A Winter Sledding Public Service Announcement

Photo Credit: Jake Bacon, Courtesy of the Flagstaff Convention & Visitors Bureau

Tis the season for all of my Phoenix friends to start emailing me, asking about the sledding areas in Flagstaff. Because it’s my job to know this information (literally, it’s my job…I talk about it on the news and everything), I’m happy to help out. Because I don’t get to say EVERYTHING I want to say on the news, here are a few pieces of advice for those who want to head north and play in the snow:

• Don’t be a jackass. Seriously….don’t send your kid careening down some hill into oncoming traffic. I’ve seen it happen. I know that you’re SO EXCITED to see snow, but trust me, we have a lot of it. You don’t have to (illegally) pull over at the first sight of snow and get out of the car. Make your way to an actual safe sledding area. Need to know where those are? Check out this handy Winter Recreation Map that the nice folks in my office put together. All of these sledding areas have the holy trinity of things you need for a fun sledding experience: Legal parking (it is NOT legal to park on Highway 180, not matter how many other jackasses are doing it), trash receptacles (please don’t leave your gum wrappers in our forests) and bathrooms (please don’t leave your pee in our forests).
• If you are going to go to one of the ski or snowplay areas on Highway 180 during a busy holiday weekend, know that everything out there opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. Try to avoid arriving and departing at those exact hours and you will save yourself a big headache. I like to get to Snowbowl by 8:30 a.m. and settle into a seat in the lodge with a breakfast burrito, the most perfect food ever invented.
• Don’t sled at Snowbowl. It’s not legal, nor is it smart.
• Don’t want to commit to a day at Snowbowl? Head out to the Nordic Center and try your hand at cross country skiing or snowshoeing.
• Don’t be in a rush to get back to Phoenix. Stay the night. Eat at one of our great restaurants. Not having to rush back down the hill makes for a much more enjoyable experience!
• Do I know of other places to sled? Yes. Am I going to tell you where they are? No. That’s the benefit of living here – we have to shovel all this snow off our driveways, but we also have the inside knowledge on the secret sledding areas. I can probably be bribed with wine though.

Happy, safe sledding!!