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WCCO Viewers' Choice For Minnesota's Best Sledding Hill

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Whether you're 6 or 86, a swift trip down on steep, snowy hill is pure fun. Everyone has their favorite childhood sledding spot, or a location their own children love, but we wanted to find the best of Minnesota.

When it comes to sledding, the bigger the hill, the better.

"I don't think there's one bigger. There's some good sliding hills around here. But if you want depth, there it is," Minneapolis resident Jeremy Tuttle said.

That's Columbia Park in Minneapolis, voted best sledding hill in Minnesota. It's a Nordeast treasure, tucked right in the city.

"Rumor has it that it's one of the steepest hills in northeast Minneapolis. It's pretty steep. Once you get there, I think you may be a little intimidated," Jamie Neldner of Minneapolis Parks and Recreation said.

People have been sledding on these hills for more than a century and warming up inside the Columbia Manor.

"The Manor was built in about 1922, early 1920s. In the summer months it's used as a golf manor. In the winter, it serves those recreators that we have all over town," Neldner said.

Inside you can break with a cocoa, or rent other winter toys like snowshoes, cross country skis and tubes.

"Working in the recreation field, we know that people don't sit still in this town. They want access to parks and services year round," Neldner said.

Even a blizzard couldn't keep the sledders away.

"Oh, this is a gem for sure. Lot of different options. It's always busy," Mark Bergstrom of Columbia Heights said.

"I've been coming here since I was about nine or 10 with my friends," said Vladimir Siguenza of Minneapolis.

If steep isn't your thing, there are plenty of small hills around, so just about everyone can slip down a slope. But you're going to have to work for it.

"We don't have a tow rope here, which is one of the cool things about the park," Neldner said.

It's sledding like our grandparents used to. Bring your sled, climb the hill and enjoy the ride down.

You can sled anytime here at Columbia Park, but if you want to enjoy concessions, the Columbia Manor is open weekends, holidays and school release days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Inside, you can rent tubes, cross country skis and snowshoes, too.

Tube rental is $5, snowshoes are $12, cross country ski lessons are available.

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