Do you love sledding but hate the cold? (Or wish you could sled year round without having to travel?) The greater Portland metro has the perfect solution for fabulous summer fun: cardboard sledding. Here’s where to go for this family-friendly activity, that’s easy, fun and great on the wallet.
What is Cardboard Sledding?
Cardboard sledding is a craze that’s taken over many local summer parks in the area. Using various sizes and shapes of cardboard, kids zoom down artificial turf hills in the same manner they would sled down a slope on snow. You can see how fun sliding is at this Little League World Series from almost a decade ago.
Sliding on cardboard has been around for ages. Kids have been careening down slopes since hills were made, far before artificial grass. Somewhere along the way, it was realized that cardboard was a simple and affordable way to limit grass stains and road rash, and an efficient method to increase speed.
Tips from Hillside Experts
When testing out different types of summer sledding, I got the scoop straight from the experts —my 8-year-old son and his friends. Here are their pro tips:
- Bigger steeper hills are better.
- Larger cardboard pieces are fun but are heavy to carry back to the top.
- Socks are also slippery.
- Always have an extra “sled” for a friend
- Coloring your cardboard makes it slide better.
- Make sure the landing isn’t “sus.”
While the veracity of some of these statements may be up for debate, the fun factor is definitely clear. We experimented with different sized cardboards and found that anything from a box top to a refrigerator box would work. More complex sleds styles will absolutely get attention from some of your peers, and potentially a fun new playmate.
Pro Tip: If you want to go all out, you can build an elaborate cardboard sled in a soap box derby style. Check out these simple instructions online. Just remember to test it for “slideyness” before you get a disappointed kiddo stuck on a hill.
Where to Sled Around Portland
Our favorite hill to date is the Harper’s Hills at the Chelsea Anderson Memorial Playground in Vancouver (aka Marshall Park). While this hill is the newest, it may well have been inspired by the Original Harper’s Playground at Arbor Lodge Park. Pro tip: All of the Harper’s Playgrounds feature high levels of access to all abilities, and many affordances for different kinds of kids too.
Other suggestions for Harper’s style hills include the following playgrounds:
- The original Harper’s Playground at Arbor Lodge Park in North Portland
- Gateway Discovery Park in NE Portland
- Couch Park in NW Portland
- Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver (smaller hills, great for younger kiddos)
Harper’s may be the trendsetter, but there are more playgrounds to test out your turf sledding skills on, too. Don’t miss these other options:
- Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver
- Ventura Park in East Portland
- Errol Heights in SE Portland (smaller hills)
- Lents Park in SE Portland (smaller hills)
Don’t Forget the Cardboard
While it’s common to leave behind a sturdy and usable sled for a friend, please be mindful of your waste as you leave. If your cardboard rips, or it looks like rain is coming, please find the nearest recycle bin. “We’d love to see everyone clean-up after themselves and maybe even pick up one extra piece of debris,” says Harper’s Playground founder G Cody QJ Goldberg. “The old, ‘leave it better than you found it’ motto should apply to a place people gather.”
For more local playground adventures, click here!
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