Sledders in Riverside Park. Photo by Ernie Fritz.
The storm of the century will eventually give way to the sledding opportunity of the century, and you’d better be ready! 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 (the parks sometimes close during storms). If you’re in the parks, be wary of falling branches.
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 often 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 known as “Suicide Hill”. Yes, the name should make you wary, and you’ll need to gauge whether you’re comfortable with your kids (or yourself) sliding down. 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.” Riverside Park also has good slopes around 108th and 114th, we’ve heard.
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!
Look at those irresponsible fathers, putting small children on a sled without a helmet. Wail until mom finds out. lol.
What a great idea for a useful article. Looking forward to more kids-in-snow photos. I’m hooked on West Side Rag.