Another kind of downhill adventure for all ages, abilities
By Melissa Voss
The Colorado snow is piled high and avid winter sports enthusiasts are hitting the slopes. For families with smaller children, it’s not always easy to strap on a pair of skis and go. However, numerous Colorado parks, resorts, and communities provide a fun winter experience for nearly all ages: tubing.
Tubing tips
Some parks and resorts require tube riders to be at least 36 inches tall. Many parks and resorts also require a signed liability waiver before hitting the slopes.
Don’t forget hats, gloves, scarves, goggles, jackets and snow pants to stay warm through the wait, the ride and the potential face plant.
Check the website for additional information before making the trip. Some limit tubing hours or require parking in specific areas and wearing additional gear.
As long as you can sit on the tube and hold on, you are able to participate. According to tubing hill hosts, Colorado families with younger children use tubing to introduce and include their young ones in the winter fun.
The tubes and the groomed hills have come a long way since the activity originated in the Swiss Alps in the late 19th century. Commercialized tubes were invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Scotland when he created a tire that was too big for bikes but too heavy for tubing. After many innovations and patents in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the tube was born and is still similar to those used today.
But what makes tubing different from sledding? Unlike a sled, a tube is light and smooth, which decreases friction, allowing riders to speed down the slopes. Add a steeper slope angle and the speed only goes up. However, it’s important to keep in mind that tubes will go nowhere on fresh, unpacked snow. Oftentimes, tubing hills were previously used for skiing or snowboarding runs.
Several ski resorts provide a tubing-only slope because the increased speeds and minimal steering ability require the slopes to have safety barriers to keep riders on course.
Winter sports are a staple to Coloradans as the snow starts to fall. But as Colorado grows, communities around the state are working to bring inclusivity to families during the winter months.
Photo courtesy of Colorado Adventure Park
Maria Chavez, membership services director of Winter Park and Fraser’s Chamber of Commerce says that tubing opens up another door of fun for families. “Winter Park and Fraser have three resorts that offer numerous winter experiences. Tubing allows and welcomes families of all ages to get in on that winter fun,” Chavez says.
One unique take on the tubing scene is Winter Park Resort’s Coca-Cola Tubing Hill, a multi-lane, curved slope that offers different experiences for everyone. There are several lanes that allow one to enjoy a ride whether you want to take it fast or slow, ride solo or slide down with a group.
What upgrades this experience is that on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5-7 p.m., the hill adds neon lights along the path to light up the snow for Glow Night Tubing.
Although highly recommended, the park does not require an advanced purchase, allowing families to take a last-minute trip out to the slopes.
The park understands that winter months can start to cool you down, so they offer numerous ways to warm you back up. Families are able to warm up with hot chocolate, coffee, and other hot drinks in the warm cabin at the top of the hill.
You don’t have to travel to Winter Park to enjoy a good tubing slope. Parks and communities around the state offer slopes for Coloradans and visitors alike.
Photo courtesy of Winter Park Resort
Fifteen minutes from Steamboat Springs is the Saddleback Ranch’s Yee-Haw tubing hill. Families are able to enjoy the hill, which is equipped with a tube-attaching lift system that brings you to the top, and a warming lodge with drinks and snacks at the bottom. To reach the hill, you can either drive up to the ranch or hop on the shuttle at the Steamboat Springs Gondola Transit Center. Children 4 and under with an adult can ride for free.
Only minutes from Winter Park Ski Resort is the locally owned and operated tubing hill, Colorado Adventure Park. Besides single tubes, families can rent double tubes so that younger children can ride safely with an adult. There’s no need to trek all the way up the hill because as the park offers a ride up the Magic Carpet lift. If you or your young ones need a break, the warming hut offers a variety of snacks and warm beverages. The last tubes are rented at 6 p.m.
Once all the snow is compacted at Copper Mountain, families can take the twists and turns down their 4-lane tubing hill. Reservations and scheduled times are required for a full hour of play, so be sure to get your ticket an hour in advance. If you pre-book at least one day in advance online, you can save 10% off day-of rates. Do you have younger kids that are too short to ride? Copper Mountain’s Critterland allows smaller children to enjoy tubing on Squeal Hill, right at the base of the tubing hill in East Village.
Photo courtesy of Winter Park Resort
Just outside of Salida, Monarch Mountain’s tubing park takes riders down 400 feet of snow right next to the ski slopes. The tubing park allows even experienced winter sports enthusiasts to sit back, relax, and enjoy the slopes with the whole family. Tubing park availability depends on the amount of snow, and the time needed to carve out the tubing lanes, so check their website to see when the slopes are ready to ride. Already a Monarch Season Pass holder? You get 50% off walk-up rates!
You don’t always have to go to a ski resort to have fun. Leadville Twin Lakes offers the Dutch Henry Sledding and Tubing Hill. Open from dawn to dusk, you can bring in your own tube or rent tubes on the weekend, available at the base of the hill. This place is nothing too fancy; you do have to walk back up the hill if you want another run. Not in or near Leadville Twin Lakes, check out your community’s website and see if there are any smooth hills to take your family down this winter.
This story is in our January-February print issue. Click here to read the full magazine.
Melissa Voss is a South Dakota native who recently moved to Colorado to find her next adventure. Her writing goes beyond working with Team Thirst, as she is working on her first novel. In her free time, she’s hiking with her dog, writing poetry with her cat on her lap, or adding to her growing collection of Colorado-based coffee and brews.