Photo Credit: bombpopsaregood (flickr)
St. Louis families have been heading to Art Hill for generations on snow days.
As a child, I remember my dad telling stories about how he and his brothers would ride their bikes as kids to the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park to go sledding. He never did explain how they got there on bikes with the sleds. But he did tell me there were a few times when they ended up in the pond at the bottom of the hill.
I never went to sledding at Art Hill as a child. We had a huge hill behind our house where all of the neighborhood kids would gather.
The first time I went sledding at Art Hill, I was in my 20s. I joined a bunch of friends for breakfast on a snowy Sunday morning, and then we headed over to Art Hill. Hay stacks were lined up at the bottom to keep sledders from hitting the frozen pond at the bottom. At the top of the hill was a bonfire to warm up.
Sledding at Art Hill actually can be treacherous. Sledders heading down the hill do their best to avoid the people climbing back up the hill. But make no mistake, as someone walking uphill, it’s your responsibility to get out of the way.
And that hill is steep. The ride down is fast and fun. The walk back up is tiring. A few runs and I’m worn out.
Check out these videos of Art Hill fun and then grab a sled and head out as soon as there are a few inches on the ground.
This video does a good job capturing what it feels like to head down that big hill!
Have you ever been sledding at Art Hill? Share your favorite memory with us.
