Sled Riding at Punderson State Park – Newbury, Ohio
Located inside of Punderson State Park off of route 87.
Punderson State Park is located in the Greater Cleveland area. The park is a wintertime playland for the locals with sledding, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and even golf!
There is no cost to sled ride or park. When entering the park, bear to the left . The sledding hill is located on the same road as the ranger’s office. The top of the sledding hill is just beyond the tennis courts. If you follow the signs for the tennis courts, you will be in the right parking area. As soon as you see the lodge, you walk behind it and the hill is right there.
The lodge at the top of the sledding hill offers warm treats for those cold days. A snack bar with anything from hot chocolate to nachos and cheese, you’ll find something there to warm you back up! If the food and drinks there aren’t enough to warm you back up, there is a large stone fireplace in the lodge for warming back up to go out on the hill again. Picnic tables and restrooms are available inside the lodge. You can pack your own lunch or snacks and drinks and still have somewhere to eat and warm up!
The sledding hill here is a great ride down! It is pretty steep slope at 35 degrees, the length is 200-300 feet long. If enough people have gone down it after a good snow, it is really fast. There are three tracks to choose from. If it is your first time there, you might want to go all the way to the left and go down the less ridden track, which ends up being a little less steep and a little slower than the other two lanes, but easier to get back up the hill.
If you have young kids with you or someone that is out of shape, they may need help getting back up the hill, whether you carry their sled for them, hold their hand or stay behind them while they are holding the rope, because even though one might be holding onto the rope, climbing back up is sometimes a slippery situation!
You can take any type sled with you there, every once in a while I’ll see kids there with the old style rudder sleds which tend to go fast but the rudders to get waxed ahead of time, I’m sure! The best and fastest thing to take down this hill is most definitely a giant inner tube! More than one person can go down the hill in it and since there are quite a few jumps and bigger bumps, you have a shock absorber under you! Basically any kind of board you could possibly think of can go down the hill. Lots of kids try snowboarding but very few make it to the bottom of the hill still standing!
On a snowy day, you might want to call the Park Office for hours of operation. Most usually the slopes are open for sledding during the day and the track is lighted at night but they do close in the evenings when the lodge closes for the night. There are other times the sled riding hill can not be used, and they close it, such as after an icy rain. If the slopes are iced up, it may be too dangerous to ride down the hill.
If the hill is closed or closing at night, you most usually get a warning from the Park Rangers there who are usually really great, giving you fair warning that it is time to get off of the hill.
If you are out that way after a good snow and want something fun to do, this is where you want to be!
