Best Sledding Spots in the Suburbs


Here are some of the best sledding spots in the suburbs.

Caboose Park, Lake Villa Township, 27908 Fairfield Road

• Hill available for sledding and has one of area’s few toboggan chutes

• Lighted from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Century Park, Vernon Hills, 1001 Lakeview Parkway

• Bears Running Back Matt Forte used it for training

• Lighted, open until 9 p.m.

• Cross-country skiing and ice skating available

Deer Grove Forest Preserve, Palatine

• Two hills for sledding

• Biggest hill allows for enough speed to stop just before a lake

• Preserve is well-known for its large deer population

Fabyan Forest Preserve, Geneva

• Open when there’s a minimum of 4 inches of snow.

• Enter off Route 25 or Route 31, north of Fabyan Parkway

• Check out the historic windmills and Fox River nearby

• Open until 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and holidays

Johnson’s Mound, 41W600 Hughes Road, near Elburn

• Highest point for several surrounding miles; great view

• Hill rises up 200 feet

• One of the first three forest preserves in Kane County

Lakewood Forest Preserve, Wauconda, Fairfield and Ivanhoe Roads

• Lights for evening sledding

• Steep hill allows for good speed, but plenty of flat area at the bottom to slow down

• Restrooms atop the hill

Meineke Recreation Center, 220 E. Weathersfield Way, Schaumburg

• Next to the recreation center

North Salk Park, 3160 Owl Drive, Rolling Meadows

• Hill has steps to make climbing back up easier

• Hill is lighted in the evenings

• Flag system lets you know when it is safe to sled

Randall Oaks Park, 1180 N. Randall Road, West Dundee

• Snowboards welcome

Riverwalk Sled Hill, Rotary Hill, Naperville

• Wooden and metal-runner sleds not permitted

• Open until 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

Veteran Acres, Crystal Lake

• Lighted in the evening