Sledders in Riverside Park. Photo by Ernie Fritz.
Given how long we’ve waited for snow, it’s definitely time to celebrate, and one of the best ways to do that is to hop on a sled! Luckily, Upper West Siders live near some excellent sledding hills, as well as some good spots for coffee and hot chocolate once you’re soaked and exhausted. Not all of these hills are appropriate for kids — or even for some adults — so be careful and use your judgment. Also, not all of these hills may be open for sledding.
Central Park has lots of good sledding hills, with the most famous being Pilgrim Hill just North of 72nd Street off of Fifth Avenue. Another well-known spot is Cedar Hill, just south of the Metropolitan Museum, also on the East side of the park. There’s also decent sledding just inside the entrance to the park on the West side of 72nd Street, South of the transverse road. Another spot just off of Central park West is just South of Tavern on the Green around 66th Street. There are also lots of other hills throughout the park. Parks employees tend to set up hay bales in front of trees to keep kids from hurting themselves. Of course, kids will always find some way to hurt themselves.
In Riverside Park, there’s a hill around 103rd Street, and a popular one near the Hippo Playground at about 91st Street.
On Riverside Drive at 91st Street is a slope known as “Suicide Hill”. Don’t take the kids here; if you’re an adult make sure you’re comfortable with the pitch, and have all your health coverage up to date. One person on yelp (yes this hill even has a yelp page) also offers this advice: “As long as you brace yourself, you won’t get too banged up. It gets pretty crowded after a lot of snow has stuck, so it’s best experienced earlier in the day.
In Morningside Park, there’s a hill just below the Cathedral of St. John the Divine around 114th Street that’s pretty popular and offers a really nice view of the Cathedral.
Have fun! And if you know of any other good spots email us at info at westsiderag dot com!
The hil by Hippo Park is the same one known as “Suicide Hill.”. Just got back wi th my girls : 5 and 11. Perfectly fine for kids – you just have to be on your toes and keep your eyes open.
It’s a great hill – very steep and you “end” your run by crashing into hay bales at stop you from hitting the fence around Hippo Park.
It’s not for the faint of heart for sure, but it’s fun!
Great list of sledding spots on the Upper West Side! The kid in us wants to go check out these spots, immediately.
Great guide to sledding, Avi, and I love the photos. There are always sledders on the slope at the 108th Street entrance of Riverside Park as well as further up around 112 or 114. Hay bales in both locations. I believe the hay bales serve to protect the trees from the sleds as well as protect sledders from trees.