Although it’s been a destination for outdoor recreation for decades, Grouse Mountain is only just now officially becoming park land.
Metro Vancouver held a ceremony Friday marking the handover of the 75-hectares of land that had been under the jurisdiction of the Greater Vancouver Water District for 85 years, officially naming it Grouse Mountain Regional Park.
The mountain is most famous for the Grouse Grind and the private resort at the top, but the rest of the massive property has other trails that have largely been ignored by Metro.
And it has the potential for new amenities and programming that Metro’s parks staff will now see to, according to Heather Deal, chairwoman of Metro’s parks committee.
There hasn’t been a budget or master plan developed yet but that will come after public consultations, Deal said.
“We’re going to talk to you and ask you to help us create all the opportunities that are here,” she said.
Deal, a biologist by training, said she was particularly excited by the possibility of interpretive programming for visitors to learn about the Grouse’s ecosystem.
“I’m kind of a nerd that way,” she said.
Looming over the ceremony was the change in ownership of the private Grouse Mountain resort at the top. The sale has prompted anxiety from North Shore residents about possible changes to the treasured mountain.
Deal said she does not have any concerns arising from the new ownership and she has not yet had any indication of what their plans may be.
“We haven’t had that conversation yet,” she said. “We will continue to protect this as a public space and an ecosystem within (Metro’s) borders.”
Similarly, Deal said there are no plans to ask the resort to take on more of the annual costs of maintaining the Grouse Grind.
“We’re quite happy with the way things are working now,” she said, noting that Grouse Mountain does pay an annual lease fee to Metro Vancouver for a portion of their land.
The lease payment varies year by year based on the amount of revenue the resort brings in, but last year it was about $190,000.
District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton said he had a brief conversation with the new owners last week but they haven’t indicated what their plans are to him.
Walton said he was pleased to see Metro Vancouver’s parks department taking on maintenance of trails like the BCMC, which is falling into disrepair while no group has wanted to take on the legal liability for the trail.
“The trails, for the large part, have had no maintenance done at all and have very, very limited, if any, signage. As a result, as more and more people explore this side of the mountain, they’re more likely to get into trouble,” he said. “It’s really hard to go up with without unleashing small rocks and if there’s people down below you, it’s not particularly safe,” he said.
