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10 hills in Illinois, most of them run by a county or city

Sledding Hills in Illinois: Every One an Agency Names

Every hill below was named for sledding by the Illinois agency that runs it, on a page linked beside it. What it costs, whether it runs tubing, a tow or lights, and the agency's own words.

10
Hills a public agency names
in 7 towns
A county or city
Most of them named by
9 local, 1 state, 0 national forest
9
That print no charge
no state winter parking permit
1 / 9 / 4
Tubing, tow or lights
9 publish hours, 1 a conditions page
The answer

Whose website to open first in Illinois

Illinois has 10 hills that a public agency has named for sledding in writing. Of those, 9 are run by a county, metro or city park department, 1 by the state.

  • County, metro or city: 9
  • State park or forest: 1
  • The first website to open in Illinois is a county or city parks department rather than the state park system, because that is where most of the designations below were published.
  • 9 of the 10 print no charge and 1 print a fee or a parking charge.
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Grouped by who named it

All 10 Illinois hills

Each card opens with the agency’s own words, because that sentence is the reason the hill is on the page. Everything under it is an attribute the same agency published on the same page. Where an agency adds guidance of its own, it is quoted whole and nothing is added to it.

Named by a county or city9 hills

Sledding hill at Caldwell Woods

County park

Caldwell Woods. Chicago. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills with lighting are staffed and open Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 7:30pm; Friday-Saturday: 10am – 8:30pm daily when conditions allow. Caldwell Woods
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Lit after darkwalk upSunday to Thursday: 10am to 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday: 10am to 8:30pm, when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Dan Ryan Woods Visitor Center & Pavilion

County park

Dan Ryan Woods Visitor Center & Pavilion. Chicago. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills with lighting are staffed and open Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 7:30pm; Friday-Saturday: 10am – 8:30pm daily when conditions allow. Dan Ryan Woods Visitor Center & Pavilion
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Lit after darkwalk upSunday to Thursday: 10am to 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday: 10am to 8:30pm, when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Swallow Cliff Woods-North

County park

Swallow Cliff Woods-North. Palos Park. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills with lighting are staffed and open Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 7:30pm; Friday-Saturday: 10am – 8:30pm daily when conditions allow. Swallow Cliff Woods-North
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Lit after darkwalk upSunday to Thursday: 10am to 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday: 10am to 8:30pm, when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with snow on it, and this hill needs at least six inches

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Westchester Woods

County park

Westchester Woods. La Grange Park. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills with lighting are staffed and open Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 7:30pm; Friday-Saturday: 10am – 8:30pm daily when conditions allow. Westchester Woods
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Lit after darkwalk upSunday to Thursday: 10am to 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday: 10am to 8:30pm, when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Deer Grove

County park

Deer Grove. Palatine. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill is located at Picnic Grove #5.
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

walk up10 am to sunset daily when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Pioneer Woods

County park

Pioneer Woods. Willow Springs. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills without lighting are open 10 am to sunset daily when conditions allow. Pioneer Woods
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

walk up10 am to sunset daily when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Thaddeus S. “Ted” Lechowicz Woods

County park

Thaddeus S. “Ted” Lechowicz Woods. Chicago. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills without lighting are open 10 am to sunset daily when conditions allow. Thaddeus S. “Ted” Lechowicz Woods
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

walk up10 am to sunset daily when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hill at Schiller Woods-East

County park

Schiller Woods-East. Chicago. Run by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sledding hills without lighting are open 10 am to sunset daily when conditions allow. Schiller Woods-East
Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

walk up10 am to sunset daily when conditions allowthe ground has to be frozen with at least three inches of snow on it

Forest Preserves of Cook County publishes this with the hill: “Children under the age of 12 should wear a bicycle or multi-sport helmet and be supervised by an adult. Properly use appropriate sledding devices in good repair with no sharp edges. Use of skis, non-winter tubes, carpets, toboggans and metal rail sleds is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized building of ramps, bumps, moguls, hills or jumps out of any material is strictly prohibited. Pets and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited on sledding hills.”

Sledding, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Mount Hoy

County park

Blackwell Forest Preserve. Warrenville. Run by Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Race down Mount Hoy on a snow tube this winter!
Winter Fun, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Tubing, tubes rented on sitewalk up$10 per tube for the entire day10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with last tube rentals at 3:30 p.m.the district wants more than about three inches of packed snow, and closes the hill early when the real feel is 10 degrees or below or a winter storm is running

Tube rentals are $10 per tube for the entire day. If you leave and come back later the same day, show your receipt and you can rent a tube again based on availability.

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County publishes this with the hill: “Only District-provided tubes are allowed on the tubing runs. Rental tubes must stay on the designated tubing runs. Sledding is always prohibited at Mount Hoy at Blackwell, the Greene Valley scenic overlook, the Mallard Lake landfill hill, any hill at Spring Creek Reservoir, and on or near Herrick Lake at Herrick Lake.”

Conditions from the agency · Winter Fun, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Named by the state1 hill

One-eighth mile sledding and tobogganing hill

State park

Weldon Springs State Park. Clinton. Run by Illinois Department of Natural Resources

When the snow flies, hardier outdoors persons not only continue many of the warmer weather pursuits, but add sledding and tobogganing on a one-eighth mile hill, ice fishing and cross-country skiing to the itinerary of their visit.
Weldon Springs State Park, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Weldon Springs State Park, Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Cost and parking

What sledding costs in Illinois

9 of the 10 print no charge and 1 print a fee or a parking charge. Nationally 140 of the 202 hills print no charge at all, and the ones that do are nearly always the two things that cost an agency money to run: a tubing operation that rents the tube, and a tow that carries you back up.

Illinois sells no winter parking permit. 19 states do, and on nearly every hill that needs one the money is for the plowed lot rather than for the slope.

Four people in winter coats seen from behind carrying large black inner tubes up a packed snow run through dark evergreen forest, with more figures at the top of the run
Tubes going back up a run under their own power. A tubing hill is the one kind on these pages that usually charges, because the agency is renting the tube or running a lift rather than opening a slope, and it is also the one most likely to publish fixed hours and a conditions line. Eighteen of the hills here run tubing; most of the rest are a slope and a car park. “Snow Tubing”, Iain Laurence, CC BY-SA 3.0

Illinois sledding questions

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Sledding hills in other states

Illinois first snow datesWhen the first measurable snow has historically arrived, which is when a hill starts to be worth the drive.Illinois snowpackHow much snow is actually on the ground right now, from the automated stations that measure it.Illinois plow trackerWhether the road to the hill has been plowed, from the state that plows it.Illinois cross country skiingThe groomed trail systems, which is what most state agencies publish instead of sledding.

Illinois read September 23, 2026 from the agency pages linked beside each hill. Hours, fees and winter parking permit prices are set season by season and a hill opens on snow rather than on a date, so the agency page linked beside each one is the thing that governs on the day. Every state is on the sledding hills hub.