Snow’s Coming: Here’s Where To Get Your Sledding On
Hell yeah, bomb those hills!
With up to a foot of the white stuff predicted to fall this Friday night into Saturday our minds turn towards the usual snowfall activities…
Adult beverages by a fire with family and friends
Sledding with the kids from the neighborhood
Let’s face it, nothing brings people together like the communal drudgery of digging out from a massive snow dump. It always involves bitching about shoveling the inevitable plow dump at the end of your driveway with your next-door neighbors but then helping the older peeps in your neighborhood get it cleared out… because that’s how we roll.
Once the roads get plowed there’s only one thing to do: Head to the nearest sledding hill to exhaust the kids… So, here ya go., Rat Rock Nation, a cool list of some of the greatest places to go sledding in Monmouth and Ocean Counties…
No sledding list is complete without Holmdel Park. This place rocks and it’s a popular destination which means: crowds.
Not far away is the PNC Bank Arts Center at exit 117 on the Garden State Parkway. I’ve never been here to sled, only for some killer concerts… but, I’ve been told that you can get some decent rides here.
Local tip: No, we’re not suggesting breaking into the venue to sled on it’s lawn seat area.
Gotts threw in this suggestion: Thompson Park in Monroe. Gotts says, “As soon as the snow hit we’d always head to Thompson Park. School? Who needed school?!”
Local tip: Here’s a video that got posted from a recent snowblast.
Here’s another Monmouth County choice: Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan. This place has (as the name would suggest) TONS of awesome history… and the sledding here is ok. Local tip: There’s some decent cross country skiing to be had here.
A bit further east you’ll find “Cemetery Hill on Route 36“. A buddy of mine cracked his head here a few years ago. Not on a tombstone… on another sledder. This hill is serious business. Keep that in mind… You don’t want to end up IN the place after sledding on its hill….
Local tip: You have to park in the Aldi’s lot to get access… And, let’s face it: A cemetery is a private place… Might want to avoid this place. As a stand-up comic friend used to say to me, “your mileage may vary”.
Wall Township has a little spot that’s mostly unknown: The Wall Township municipal complex.
Local tip: Go past the library by the baseball field and you’ll see a hill for sledding. Easy to get to from Rt 138.
Here’s a thought for you if you’re in southern Monmouth County or northern Ocean… Howell’s public library has a decent sledding hill. Almost every snow storm brings out people from miles around for it. It’s behind the library located where the municipal and public works buildings are on Old Tavern Road.
Local tip: The main hill area is good, but it can get ridden out quickly. Way off to the sledder’s left (on the other side of the woods) is a shorter but steeper hill that a lot of people don’t go to.
Of course, the further south we go on the Jersey Shore the flatter and flatter things seem to get… but you might want to try Ocean County Park…
Local tip: There’s not a ton of “hill” here but it’s ok for beginners… Just be careful driving…
Hey, Brick we’re heading your way for this storm because Windward Beach Park has a cool hill for sledding.
Local tip: Parking is limited… BUT there’s a good pub just down the street!
Winter sledding enthusiasts will find a spot near Toms River Country Club. Not on the golf course… that’ll get you some problems, but kinda near Washington Street.
Local tip: Watch your parking on this one, or hoof it from way down the street.
Veterans Park in Bayville, by Central Regional High School has a hill that’s popular with the locals of all ages, and since there’s the school there’s plenty of parking.
And lets throw some sledding love at the grounds of Barnegat High School… again, plenty of parking and some decent action here.
GALLERY: New Jersey Winter Storm - January 7, 2022
