Grouse Grind still unsafe, won’t open until June
Posted May 21, 2017 8:07 am.
Last Updated May 21, 2017 11:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Don’t let the weather fool you. The warmer temperatures don’t mean the Grouse Grind is open for business just yet. In fact, the re-opening of the Grind has been pushed back until next month due to a wetter than normal spring.
“That weather has kept that trail in very bad condition,” says Heather Deal, chair of Metro Vancouver’s Regional Parks Committee. “It’s unsafe and full of snow and ice still.”
“I think anybody who’s been in Vancouver for the last two months knows that it’s been a much colder, rainier spring than we’re used to and that really has an impact further up the hill.”
Deal also admits there isn’t much in the way of a penalty if hikers ignore the signs and use the trail anyway.
“The penalty is that the trail is in worse condition for everybody into the future,” she explains. “And they risk the possibility of people taking risks into their own hands to rescue them should they run into trouble. And we know that happens a lot.”
Deal says the committee is looking at staffing a park ranger to make sure people stay off the trail until it re-opens, but in the meantime, she hopes people will be patient respect the existing signage.
“You put yourself at risk and you put the trail at risk because you erode it very badly when you walk on it in very bad condition.”
Last year, the Grind opened at the end of April.
