The Best Sledding Hills near the Chagrin Valley

For those of us in and near the snowbelt, it is only a matter of time before the flakes come down (again) and the joys of winter sports return! Few things are better than spending a few hours racing down a hill then warming up in front of a fire with a steaming hot cup of cocoa. We’ve got your best sledding, tobogganing, and tubing hills all right here for you to pick from.

The following are my favorite public sledding hills in the area.

The sledding hill here is about a 5 minute walk from the parking lot (head east on either the paved trail or the Whitetail Deer trail to the dam). You aren’t going to break any speed records, but this is a great hill for younger kids. There is brush at the end of the hill that you/they will likely run into, but it isn’t very dense. The hill itself is approx 20’ high and pretty gentle. The only amenity is the restroom and playground at the North Point parking lot. Hours are sun-up to sun-down.

Read our full review of the park.

This is the place for thrill seekers to go in Geauga County - the hill is easily 30-40’ tall! You will want to park in the first parking lot that you encounter after entering from Caves Road, but there are limited spaces here. If you have to park at the main lot by the Lodge be prepared for a quarter-mile hike. The other really wonderful feature of the hill at Orchard Hills is that there are lights for night sledding! The Park District allows users to turn the lights on, but if you are the last one to leave please make sure to turn them off! There are restrooms at the parking lot by the bottom of the hill. The playground is over by the main lot.

This series of hills in the National Park is a bit farther from home, but usually has two or three different runs open at any time. Runs will be occasionally closed to allow cross-country skiers to use the same area, so make sure to check and observe the posted signs at the hill. On weekends, and even sometimes after a big snow, there will be volunteers manning a fire and even hot chocolate station at the top of the hills near the restrooms! Parking is readily available in the Pine Hollow Trailhead lot (5465 Quick Rd, Peninsula, OH 44264). Please note that the NPS prohibits pets from the sled hills.

There are a lot of public sledding hills throughout the Metroparks- I spent tons of time as a kid on the Memphis Hill! The following are the hills near us:

What would winter be without tobogganing at the Metropark’s Chalet!? The chutes are 700 feet long and refrigerated allowing them to operate regardless of snowfall. They open on November 28th through March. This year you must make a reservation to ride the chute. The reservation guarantees that you will get to ride, but plan to still wait for a minimum of 20 minutes up to an hour on busy days. Riders must be at least 42” tall and all riders are required to wear winter gloves that cover the fingertips. Check their website for all the rules and details. Tickets are $15 and for kids 11 and younger are $13.

The reservation system opens on November 21st.

If you really want to fly down some hills, go tubing!

The hill at Punderson isn’t the biggest, but it is a good, relatively inexpensive, way to introduce kids to the fun. Tubes can be rented at the Punderson Sports Chalet (or you can bring your own). There are four lanes, the first three of which are reserved for rented tubes. One of the best perks of this hill is that there is a powered tow rope to allow tubers to get back to the top of the hill easily! The hill is light at night allowing the fun to continue. There is a ton of parking at the top of the hill. The ODNR does recommend that you call them to verify operation and conditions. Their number is (440) 564-7825.

This is the ultimate close-to-home tubing experience for those thrill seekers. Due to the popularity of Polar Blast Tubing they recommend that you make reservations online for a specific time-slot. The hill is huge and has a two-lane conveyor to power you back to the top of the hill. Riders are required to rent their tube, ride solo, and be at least 42” tall. They haven’t yet posted information about when they will open, so check the Polar Blast site often. Tickets are $37 per person for two hours of tubing.

Want the longest tubing hill in Ohio? Well, then you need to drive a bit to Snow Trails in Mansfield. The 7 lanes are each 1,100’ long which (thankfully) means there is also a conveyor to get you back to the top. Snow Trails has a number of fun activities like night time “glow tubing” to keep things fresh. Tickets are required to be purchased online and cost $38 per person for a two hour slot. They are open Thurs - Sun and select other dates during the winter through early March. One unusual feature is that they have kid-sized tubes, so there is no minimum size requirement - but use your good judgement.

One of the amazing perks of the Geauga Park District is that they rent snowshoes free to county residents (and $5 to non-residents) at the West Woods. If you have your own you can use any of the trails in any of the parks. They will open snowshoe rental where there is at least 4” of snow on the ground and they are handled on a first-come-first-served basis. You can call the West Woods office at 440-286-9516 to check the status. There are also occasionally naturalist-led snowshoe events, so keep your eyes on the Upcoming Events!

You can also rent snowshoes for $7 for two hours at Holden Arboretum. Kids 3-12 years old are $4 and you can even purchase additional time for $1 an hour. Note that you must also purchase an admission to the Arboretum to be able to rent snowshoes.

The Cleveland Metroparks will rent shoeshoes for use but they are significantly more expensive. Rentals are offered at North Chagrin, Hinkley Boathouse, and at Big Met.