Cypress Mountain

I like Cypress compared to some of our local mountains. I have taken lessons here and I like that the lessons are very reasonable priced and the instructors are very helpful. Compared to Grouse, Cypress do have long runs. Also the price is cheaper than Grouse.
They also have night skiing as well.
If you want to save a few bucks! Here is what you do:
First go to Costco and pay $ 74.99 for 2 — $ 50 gift card
Now use one $ 50 gift card to buy a gold pass which cost $ 74.55 after tax and redeem on first time up
Second time going now show your gold pass and use your $ 50 gift card to pay for your snowboarding trip up (so now your day trip only cost you $ 37.5)
All subsequent visit either buy more Costco gift card and combine the use with your gold pass or go online and buy 2 days advance and use your gold card.

Yes, this ski resort offers great option of being closer to the city and open till 10pm but you have to remember number of people and wait time is going increase exponentially. On Sunday after New Year day I had to wait in line for two hours to get my rentals. By the time I got to check out my better and cheaper option was just to get a rental for half a day. But their system is really outdated and if you want to get half day rental you have to be there at 2pm not earlier. Their stuff is really nice and let me come back at 2pm and skip the line. Also you have to pay separate for helmet if you don’t have one. It is included in the price at Whistler for example. If you have your own equipment and pass it is probably not too bad option to get snowboarding or skiing just 30 minutes away from town.

This review is for the guided snowshoe tour called ‘Holly Burn Meadows’
We arrived early, as we’ve been hearing that the parking lots are full. We actually had no problem parking near the bottom of the right turn you take to head towards the Nordic Centre. I would suggest parking in this area and walking up, that way you can avoid the chaos towards the top.
We checked in at the Nordic Centre to receive our passes, we had pre booked at the beginning of the week. After checking in, we headed to the rentals hut to pick up our snowshoes. I will note, the rentals hut was very busy and by 12:15 they had sold out of rentals. This didn’t effect us, as ours were reserved with the tour.
Still with time to kill, we headed into the café for a soup and hotdog before our tour. The café doesn’t have the biggest selection, but the prices are reasonable. Would be cool to see them carry a healthy selection of local snacks.
At 1pm we met our guide outside the warming hut. Kelvin, was easy to spot as he was wearing a bright red cypress jacket. We had never snowshoed before, so he helped us put them on. When everyone in our group (13 in total) was ready to go, he provided us with a brief intro into the technique. We all headed out of the crowed area towards the trails where we stopped for a longer lesson.
We headed into the trails for a warm up. Kelvin guided us to untouched snow. There were areas that it felt like we were the only people on the mountain. We learned about the history of the mountain, the specifics of the alpine terrain, and how to play in the snow!
The tour ended with delicious hot chocolate and a cookie. The tour was 38 $ and lasted 2hours. To rent the snowshoes and trail pass at cypress, that would cost you 26 $. So for someone who had never snowshoed before, I felt this tour was well worth it!
I was super impressed with our guide and his truly radiant passion for the mountain. I would suggest this to anyone who is unfamiliar with snowshoeing.

aside from what we experienced yesterday we love this mountain…
however it needs to BAN SELFIE STICKS!!!
I cannot express our RAGE at how many times we were cut off by goons using a selfie stick to video or take pictures of them selves skiing/​boarding down the mountain. this is so unsafe for everyone.

Went yesterday around 2 pm (Winter Break). Lots of people so the extra parking lots were mostly full. Had my own gear so didn’t have to go into the 1.5hr line up for rentals (Friends did). Most of the runs were open all night long. Was a lot less busier after 6pm and could get a run in around 20mins. Very lucky to have such a nice Mountain so close to the city.

Don’t ever go there when it’s busy it’s a nightmare. They are completely unprepared for the volume of people. They really should close the park when it’s at capacity instead of cramming as many people in as they can. I took my son today to go tubing but gave up because the lines were over an hour long! Have to say the tubing considering the location was a pathetic size. Lambeth Ontario tubing where it’s Pretty much flat has way better and larger tubing. All in all very disappointing.

We tried lessons for our 7 year old last year at Grouse, but wanted to give Cypress a try this year. First lesson the weather was wet and cold, and our kid was crying afterwards because he was so cold. It was likely a combination of old gloves and not enough layers on our part, and a bit of inexperience on the instructor’s part.
I spoke to Jon, the manager on duty and I appreciated that he listened, apologised and ensured me that this would not happen again. Since I’m giving them a 5 star review, you can guess that he stood by his word. And after talking to our kid later on, he said that in spite of the cold, he had a great time. Go figure.
The following week, my son was back in a lesson and he had a different instructor named Lisa. She was fantastic! My kid was very, very happy with the lesson… and dry and warm.
We’ve only been up to Cypress twice this season, but we couldn’t be happier, especially with all the staff and the facilities (bathrooms could be cleaned more often, though).
Even the guys outside who came around to help dig our car out and get us home are awesome. They go above and beyond and deserve a lot of credit for providing a good customer experience.
Well done Cypress! Keep up the good work. Highly recommended.

I had entered the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon this summer of 2015 and I had shipped my bike over. After participating in this amazing race, the next day, we entered the Cypress Challenge (a 8 mile charity 5,000 ft climb up Cypress Mt). I never made it to the race, since I had gotten lost… But I did eventually find this mountain. I must say, in the opinions of a small girl from the small island of Hawaii, this mountain was amazing! The roads were so clean and well maintained, no potholes. I didn’t even whine when climbing up the hill that much! I was too busy admiring the scenery and was amazed by the nicely paved road.

Loved my time here! Avoid the crowds of whistler with this awesome alternative. Affordable, great facilities and night time hours provide an amazing experience. Highly recommend it and will totally be back.

the best ski resort in the Vancouver area, especially for snow boarding. Sure the view is not as nice as the one from Grouse Mountain (especially at night) but the area is much bigger. The Nordic area is also pretty nice, for skiing or snoeshoeing. And of course you have some nice hikes available in summer. All this so close to Vancouver!

This review is for the mountain shop. They carry only expensive earbuds. And only 2 bottles of sunscreen — an unheard of brand that did nothing to prevent sunburn on my kids cheeks. And the shop had no chapstick with sunscreen on it. None! I think store buyer needs to take a look at all the cherubic faces of kids taking ski lessons at Cypress and realize that they need to stock some sun protection.

This is really a great hill to hit in the region and, I’m really happy to be able to walk out of my front door in Yaletown start my timer and be literally buying my ticket at Cypress 35 minutes later exactly.
A lot of people say that Grouse is closer, and it is, but you then have to ride the tram to the top which makes the time difference roughly the same and Cypress is, for what it’s worth, a bit bigger and has less of a crowd on a weeknight, I feel.
I like jumps and jibs a bit as well and they accommodate in that department. some nice, decent sized stuff, and then have an airbag that you can practice big air tricks on without having t crunch your bones when you miss the landing.
All in all, it’s still a small mountain, so if you want a weekend getaway, just go to Whistler, but for a really affordable lift ticket and no money spent on gas, I ALWAYS choose Cypress.

Come here on a weekday, wait never mind, don’t come, the mountain is mine.
When you come up here you understand why Vancouver is the best place to be. The view is amazing, the runs are great, even the food is pretty decent. Oh and who doesn’t love free parking.
If I was rich, I’d come here more often.

Went tubing the other night. Wicked time! Typical West Coast weather: bit of snow, fog and then clear skies. The ice surface varied as well. Slick and fast when we arrived, then it really slowed down, then once the skies cleared and it got a bit colder, the runs again picked up speed.
The rope tow was on the fritz for about 30 minutes, but the walk was easy.
The attendants were really helpful. I was with a big group and at one point I think we went down the hill with 11 tubes attached. Krrraazzzy. With a K! They have to get pretty creative with their geometrical tube configurations.
Lots of fun. Everyone should totally take advantage of the hill before the Spring thaw.

Been here in the winter time a few times and I love the simple skiing and the atmosphere. Closer to home and half the coast of Whistler for a change of scenery. I came here on a field trip in high school as well. Very helpful customer service.

This review is about one of those secret places that makes Vancouver special. It is of course the Hollyburn lodge at Cypress Bowl. The lodge was built in 1926 in the days prior to the construction of the Cypress Bowl road. You can only imagine the difficulties of trying to get up here in the winter back then. Fortunately it has persevered throughout the years for us to enjoy.
The uneven hand-​hewn wood floors, log walls, rustic furniture, and a wood stove surrounded by plenty of pegs to dry off your wet woolens add to the character of the lodge. As for culinary indulgences the menu features one of the most decadent and calorie rich dishes. Basically they are fondue lover enablers. As a child of the 70’s I have had my fair share of fondue. As such I highly recommend the cheese, but the chocolate is perfectly nice. What I’m not too sure about is if you should have both in one sitting. Which is what I have done every time I have been to the lodge and always regret. It is just too much food. Plus the cheese and chocolate fusion in my tummy is never pleasant. If you are not going to take my advice, for safety you should bring a minimum of four starving winter athletes to devour it all. They of course have both alcoholic and non-​alcoholic beverages. There is also a small menu if you are not into fondue.
Hollyburn lodge is a great place to go with a large group. So consider it if you have a winter birthday or need a great idea for a staff Christmas party. Starting in January on Saturday nights they have a live music so if you are going to book your adventure you might want to consider this. I believe there is a cover charge.
In order to gain access to the lodge you either have to cross country ski in or you can take the guided fondue snowshoe tour. If you are thinking of just showing up I think the staff look at your ski pass to make sure you are eligible to be served.

Cypress is the place to be if you’re an intermediate to advanced skier or boarder, and don’t want to drive up to Whistler.
Parking here is pretty decent, but be sure to get there somewhat early, as you really do not want to use that overflow lot. There’s a shuttle, but it still sucks.
In recent years they’ve added the Raven Ridge chair which doubled the effective ski area of Black Mountain, and added a pile of badly needed double blacks. They also replaced the rental tent with this new lodge that looks pretty amazing, but could honestly be bigger.
The view here is amazing, but the clarity of the sky is hit and miss.
As for the food (cafeteria, not the Raven Ridge bar), the food is exactly what you’d expect. Tastes like something straight out of highschool, but double the price.

Best place to get some good skiing or snowboarding done on the Northshore.
Long runs, little to no lift lineups and an extensive variety of terrain. They were a host venue for the 2010 Olympics so I guess they do need these things.
Compared to the other local mountains, Cypress has the best intermediate to advanced runs. Their charlifts have great coverage and they are fast, which is a good thing on those pow days. The snow is good since they have the highest altitude although it can get pretty foggy due to the bowl-​like formation of the mountains.
This year they really upped their terrain park coverage with new parks and features, even have an airbag which costs more to use (pay per-​use).
Their rental process for skis and snowboards is easy and everything is close to runs and lifts so no hiking or searching. Lift tickets and lessons are the priciest of the three mountains, but you get a lot more on-​snow time since you don’t wait around in lift-​lines.
Food is good, they have a nice variety not just typical pizza and fries (they even have veggies and healthy options, yay). A bit pricey, but that’s to be expected on a mountain.

Today I rode my bicycle up Cypress Mountain Road that ends at the base of the the Ski Area. This is not a ride for the light hearted. There is more than 15K of uphill riding. Toady’s ride was a mind altering experience. I would call the roads grade changeling and even steep in a few places.
With two great view points on the mountain. During off Ski Season other then restrooms there are no real services to speak of when your at top of the road. So pack snacks and water and a range of clothes. Mountains make there own weather.(Sleet on today’s ride and its May 20)
Riding down the Mountain is a thrill but use care and caution as some of the turns are fairly sharp and road is rough in places. A properly maintained bicycle is a must on this ride.

Cypress mountain boasts beautiful views and excellent scenery. It is a skip and hop away from Vancouver, about a quick 30 – 40 minute drive.
On our particular hike, we decided to tackle St Marks summit as it’s an intermediate hike (read: not for n00bs), about 11 km and a gain of about 460 meters. It’ll take around 5 – 6 hours for the roundtrip depending on how slow or fast you go. The trail itself in the beginning is quite easy, as the roads are covered with gravel or dirt. As you ascend up the mountain, you will have to look out for the reflectors/​markers to make sure you are staying on path as the trail is not always easy to distinguish. Uphill gets pretty tough after the 2 bridges you have to cross, as the trail has ample amount of rocks, tree roots, bugs, and snow patches (even late august) here and there.
Be sure to bring ample water, bug spray is a must, have decent hiking shoes and your camera for the stunning views at the top. Breathtaking and definitely worth the sweat.
For a comprehensive list of trails and difficulty and directions, I used