Downhill Thrills—

No Skill Needed!

Skiers and boarders aren’t the only ones sliding down snowy Boone Area slopes. Snow tubing and sledding are exciting winter offerings in the NC High Country. Anybody can let gravity whisk them though the cold mountain air.

Tubing Specialists

Hawksnest Resort

Hawksnest is the East’s biggest tubing area, with twenty runs from 400 feet to 1,000 feet and an exhilarating 100 feet of vertical descent. Easy-to-use conveyor lifts bring riders back to the top, and the resort’s atmospheric lodge is the perfect place to get warm, grab a bite, relax with a drink by a roaring fire, or spectate from the deck. Buy tickets in advance online to be sure you get the session you want. Multiple daily sessions run through 6 pm. on weekends.

The adventurous can also slide high above the snow on the Hawksnest Zipline — the East’s largest zipline network. A suspension bridge and ten separate cables add up to a mile and a half of aerial winter fun. Check out our zipline page for more.

Jonas Ridge Snow Tubing

A cozy lodge, three tubing lanes with snowmaking, and a brand new, easy-to-use conveyor belt lift are open day and night six miles south of Linville on NC 181. Visit Jonas Ridge Snow Tubing online for more information.

Tube at the Slopes

Sugar Mountain Resort

Sugar Mountain Resort’s multi-lane tubing facility features 700 foot runs and a conveyor lift back to the top. Day and night sessions are adjacent to parking lot D.

Beech Mountain Resort

Ski Beech has a new tubing run behind the Viewhaus cafeteria; indoor spectators can watch and stay warm at the same time! For winter 2010/11, a third tubing lane was added.

Sled The Old-fashioned Way

This traditional—and free—form of winter fun is found all over the Boone area. Almost anywhere you look in the High Country, sleds and snow toys are available for sale.

Blue Ridge Parkway

When natural snow covers the ground, head to the Parkway’s popular sled hill at Moses Cone Park in Blowing Rock. There are multiple runs from easy to edgy. Click to visit the Parkway brochure page, then click on "Moses Cone" to download the park map. The hill is easy to find—it's right beside the "District Office" marked at lower left on the map at the US 221 junction with the Parkway and Shulls Mill Road (just one mile from downtown Blowing Rock). Park by the hill along the access road to the Parkway’s District Office and maintenance facility. Of course, there are other "sleddable" meadows at Cone Park and when conditions are good, plowed portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Cone and Price Parks make wonderfully scenic winter drives. Watch the slideshow at the top of the page for views of the Parkway sled hill and roadside scenes.

Town of Beech Mountain

There’s a free and family friendly sledding hill in the East’s highest town of Beech Mountain — with snowmaking, so the fun can continue even without natural snow. This hill is intended for kids 12 and under but parents may accompany small children. Park in the sledder’s parking area on the right just as you crest the top of Beech Mountain Parkway above Banner Elk. The Beech Mountain visitor center has information and restrooms right beside the sled hill. Adjacent businesses sell various kinds of sleds and serve hot drinks and food. Watch the slideshow at the top of the page for a view of the Beech Mountain sled run.