Our Favorite Sledding Hills

By John Andrews

There aren’t many hills in Lake Norden, so when snow began to pile up during winter our sledding opportunities were limited. Usually, we waited until the city maintenance crew finished plowing the streets because they always deposited the snow in two huge piles: one across from the fire hall and another next to the auditorium. That’s where kids gathered to play King on the Mountain or create an elaborate network of snow tunnels or just have an old-fashioned snowball fight.

Thirty years later, my own kids could choose among several sledding spots in Yankton. I don’t know how many times we loaded the car and snaked through the concrete driveways of the Yankton Cemetery, where a long and unobstructed slope on its west side provides a perfect downhill run. Morgen Park is another fun spot, as is the earthen slope of Gavins Point Dam, where it rises above Pierson Ranch Recreation Area west of Yankton.

The January/February issue of South Dakota Magazine includes a feature on popular sledding hills around the state. It seems that no matter where you’re growing up, you’re not far from an iconic or favorite spot for winter fun.

Families in Aberdeen love the modest slope in Baird Park, a gentle, 25foot hill that city officials created just for kids. Custer’s Pageant Hill is one of the finest family sledding spots in the Black Hills. The hill is the summit of Big Rock Park, which also includes hiking trails and a disc golf course. St. Ann’s Hill in Watertown is a sledder’s delight, taking advantage of an abrupt change in elevation behind Prairie Lakes Hospital on 10th Avenue. (It’s called St. Ann’s Hill because that was the original name of the hospital.)

People in Lemmon realized that it was less expensive to build a small hill for water storage rather than a taller tower. It didn’t take long to see that it could also be a sledding slope with a warming shack. Called Tank Hill, it’s easy to spot on the city’s west side.

Another example of local ingenuity can be found in Wessington Springs, where an old homemade invention with an electric motor powers a 1,200-foot rope lift. Locals jokingly call it the “Rube Goldberg ski lift,” but it has carried thousands of happy children since the 1950s.

Such innovation and know-how are nice, but they are not often required in South Dakota. Sometimes all you need is the city maintenance man in a payloader.

John Andrews is the editor of South Dakota Magazine, a bi-monthly publication that explores the people and places of our great state. For more information, visit www. southdakotamagazine. com.