Hiking Goat Mountain in North Vancouver
Contents
Goat Mountain Hike Information
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 7.20Km
Elevation Gain: 370m
Highest Elevation: 1,401m
Average Gradient: 10.27%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 3.5 – 4.5 Hours
– Moderate: 2.5 – 3.5 Hours
– Fast: 2 – 2.5 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: No
Season: ~July – October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: Simple forest scrambling
Goat Mountain Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°22’17.0″N 123°05’55.5″W
Goat Mountain Overview
Goat Mountain is a fairly popular peak accessed from the top of the Grouse Mountain gondola in North Vancouver. Alternatively, if you don’t want to pay for the gondola, hikers can ascend to the top of the gondola via the Grouse Grind or BCMC trail, which will increase the difficulty of this hike considerably. You can also hike up the grind and take the gondola back down, which is a fairly popular choice as well.
The hike to Goat Mountain follows the same route as that to Crown Mountain, however before you descend into Crown Pass, hikers will veer off a side trail and climb steeply to the top of Goat Mountain. Some of this section requires the use of hands, ropes and chains as you work your way up through the forest.
Due to the steep, technical terrain, Goat Mountain is not an appropriate hike in the winter, in fact the trail is closed as part of the Lynn Headwaters seasonal closure once the snowflakes start flying. As such the season for Goat Mountain is generally July to October, but may be a little longer depending on the snow levels that year.
The views from Goat Mountain are your typical North Shore peaks, but the summit is quite broad so you may need to wander around a little to see it all.
Access to this hike is from the base of the Grouse Mountain gondola. You can either park in one of their parking lots for a fee, or you can sometimes find street parking at the top of Nancy Greene Way. Unfortunately while dogs are allowed on Goat Mountain, they are not allowed on the gondola, nor the Grouse Grind or BCMC trail. As such, dogs essentially cannot reach Goat Mountain unless they went via Hanes Valley (in and out), which would be an enormous day.
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Is Goat Mountain worthwhile?
Goat Mountain is a nice little hike that is relatively straightforward, offering pleasant, mostly unobstructed views from the top. This certainly isn’t the most scenic peak on the North Shore, in fact most of the hike offers little in the way of views, however the summit makes up for that. If you’re looking for a simple hike to some nice views from the top of Grouse gondola, this is perhaps the best option. While Crown Mountain offers nicer views, it’s a lot more involved due to the descent into Crown Pass. Goat is also a nice addition to the Grouse Grind or BCMC, which by themselves don’t really offer many views.
How difficult is the hike to Goat Mountain?
Difficulty will really depend on whether you hike up or take the gondola. At a mere 7.20km return and 370m elevation gain, this is a pretty easy hike by this website’s standards. If you add on the Grind or BCMC though, the stats jump markedly to around 1,150m elevation gain, making this a fairly difficult hike.
Technically speaking Goat Mountain is relatively straightforward, though you may benefit from an offline map as the trails beyond Grouse Mountain resort can be a little confusing at times. Towards the end the terrain gets steep, requiring the use of hands and ropes, though it’s still mostly forest travel with little exposure.
Goat Mountain Route Information
If you are taking the gondola up to the resort, scroll down to the Grouse Gondola route. If you are hiking up from the bottom, read on.
From the base of Grouse Mountain you’ll find the trailhead for the Grouse Grind & BCMC trail. You can take either the Grind or BCMC up, but only the BCMC down. Both of them start and finish at the same point and both are very steep, but the BCMC is slightly easier due to the slightly longer route.
There’s really not a whole lot to say about either of these trails.. They’re miserable and there’s nothing to enjoy. It’s a steep grind up endless steps in a forest, so just get it over with as fast as possible. If you’re quick it should be done in an hour or so, maybe 1.5 – 2 hours if you’re slower.
Once at the top of the BCMC/Grind, you’ll definitely want a breather, a snack and some water. Thankfully you can get all of these at the Grouse Mountain resort, as well as bathrooms if needed. The good news is the challenging part of the hike is over and it gets a lot better from here on out.
Grouse Gondola Route
Both those starting at the base of Grouse Mountain and those taking the gondola up are now in the same spot, at Grouse Mountain Resort. There are a bunch of trails here but find the one that leads towards the Amphitheatre, passing Beaver Tails on the way. Continue on past the grizzly bear enclosure (stopping to check out the grizzlies if they’re out and about) and you’ll soon reach a fork in the trail. Take the left in the fork, going west of the summit of Grouse Mountain proper.
You’ll get some nice views to the west on this part of the trail if the sky is clear, but they won’t last long and you’ll soon be back in the forest. Continuing forward you’ll soon reach another fork where you need to decide between the Alpine Trail and the Ridge Trail. Either works fine as they both ultimately lead to the same place and neither really has better views than the other. The trail does get more rugged now, with lots of tree roots, rocks and mud, but it’s still simple to follow.
After a little more than a kilometer these two trails will cross paths again, at which point you will want to stick on the Alpine Trail. Soon enough you will get your first glimpse of Crown Mountain with the camel in front of it. Shortly ahead you’ll reach another fork where the trail splits, with one trail going to Crown Mountain and another going to Goat Mountain. Obviously, take the Goat Mountain trail.
The next 400m or so of the trail is mostly flat or undulating, with little in the way of navigation required. You’ll soon see Goat Mountain up ahead, and it’ll sure look steep from here. Fortunately there is a well laid trail up to the top, though it does involve some steep hiking and at times simple scrambling, pulling yourself up using rope, chains and rocks. It’s fairly short lived though, and shortly ahead you will reach the summit.
From the top you’ll have very nice views of Crown Mountain, the Needles, Coliseum Mountain, Mount Burwell, Mount Judge Howay, Mount Robie Reid, Mount Baker, Sky Pilot & Mount Garibaldi, plus you’ll also see the city from up here. After enjoying the views you can either return back or you can also continue along the trail to what’s known as Goat Ridge. This reportedly offers nice views into Hanes Valley, though I’ve not done it so can’t speak to it.
On the return back you can either decide to take the gondola back down or you can hike down via the BCMC trail. You cannot hike down the Grouse Grind.
When should I hike Goat Mountain?
Since Goat Mountain is in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, which closes for a large part of the year due to safety, make sure the park is actually open before going on this hike. Usually it opens at the start of summer when the snow has largely melted, and it closes once the snow arrives on the North Shore, around the end of October. Updates can be found on the metrovancouver.org website.
Top Tip
If you want to be one of the first people on the summit, hike from the base of Grouse Mountain and be at the Grouse Mountain Resort before the gondola begins operating
If you’re not particularly fit, take the gondola up and down. The Grouse Grind and BCMC trails are both difficult enough to make some people call it quits once they reach the resort.
