RI’s Best Sledding Hills

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

GoLocalProv Features Team

This is a big midweek snowstorm, school's cancelled, and it's time to get out the sleds, saucers, and tubes. Here are the best local spots to check out.

Barrington:

Locals love the golf course at the RI Country Club, near Washington Street, which may be called "Suicide Hill" but is very family oriented, and great for young kids. For the smallest sledders (toddlers), check out the tiny hill behind Nayatt School.

Providence:

Don't miss the classic, even though it's never been quite as epic since Moses Brown redid the athletic fields above it: the hill that leads from the track/football field toward Lloyd Avenue, near Arlington. It's a destination sledding hill in the middle of the East Side.
Families also love the hills in Roger Williams Park near the Temple of Music. But for a real, Ethan Fromme thrill, hike into the woods behind the Lincoln School, which is well-known dog-walking territory. There are wooded chutes that take packing, but they are old-school sledding at its finest.

Riverside:

The Silver Spring Golf Course, on Pawtucket Avenue, has great hills for all ages.

Rumford:

It may be a private club, but those hills on the golf course at Agawam Hunt on Broadway, are a true find for fabulous sledding.

Warwick:

Afficianados like Salter Grove Park, off Narragansett Avenue.

West Greenwich:

Another gem: those great, sand hills off Rte 95, once covered with snow, are offroad awesome. Take exit 6A off 95, Hopkins Hill Rd heading south. Your first right onto Division St, and then it's about a half-mile to the dunes. Worth the drive.

Central Falls:

There are good steeps in Jenks Park, off Broad Street.

Newport:

There's a split decision on Aquidneck sledding: Fort Adams State Park above the adjacent soccer fields, and the slopes on the grounds of St. George's School in Middletown. Don't get too wound up in those views, though. Keep your eyes on the snow.

Pawtucket:

Locals love the baseball field at the intersection of Daggett Ave and Bristol Ave, where three sledding hills offer something for everyone.

Exeter:

Snow tubing park at Yawgoo Valley Ski area. Yes, you pay, but what you get is 50 minutes' worth of incredible sliding for just $12. Call ahead to make sure they are open for tubing - the park is expected to open Dec. 26th. 160 Yawgoo Rd, Exeter, 295-2276.