The first idea that comes to most people’s minds when snow starts falling is going down a sledding hill. Enjoying a fun day of sledding down a steep and fast hill is a winter fantasy many families share. However, most people don’t have access to sledding hills where they live, which puts a dampener on their excitement. They want their children to experience the wonders of the snow season and the joy of sledding down a hill. Now, you can read this post and learn how to make a sledding hill of your own, which is a fun activity that will keep the entire family occupied and entertained.
Building snow forts and snowmen is fun and a great way to pass the time, but it doesn’t compare to the thrill and excitement of sliding down a sledding hill at full speed. If you don’t live near a sledding hill or the roads are blocked, you don’t need to be disappointed.
How to Make a Sledding Hill
Making a sledding hill is not difficult, and all you need is some patience, a little water, and lots of snow. You need to have different sleds and a way to move large quantities of snow as well. This article will share the basics of how to make a sledding hill.
The Basics of Sledding Hill Construction
If you have a relatively long run of uninterrupted and smooth ground built on a slope, it provides you with the perfect terrain for building a sledding hill. The idea here is to construct a structure like a ramp that resembles a small hill. That will require you to move large quantities of snow and create a mound-shaped wedge full of snow that is hard-packed.
Sledding Down Front Porches or Flight of Steps
If you’ve got a flight of stairs, you can construct an excellent sledding hill. However, ensure that they aren’t the only way to exit or enter your home and acquire permission before building a sledding hill on top of that. You will need to collect enough ice and snow to ensure the steps are protected from the sled runners and protect the flat-bottomed sleds from getting damaged.
Sledding Hill in Igloo-Style
If you want to involve your children in a sledding hill’s construction process, you can enlist their tiny hands and play buckets to build a sledding hill in igloo-style. All you need to do is smush, shape, and stack rows of blocks like you would build a sandcastle. The only difference is that there isn’t any sand, and it is colder. You can also create a staircase going to the top of the sledding hill by using blocks.
Use a Snowbank as a Sledding Hill
The best way to build a sledding hill is by allowing someone else to do all the hard work for you. Snowplows will come through and shovel snow, creating snow banks, making for excellent sledding hills. It’s a little dangerous as you would be sliding onto the street, and there could be cars, but you can always have a watcher who looks out for oncoming vehicles.
A safer option would be to find a snowbank facing a long driveway or a grassy area so that you are sliding away from the road. To get the best results when turning a snowbank into a sledding hill, you should use fresh snow because once the snow hardens and becomes chunky, it will be harder to create a smooth surface you can glide on.
Tips for Moving Snow
The best choice for moving snow and creating a sledding hill is to use shovels. However, you can’t carry a lot of snow in them, and they will start getting heavy after repeated trips across the yard. The best way you can move snow to build sledding hills without tiring yourself is to use a plastic tarp. All you need to do is shovel and dump the snow onto a tarp and drag it to the area of construction.
You need to ensure that the tarp is durable and can handle repeated trips across the yard. You can use your sled to drag the tarp across the yard and follow a similar path. You will condition the path in the process, making it easier to drag the tarp across it.
Condition the Sledding Hill
Once you’ve collected a decent amount of snow for your sledding hill, you must then condition it so that you can have hours of fun. You shouldn’t take the snow from places near the ramp, as in doing that, you will create an ice rink or get a lot of mud by removing too much snow. You should always leave additional snow on paved surfaces to make soft landings and protect the sled runners and plastic sleds.
Use freshly fallen snow to condition a sledding hill as that snow will pack well, and you can easily create any shape you want for your sledding hill. Ensure that the snow is well packed and go down the sleds multiple times to shape the hill. You can also run down a bit of water to create a faster sledding hill by making it icier. Use loose snow to fill any crevices and holes. Don’t flood the hill with water as you want a slushy mess but don’t want a completely slippery area.
Our Final Thoughts
From this guide on how to make a sledding hill, we hope to convey the idea that the process and what follows it should be all about having fun and enjoying time with your family. You need to ensure that you follow the basics of all safety rules when constructing your sledding hill. Ensure that nobody gets hurt when sliding down the hill, and everyone is all smiles.
