation is naturally the star of the course design here. Almost all holes play either up or down hill, with many placed on precarious, sloped greens. Those with big arms will definitely be at an advantage on much of this course, especially on the back nine, but distance control and up-shot accuracy are equally important to avoid additional strokes. This course does lack a bit in the technical design department as far as line shaping is concerned. There are definitely places where you need to throw both left and right, but sharp doglegs and other more technical lines are not really present. I found I either had to throw a big hyzer, or a perfectly straight shot on most fairways. The front nine is less challenging though still a lot of fun, and the back nine will really test your skills and endurance. As a ~900 rated player I shot a 59, and my wife ~700 rated shot a 77 from the "Pro" tees.

A final note: as first time visitor, it took my wife and me almost half an hour to find the first tee pad. The start of course is not identified on the main park map with the list of attractions, which is not a top down view, and therefore hard to compare to the low resolution course map available online. While a woman at guest services in the Chalet gave us some general direction, it did not prove helpful enough, and the two additional park rangers we asked for direction did not even know there was a disc golf course. Of course we overlooked that you should check in and pick up a course map at "The Outpost" building, which I'm sure the rangers would know the location of well enough.

Grouse Mountain is a great course, if a bit rough around the edges, and the cost up to the Peak is well worth it if you plan on enjoying the other activities included with admission.

Uniquely situated on top of Grouse Mountain, this is really a special course in the Vancouver area. Spectacular views and a great variety of shots really make this a fun course to play.

Excluding a few holes at Passive Park in Langley, most of the courses in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver metro area) offer very few long, open shots, and it's a really nice change of pace to have those shots here. Couple that with a lot of change in elevation and you've got a really challenging course.

The front 9 is accessible to new players and those who may be visiting the mountain not planning on playing disc golf (I'd highly recommend the newly installed "family tees" to those who have never played before). Those holes offer a variety of shots going uphill, downhill, and a few relatively-flat traverses.

However, the back 9 is really where the course earns its challenging label.

Starting with the wide open (when the grass is low) and downhill, 818 ft #10, the rest of the course is much longer and less tolerant of mistakes. After hole 12, the lowest point on the course, you begin your way back up to the top of the course, and it really tests your ability to throw uphill and navigate narrow fairways.

Considering that 2014 is only the second year of the course's existence, the maintenance and upkeep on such rugged terrain is commendable. Tee signs, trails, and the course map all make navigating the course easy for first-timers, though playing with someone who has played before can be really helpful for the playing side of things.

Also, being able to grab a beer at the chalet is a great way to finish up a round, or recharge for round #2, if you're feeling up to it.

Inherent with a location on top of a mountain that functions as a ski mountain in the winter, there are certain challenges and lacking amenities that make the course a bit of a slog at times. I would budget about 3 hours per round.

The gravel teepads can be stumble-inducing when you're trying to rip out a strong drive. Would like to see concrete or something else.

As other reviewers have mentioned, it would be nice to have benches or another way to rest throughout the course. It's quite the workout, and once you start climbing back uphill after 12, you're gonna want to rest. So find a good rock, or just plop down on the ground.

The rough here can be really rough and the chance of losing a disc at some point is relatively high. The best way to avoid this is using spotters (primarily on the tee shots for 10, 11, 14, and 16) and playing a bit conservative, especially if it's your first time playing it. The woods, bushes, and uncut grass are *very* thick, so if your disc goes in there, make sure to carefully make note of the branch or bush where it entered, you'll save yourself a lot of scratches and frustration.

Also, conditions on the course are extremely variable with the weather. A pleasant, but cloudy day down below in Vancouver can be a fogged-in, rainy nightmare at Grouse. Oddly enough, temperature inversions in the early fall can create the opposite, a cold rainy day in Vancouver can be a clear sunny day on Grouse. Thankfully you can actually see the course from miles away (if unsure ask a local) and they have a live webcam on their website, so make sure to check the weather before you head up.

Unfortunately, the big con is the cost. It's expensive (something like $40) to ride the gondola up, and $10 to ride down if you're in shape enough to hike up and then play a round. However, the ride is a lot of fun, and there are other attractions at the top, though they may be a bit tourist-trappy. See Other Thoughts below for tips on this front.

Most of the locals that play the course regularly have a Grouse season pass that grants up to four of our guests half-priced admission. If you're visiting and want to play up at Grouse, post on the discbc.com tagboard or some of the local club facebook pages (my club, Van City United, has worked well) to see there's anyone going up at the same time as you that you could tag along with.

If you're driving to the mountain, know that you have to pay for parking at the base. However, there is a free shuttle that leaves from Canada Place in downtown Vancouver and only takes about 20 minutes to get to the base. If you're staying in the city, I highly recommend the shuttle. Hours of operation vary seasonally, so I'd check the website. Unfortunately it doesn't run after 5:30, so if you're up there later you can take the bus/ferry back, but that takes about an hour or more.

Make sure to pack some snacks and plenty of water. You can refill water bottles at the chalet, but logistically this only can be done before or after a round. Food is available at the chalet as well, but it's pretty pricey.

Very challenging for an intermediate player. There are long and short holes, and you can see almost every set of chains from the tee. Very good signage and distance markers. Lots of elevation change. Good maintenance of vegetation on the fairways.

Benches would be nice. Some holes had conveniently placed rocks, but not all of them. Not a lot of shade, bring sunscreen and water.

Blueberries, raspberries, mint, and bushes of other kinds. Don't know about the rest of you, but I manage to place a disc in a thorny bush on every course I play.

1) The views were amazing. 2) Every hole (except 3 where I assume it was just missing) had signage showing locations of trees relative to the chains and had par and distance information. 3) They gave a score card (and pencil) to us at the zip-line gear building. 4) They had well done paths between holes with signs to the next hole. 5) The views were amazing.

1) There were no benches and there were only a few rocks that were apt for sitting on. 2) I slipped on one of the gravel tees. As nice as everything else was, solid tees would help, especially on those long holes that need full launching. 3) The gondola lift was $41.95 (Canadian) per person.

There were like 50 million grasshoppers. Every step I took practically 3 or 4 would jump left or right away from me. It was very nice to have full bathrooms and restaurants at the end. I needed to wash my face and sit in the shade enjoying a lemonade after the hot afternoon.

Fantastic course that has it all.
Great tees, signage, and baskets.
Open fairways, with plenty of trees and bushes to keep thing challenging, and lots of elevation change.

It costs a lot to buy a ticket for the Skyride up the mountain. My brother and I took 1hr 35min to hike up the Grouse Grind, and I was suffering much of the way. I would advise against doing the Grind unless you are at least moderately fit. Of course, you still have to pay $10 to ride down the mountain.

We encountered thick cloud on the mountain, and we had to wait for it to clear somewhat before we could play.

By far the best course in the Lower Mainland.
Be prepared for mountain conditions. Bring good footwear, water, spare clothing.

First of all this is easily the most scenic course I have ever played. The stunning views afforded at almost every hole were breathtaking and and I spent almost as much time taking pictures as playing. You can see the entire city of Vancouver, Stanly park, Lions Gate and the new Port Mann bridge, Vancouver Island, and even south well into the US. Mount Baker was clearly visible.

*Maps were available online, and at The Outpost for free on the back of your score card.

*Great signage here! There were signs clearly marking the direction to the next hole. Even without a map this would have been an easy course to work out.

*When the basket is out of sight from the tee there are also tall marked bamboo poles showing the line to the basket you are shooting to.

*Every hole is Named (I love this) and given a difficulty level based on the skiing model. Green=easy, blue=intermediate, Black diamond=hard, and so on. So you have a good idea what to expect from each hole.

*This is a fairly open course. They make great use of what trees they have, but its the elevation changes that make this course special. There is a little bit of everything here from nice short ace-able holes, to big open bombs down wide fairways. There is some more technical wooded stuff, and a couple long beasts to test your arm.

*Nice work was done on the "greens".Gravel surrounding the baskets and a perimeter of wood chips around that. Although I am not a personal fan of gravel tees, they were all framed in wood, and level, and there were some great tee off positions on this course.

*If your want exercise this is the right course, you can get up the mountain for free by doing The Grouse Grind, a 2.9km hike up the mountain that takes 1-2 hours. (depending on what shape you are in) Grouse mountain is steep, and the Grind is all stairs so come prepared if this is what you chose to do.

*The top of the mountain has all the amenities, so you can sit down for something to eat, rest, and refuel at the top. The food is good and decently priced.

*I would say this is a course meant for intermediate/advanced, but i saw few beginners playing, and some families with kids having a blast. They rent discs here which is great, and as a beginner you would actually have less chance of losing a disc seeing as you are most likely not throwing out of your line of sight. For beginners I would suggest maybe sticking to the front 9.

*Cost. If your just coming for the day and don't feel like climbing up the mountain on foot , it will cost you $40. Its a little expensive for just 1 round, but the mountain has a lot more to offer and a day outing is worth it. You can do it for $10 if you climb up (via The Grouse Grind)and gondola down. Locals can buy a yearly pass for $109

*There is some serious OB on this course! They mention it on the sign at the start that out of bounds means out of bounds, if it lands there you are NOT allowed to even try and retrieve your disc. Heed this... on hole #14 (Half Pipe) my drive clipped a branch and I heard my disc bounce down a ravine never to be seen again.

*There is also some pretty ugly stuff to look for a disc in, even on the fairways. A lot of brush, long grass, and prickly stuff. A lot of time you are shooting downhill or over rises and can't always see where it will land.

** I strongly recommend using a spotter for this course. The last 9 holes went much faster once we started spotting.

:*** This is a destination course, go out of your way to play it!! It was a lot fun and the mountain has enough to offer to make a great full day outing out of it.
*Even if you don't do The Grind to get up the mountain, you will get your exercise here. My GPS showed just over 5km walked up and down the mountain on the full 18, bring water.

*One of the questions i always ask myself about a course is how hard is it for someone to come to play it by themselves for the first time. With this one the great maps, signs and posts would make it very easy to follow. Without a spotter though, you would probably spend some of time searching for discs. Don't let that discourage you. This course is worth the trip!
(Update: Recently played this course again for the first time in a year and was pleased to see the addition of "Family" Tees. making this course a little more beginner friendly.)

Located high on top of Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, this eighteen hole disc golf course plays alongside the ski hills with views of the entire greater Vancouver area all the way west toward Vancouver Island and including even down south into the US. With the exception of playing through the tighter wooded holes about a third of the time, these epic views are present during the entire round!

The front nine holes are overall shorter and easier, at times, then the back nine. Holes are geared more for the rec or intermediate player where as the back nine are better suited for the advanced and open level players due to distance and difficulty. Fortunately, once finished with the front nine there is the option to head back up to the top and go toward the lodge for lunch, like we did, and then have the option of coming back to finish the round or leave if pressed for time.

Course maintenance was better than any mountain course I have played yet! Tee pads were framed with large 2x4's and packed tightly with gravel rock. There were also tee signs located at every hole that were in color and gave info on par, hole difficulty (they used the same "difficulty" scale as they do in skiing: green circle - beginner, blue square - intermediate, black diamond - advanced, double black - expert), distance, and pin location. There were also signs throughout the course directing players toward the next tee, along with mulch and wood chip trails for players to follow which was extremely helpful for first timers. There were pins located along sides of hills or on plateaus with built in steps leading up to them or extra support built around to prevent erosion.

The designers of the course did a nice job
incorporating variety on the course by using distance (ace runs/birdie/par4's), elevation (uphill/level/downhill), and terrain (wooded/open grass). Although this was not the most difficult mountain course I have ever played, it was easily one of the most enjoyable due to its overall atmosphere on top of Grouse Mountain.

Although some might see paying $40 a major con, which I would too if I were a local, it is well worth it for an annual trip with my buddies from Western Washington. To start the trip you take a massive gondola up this extremely steep mountain side with a timber wolf preserve underneath you, no joke, and head up to this village up top Grouse Mountain with a festival type atmosphere. There are people zip lining right in front of me, along with helicopter tours taking off, logger competitions (axe throwing and pole climbing, raptor and grizzly bear shows, disc golfing and more! There are also two places to eat (cafeteria/fine dining) with stunning views of the water and mountains. The cafeteria had very reasonable priced meals and is most likely your best bet.

Favorite Hole(s): Hole #5 - 260+ downhill shot toward a pin surrounded by trees on the edge of a small peninsula. Sun still able to shine directly down at the pin making it glow amongst all the trees from the tee.

Considering this course officially opens today, the course is in great shape. One major thing that did however stand out to me was the fact that all the baskets were installed about 12 inches too high. The baskets were all about five feet tall which wasn't the end of the world, but just took some getting used to. I had a few missed to start but wasn't even thinking twice about them toward the end.

Foliage can also be an issue as well which should be no surprise considering your playing on a mountain course but beware. Using bright discs is important along with a spotter if possible. Terrain can be intense at times, with a lot of uphill/downhill transitions so good shoes and footing is a must. Having plenty of water, sunscreen, sunglasses, and bug spray is important too!

I knew there was meaning behind the name of the mountain but it wasn't until the final hole that I saw what looked like a quail the size of a chicken and it hit me, after I screamed of course...wow! That is what a Grouse looks like. There was a group of them running around in the tall brush making all sorts of funny noises. They must have been startled from a disc landing. It was quite a unique experience and of course my friend had a good laugh. As the slogan says, I came to soar, explore, and take it all in! Thanks to the BCDSS for all their hard work and getting this mountain high gem on the map.


NOTE: There are a few options regarding getting to the top of the mountain.

Option 1: Take the Alpine Gondola roundtrip for $40 (10% discount if you are AAA member)

Option 2: Hike up the Grouse Mountain trail (1hr - 1.5hr) to the top and ride the Alpine Gondola down for $10

Option 3: Go Rambo style to the top and back down for FREE!