Old man winter is almost here but that doesn’t mean it’s time for your family to hibernate in the living room. Get out and enjoy the first snow of a Michigan winter by hitting the hills for some sledding and skiing fun all over the state. The Grand Rapids area, for example, offers prime real estate for kids that can’t get enough sledding and tubing; plus rolling hills and wide-open spaces for those that like to ski or snowboard.
Sound like something that your family could get behind? Check out this list of 10 of the best places to ski, sled, tube and snowboard in Grand Rapids this winter – and grab your skis and go.
Belknap Park
- Address: 30 Coldbrook NE, Grand Rapids
- Phone: 616-456-3696
- Hours: Open 24 hours
- Cost: Free
This public park offers a massive hill that’s perfect for sledding. Bring your favorite toboggan or tube and hop to it.
Cannonsburg Ski & Ride Area
- Address: 6800 Cannonsburg Road, Belmont
- Phone: 616-874-6711
- Hours: Check for seasonal hour changes
- Cost: vary/day passes, $359-$924/season passes
This spot features runs and lifts for experienced and novice skiers; plus tubing, sledding, lessons and more.
Cascade Township Park
- Address: 3810 Thornapple River Drive SE, Grand Rapids
- Phone: 616-949-1500
- Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
- Cost: Free
In the winter, the large hill on the east side of the park turns into a haven for sledding and tobogganing. Find plenty of space for skiing, too.
Charlie’s Dump
- Address: Rosewood Park, 1899 Rosewood St., Jenison
- Phone: 616-457-2340
- Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
- Cost: Free
Inside Rosewood Park find a hill that originated as a gravel pit then a landfill and now a fun place that families use as a slip-n-slide in the summer and a sledding hill in the winter.
Johnson Park
- Address: 2600 Wilson Ave., Walker
- Phone: 616-632-7275
- Hours: 7 a.m.-sunset
- Cost: Free
This spot offers one of the area’s most popular sledding hills near the park’s main parking lot.
Mulligan’s Hollow Ski Bowl
- Address: 16 Sherman Ave., Grand Haven
- Phone: 616-842-0634
- Hours: 4-8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday and school holidays and snow days
- Cost: $15/hill lift tickets, $10/school holidays and snow days, $8/bunny hill lift tickets; season passes available
This spot feature six slopes with connecting trails, seven acres for open boarding, bunny hills for kids and more.
Palmer Park
- Address: 1257 52nd St. SW, Wyoming
- Phone: 616-632-7275
- Hours: 7 a.m.-sunset
- Cost: $2/daily trail fee, $25/season pass, $7-$25/ski rental
In the summertime, this 300-acre park offers green space, complete with a playground, hiking trails and even a golf course that transform into three two-mile skiing loops that wind through the wooded areas of the park.
Pickerel Lake Park
- Address: 6001 Ramsdell Road NE, Cannonsburg
- Phone: 616-632-7275
- Hours: 7 a.m.-sunset
- Cost: Free
In the winter, this 310-acre nature preserve offers moderate hills and dense terrain for skiers and snowshoers to traverse.
Pigeon Creek Park
- Address: 12524 Stanton St., West Olive
- Phone: 616-738-4810
- Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Cost: Free
Just about 40 minutes from Grand Rapids sits this 282-acre Ottawa County Park. Check it out in the wintertime and find cross-country ski and snow show trails and a sledding hill. Ski lessons and ski and snow shoe rentals available.
Richmond Park
- Address: 1101 Richmond NW, Grand Rapids
- Phone: 616-456-3696
- Hours: 1-5 p.m. daily
- Cost: Free
This park is one of Grand Rapids originals and features Richmond Hill, which is prime real estate for skiing, sledding, jumping and more.