Joanna Stich

If you are looking for a challenging & very fast packed workout-like hike then Grouse Grind is it. When I say I did Grouse Grind, I mean I have survived it and I am never doing it again. Honestly. I also know people who run the hike and do it on a weekly basis – crazy. For me it was one of the most challenging hikes I’ve done to date (and I have done many, high, technical ones) and once was enough and its done, never to be done again.

If the Grind is on your hiking “to-do” list but you’ve been too scared or don’t feel prepared then keep on reading as I have two other great hikes you can do, to get yourself ready and in the right mindset.

Grouse Grind is an approximately 2.5km hike, but if you are unfit, it feels much, much longer. Believe me. What’s worse, is that every so often it has signs how much you have left and that can be quite disheartening. So, how can you get ready for the beast of all staircases? Read below.

1. Coquitlam Crunch

Coquitlam Crunch is a 2.2km hike in Coquitlam with a total of 890 steps. It’s a very popular after work, workout for locals and in the summer months you can expect anywhere up to 50,000 visitors monthly. The hike is a combination of stairs and gravel and it runs under some large power lines. The view from the top is beautiful and overlooks the Coquitlam Town. The top itself is not impressive, its just an end to a long staircase with no seating area, therefore don’t get too excited to have a picnic up there. I’ve done this workout during a heatwave (there’s nowhere to hide, as its an open area) and let me tell you, I feel like I’ve lost weight just doing the crunch.

2. Burnaby Mountain

Another great hike to do before tackling the Grind is Burnaby Mountain, primarily the Velodrome & Pandora Trail. It’s a combination of stairs and a steady gravel incline. Although the elevation gain for the hike is only 240m, since the trail is so short (3km) you can feel it very quickly.

The trail itself has nice spots of windows to view the Barnett Highway Park and the ocean.

Once you get to the top you have a great view of the city, Brentwood high-rise buildings predominantly combined with a beautiful park, rose garden and some cultural statues as well as a playground for children.

This hike is used by many locals as a great loop workout.

This post was definitely not designed to scare you from actually doing the Grind, but to educate you and equip you with skills and experiences that you can use in your bigger hiking adventures. The two trails mentioned above are quite popular, you will always find someone on it, but if you are planning to hike alone on a more secluded trail I encourage you to read my post about hiking safely alone.

If you think I should include other hikes, that would work well in preparation for the Grind please let me know in the comments section, I am always on the lookout for my next accomplishment.

Lastly, if you enjoy my hike recommendations I encourage you to join All Trails app, where you can follow me and view and read my opinions about hikes I’ve completed. What’s great is that for each new app user I invite, they will plan a tree – 1 for me and 1 for you. There’s no cost to this, and I do not make any commission on this invitation. You can find the details here.

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