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The crunching of snow, the swish of sleds, the shrieks of kids as they hurtle down a neighborhood hill at top speed—it’s sledding time in Daybreak. Everywhere you go in our community, you encounter sled tracks and trudge marks on hills that used to be grassy slopes. It seems to me that every hill in Daybreak has been tried by sledders looking for the perfect slope, or just one close to home. We took our own sledding tour of Daybreak the other day but soon discovered that most of the big hills face south and don’t hold their snow very long on a sunny winter day. After some disappointments, we were able to find a couple of places with plenty of good, compacted snow on a north-facing slope and managed to get our fill of sledding thrills but just be forewarned—if you want to hit the really steep sledding spots in Daybreak, don’t wait around. What follows is a list of the  various sledding locations in Daybreak. Please refer to the attached map for clarification. If you have another favorite spot (that you wouldn’t mind sharing) leave a note in the comments and I’ll add it in. Of course, if you ask me, the best sledding hill is the one you can walk home from fastest for a steaming cup of hot chocolate and a snuggle by the warm fire. 1.      East end of Rowdy Park (or the Swimming Pool Park) in Eastlake: One of those sunken field parks, this place offers some of the best safe sledding in Daybreak. There’s plenty of slope space to accommodate a sledding crowd, and half of it faces north for long-lasting snow. The surrounding streets have negligible traffic but there’s not much park-side parking if you’re driving up. Local kids have built up some great snow jumps to get your sled airborne. CLICK READ MORE TO SEE REST OF THE ARTICLE
2.      Sunrise Park (Open Crest Drive and Topview Road), also in Eastlake: A steep hill that starts at a fairly busy street and plummets into a ditch—it’s not for the faint of heart. There are a few hills that are not as steep in the area but you kind of have to hike around to find them. As the name of the park suggests, this place faces the sun and the snow doesn’t last very long here. 3.      Hillside Park (behind the Information Pavilion) in Founder’s Village: Watch out for trees! There are several different hills used for sledding in this area, some long and steep and some more tame, but watch out for a few scattered trees that pose crashing hazards. The hills in this park also face east and south and don’t hold their snow all season. 4.      Daybreak Elementary in Founder’s Village: The steep hills on the north end of the playground field offer some great winter sledding. The drawbacks here are the fairly busy street at the top of the hill, the south-facing slope on which the snow melts all too soon, and you really probably shouldn’t be sledding here during the day when school is in session—it would make the other kids who are on-track jealous, don’t you think? 5.      Central Park (just west of Daybreak Elementary) in Founder’s Village: This was my kids’ favorite sledding spot in Daybreak. Plenty of slope, plenty of snow, and there were no busy streets or trees in the way for their mother to worry about. The jumps were great here, too. And even though several people joined us on their sleds, there was still plenty of room for everyone. There are picnic tables and benches for parents to sit and watch the kids and even a playground that my three-year-old decided was better than the sleds. Overall, this park made for a fantastic winter experience—now, if we could just get them to install a sled lift… 6.  Northshore (off of Vermillion Drive): This is the mother-of-all sledding hills. It's steep and high and north-east facing for long-lasting snow. Since it begins in a park in a quiet corner of Northshore and plummets to a treeless flat area it could be considered safe from most dangers except those possibly incured from sledding at the high speeds this hill delivers. I can understand why snowboarders were competing with sledders for slope space. If it ever snows again, the older kids are going to love this hill. SEE ATTACHED MAP
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