Best Vail Sledding Hills for All Ages

Sledding is perhaps the most underrated Colorado winter sport. It is one of those activities that doesn’t require much in the way of planning. Just be sure to have a sled handy. Vail may be known for skiing. But sledding is a favorite winter pastime for many local kids. Here’s where the locals head out for an exhilarating day of Vail sledding fun!

Every neighborhood or golf course has a few sledding hills. The only cost is the acquisition of a speedy sled. You do need a little snow but there is typically lots of that during the winter in Vail.

It is the perfect impromptu winter sport. Pull on some warm clothes, grab a sled and head to the nearest sledding hill. Laughter and smiles are sure to ensue!

Sledding fun in Eagle, Colorado!

Sledding is a great way to spontaneously get the kids out of the house during a snowy Vail winter for some fresh air, wear them out running back up the hill, and just have FUN. Plus the only cost is that of buying a sled. I have seen a few sledding crashes so our kids do wore their ski helmets, at least on the bigger Vail sledding hills as youngsters.

Insider Tip: If you are visiting and staying at a Vail hotel, ask if they have any loaner sleds. Some, like the Antlers at Vail, has a stash to loan out to guests.

Favorite Vail Area Sledding Hills

You can find a decent sledding hill in every neighborhood. And, your favorites may depend on the ages of your children. But really all of the sledding hills work for any age. Kids can just start midway up the big hills if it is too much for them. Here are our favorite Vail sledding hills good for all ages.

EagleVail Putting Green

A short walk past the Eagle Vail putting green is a hill up to the clubhouse. It is a big hill but even at a young age our kids loved this hill. You just go up as far as you are comfortable whizzing back down. As a bonus, there is plenty of parking.

Singletree Sledding Hill

In Edwards this hill is located just up from the golf course and is the perfect slope with a nice flat area at the bottom. There’s no parking lot but typically you can find parking on the side of the road.

West Park in EagleVail

Located at the west end of the neighborhood has a great hill with three lips. This might have made number one except parking is lacking. But the three lips offer a variety of sledding fun for different ages. They can take on one section or go all out all the way down.

vail sledding fun after a big snow storm
A snow path that is already packed down will go faster. It is much more work, but fun, to create your own path.

East Haystacker Sledding Hill in Eagle

Being furthest west this is the one least likely to have good snow but when it does it is a blast. It is a nice sized hill with a long flat area at the bottom.

Insider Tip: While sledding is an awesome, inexpensive way to get out and enjoy the snow, snow tubing is a way to get the same rush with much less work. There are some fast and fun snow tubing hills located throughout Colorado.

Best Sledding Hills for Littles

When your kids are small, you might want to avoid the bigger hills just so that they (and you) don’t get scared. Of course, you can always just start them lower on a big hill. But no need as there are plenty of golf courses with smaller hills perfect for the little ones.

In Avon there are hills in Nottingham Park over by Avon Elementary School. And, the opposite side of the park across the street from the Avon Rec Center also has some smaller slopes.

Ellefson Park in West Vail has several smaller hills perfect for little kids. In fact, people even leave sleds out here so there may be one available to borrow,

In Edwards the Sonnenalp Golf Course has several. A popular one is near the first green. Also there’s a great slope by Edwards Elementary School off of Lake Creek Rd.

Preparing for Vail Sledding Fun

You don’t need much to have fun on a sledding hill. Really just a sled. But preparations can make the fun last longer.

The most important items to bring are the sled (this one is one of our favorites), easy-to-apply sunscreen and warm mittens and a hat (or helmet for younger kids).

But for additional fun for all bring camping chairs, hot cocoa in a big Yeti to keep it hot, and it you are really ready for a party then bring along a SoloStove and wood for a campfire.

Sledding Hills by Location

Minturn Sledding Hill

Minturn CO has one of the better known sledding hills at Meadow Mountain. At one point someone ran a tubing hill there with a lift. But these days it is really just dangerous, unless you hike further up the mountain. Don’t let that discourage you. Just plan on a bit of a trek if you want to find good sledding at Meadow Mountain.

Eagle Vail Sledding Hills

Kids having fun at the Eagle Vail sledding hill
Joy on kids faces at the Eagle Vail golf course, one of our favorite Vail sledding hills.

The golf course  on the east side of the neighborhood has a few good hills. The best one in that area comes down from the club house to the putting green. It is a big, steep hill but you can adjust your ride by deciding where on the hill you want to start  ride. There is ample parking when you enter from the putting green.

The west side of the neighborhood has by far the best and biggest sledding hill at the West Park. There are 3 lips to the hill so the smaller kids can take it easy and just get to the first lip while the bigger kids may want to zip all the way down. Side note: This is the park that turns in to a big slip and slide one day late summer.

Edwards Sledding Hills

There are some small hills just off the bike path behind Miller Ranch. These are perfect for preschoolers, though certainly anyone can enjoy them.

vail sledding hills
Singletree Road sledding hill with Beaver Creek Ski Resort in the background.

There are a couple of sledding hills in Singletree in Edwards. But the one that we have tried out is just past the Singletree Golf Club about a half mile up Singletree Road. There are two sides which makes it super fun. You can slide down the big hill and if you get enough speed get up the smaller hill a little ways. Or, the littler kids could just stick to the smaller side.

Cordillera Sledding Hills

In the winter the Cordillera Mountain Course Golf Shop, adjacent to the Timber Hearth restaurant, turns into the Cordillera Nordic Center. Right next door to the Nordic Center is a sledding hill for kids to tube, sled or toboggan their way down the hill. Be sure to stop in to Timber Hearth afterwards to warm up or have lunch or hot chocolate.

Eagle Sledding Hills

Even Eagle gets enough snow for sledding part of the winter.
End of a sledding run at Haymaker hill on Eagle, Colorado.

Our favorite Eagle Ranch hill is on E. Haystacker.  It is a good sized hill with a nice flat area at the bottom. Of course, the down valley sledding hills have a bit of a shorter season, but are just as much fun while they last.

There are also a couple of fantastic hills (even a double hill) at the park behind the Eagle Library. There’s plenty of parking just a block over at Town Park and you could make a day of it hitting both the free skating rinks (while open as they are weather dependent) and the sledding hills all in on outing.

I hear there is a super big sledding hill up by the cemetery but we haven’t explored that one yet.

Gypsum Sledding Hills

Probably the biggest sledding hill in the Eagle River Valley is behind Costco in Gypsum. It is a HUGE hill so come prepared for some speed. This one is best for older kids. Our daughter took a pretty good crash here one year. This sledding hill seems to go offline and then back online, and then offline again. Sadly, it is once again off limits for the winter of 2022-2023.

East Vail Sledding Hills

East Vail is another area likely to have more snow. Big Horn Park in East Vail has a couple of great hills for sledding. There’s also a fun park here for the kids to plat at when they tire of the fast fun, if that is even possible.

Leadville Sledding Hills

Fun sledding in Leadville, Colorado, where you are almost guaranteed lost of snow.
Sledding in Leadville, Colorado at Tennessee Pass/ Ski Cooper.

Leadville is the one area where you can probably count on snow regardless of whether it is a good snow year, or not. Also, the areas that we know about happen to be groomed.

There is a groomed hill by Colorado Mountain College in Leadville which is free unless you opt to rent a tube.

We’ve also enjoyed sledding off the parking lot at Tennessee Pass Cookhouse (at Ski Cooper). There you can warm up afterwards at the Cookhouse which has delicious panini sandwiches, cookies and hot cocoa for sale.

Beaver Creek Sledding Hills

We’ve haven’t gone sledding in Beaver Creek ourselves. While we dub it the “place where locals learn to ski“, there’s not much there’s that’s free, including parking. So, unless you are staying in Beaver Creek it doesn’t make much sense to head there as a sledding destination. With that said the Beaver Creek Golf course has lots of open slopes. I am sure you can find plenty of hills to sled down on the Beaver Creek Golf Course.

Vail Tubing

On a day when you have already exhausted your legs skiing on the hill, snowshoeing or some other winter adventure, sledding may just be too much. You can still find the fun of soaring down the hill, without the work of hiking up the hill. Treat yourself and head up to Adventure Ridge atop Vail Mountain. There you can purchase tickets for snow tubing and get a lift up the hill for some tubing fun!

Winter 2022-2023 Update: Sadly, Vail’s Adventure Ridge is again not opening this winter. But if you are up for a drive, there are several other snow tubing areas within an hour or so drive.

Other Colorado Sledding Hills

Vail is home to many great sledding hills. But so are many of the other Colorado mountain towns.

Here are some great Breckenridge sledding hills, fun Aspen sledding hills  and heart pumping Durango sledding and tubing hills to check out too!

Sledding Preparation

Be sure to dress in warm layers before heading out to your favorite Vail sledding hill!

Make a day of sledding. Dress warm. Wear snow pants, snow boots and lots of layers. Kids may end up shedding some of those layers as they warm up. But they will sure be glad to have them.

If you bring a younger child on a big hill, you may also want to have them wear a helmet. We’ve seen a few good crashes on the sledding hill.

Pack up a large thermos of hot cocoa, camping chairs, a cord of wood and a Solo Stove Bonfire. The Bonfire is a portable fire put that puts of a ton of heat with very little smoke. This is the perfect way to congregate at the base of your favorite sledding hill.

Sledding may be the most underrated winter sport. All you need is a little snow and a speedy sled to go whizzing down a hill while taking in some fresh air and getting the heart rate up. Here are our favorite places to sled in the Vail, Colorado area. #Vail #VailColorado #WinterFun #Colorado #VisitColorado #Sledding #WinterSports

Looking for other things to do in Vail, Colorado?

Vail in Colorado: What to Do, Where to Stay and More!

Family-Friendly Vail Restaurants

Top 10 Activities to Do on Your Vail Family Vacation

Top 6 Toddler Friendly Activities in Vail

Planning Your Vail Family Vacation

How to Prevent Altitude Sickness on Ski Vacation

Holidays in Vail

Vail Guide: Directory of Vail Restaurants, Activities, Summer Camps, Hotels & More

Ski resorts still have one completely free winter activity that is fun for all - sledding. Find out the best sledding hills in the Vail, Colorado area! #sledding #Vail

Which area Vail sledding hills did we miss in this list? Which are your favorites? Tell us in the comments below!

*This is an updated post, originally from February 2017.*

Best Vail Sledding Hills for All Ages
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Liana Moore

Liana Moore is a third-culture kid with a hangover from those days that is a severe case of wanderlust. She is more comfortable driving the cliffs of Amalfi, Italy or the dirt roads of Costa Rica or attempting to decipher the street signs of Osaka, Japan than navigating the theme parks of Disney World. But she loves it all. She doesn't believe a vacation is complete without an adventure. Her husband and kids know well that "adventure" often is code for mishap or challenge and it usually results in a good story. They seek outdoor experiences whether in the mountains, on a beach or in the jungle of a tropical country. Her favorite vacation is... all the ones she hasn't yet taken, as well as those she plans on taking again. And, that list is so, so long. But she continues to extensively explore her home state of Colorado, spends lots of time wandering Texas, California, New Mexico, Costa Rica, Mexico, Norway and has even explored Kazakhstan.

2 thoughts on “Best Vail Sledding Hills for All Ages

  • September 13, 2023 at 2:49 pm
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    Hello! Sadly we couldn’t find a sledding hill when in Vail last year so happy to find your list! When was this last updated?
    And what would you say is the best bet and easier to get go? We have kids 11 and older.

    Reply
    • September 29, 2023 at 11:15 am
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      Hi Jessica, If you are staying in Vail and have a car, I’d probably suggest going to the west end of EagleVail and checking out the sledding hill there for ages 11 and up. Also, the tubing on Vail Mountain is super fun, though not cheap. The article was last updated in January of 2023. We will likely update it again towards the beginning of winter when sledding starts again.

      Reply

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