When alpine snow accumulates, plenty of great spots for a day of tubing or sledding near Seattle open up. If you’re not content to wait for Seattle’s hills to turn into de facto snow parks in a blizzard, keep this handy list in your back pocket for an impromptu sledding adventure.
5 Places to Go Sledding near Seattle
- Paradise at Mount Rainier: Where else can you sled in view of a volcano? Apart from paying the entry fee into the national park, Mount Rainier’s Paradise area offers you free sledding near Seattle to your heart’s content, as long as there is sufficient snowpack to avoid damaging the fragile meadows that lie beneath the white stuff. The park also prohibits hard toboggans and sleds with metal runners. For the latest conditions, visit the Mount Rainier National Park Winter Recreation page.
- Snoqualmie Pass: You have two options for sledding and tubing at the pass. There’s the groomed sledding hill at The Summit, which sells tickets for two-hour intervals; The Summit provides the tubes, so you just need to show up with warm clothing and a good attitude.Your other option is the Hyak Sno-Park, which grooms its slopes daily. Just like at the region’s other Sno-Parks, you’ll have to pay to play; Hyak requires either a “Seasonal Sno-Park permit with the special grooming sticker, or a day pass in conjunction with a Discover Pass.”
- Mountain Loop Highway: With no fee payment beyond the Northwest Forest Pass, this is a fun place to play. Head to the closed access road to Mount Pilchuck, or the end of the plowed road at Deer Creek Road (milepost 23 on the highway).
- Suncadia Tubing Hill: When the tubing hill at The Summit at Snoqualmie fills up, keep driving east to Suncadia Resort. The resort’s tubing hill, complete with a rope tow, is open to the public for a $20 per rider fee, which gets you three hours on the hill. You can combine a trip here with the resort’s other activities, like ice skating and cross-country skiing.
- Hurricane Ridge: Though a bit further of a drive, Olympic National Park offers sledding and tubing at its Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Area tubing park. There’s a fee to play: $10 for a one-hour session, which includes your tube. Kids ages eight and under can sled and tube for free at a small hill by the visitor center. In this case, you’ll have to bring a sled or tube for them to use; sleds with runners are not allowed.
Have any favorite places to go sledding near Seattle? We’d love to hear them! Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
