Going sledding? Here’s where to find the best local spots

For kids, a snow day is downright magical. There are few things better than waking up in the morning just to be told to go back to sleep because school is canceled. The day is filled with so much possibility!

When you’re an adult, snow days are not always as magical. It means shoveling the walkway, cleaning off the cars and kicking yourself for not making a trip to the grocery store the day before. But you’ll still take the kids to the park because what kind of snow day doesn’t include an afternoon of sledding followed by hot chocolate?

For us, snow days are full of weather forecast reports and sending our photographers out in the frozen tundra to capture how things are looking. Sometimes they’ll make a trip out to a local park for some action shots of people sledding. So, if sledding is on your to-do list today and you’re on the hunt for a good spot or want to try out some different hills, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s where our photographers say the best sledding is to be had in the Lewiston area.

Mike McGraw Park in Lewiston is one of the best local spot for sledding, according to our photographers. The park at 280 Bartlett St. was packed with people sledding when it first opened last February.

The new Mike McGraw Park on Bartlett Street was packed with community members sledding Feb. 12 in Lewiston. The property abuts the 110-acre Franklin Pasture complex just up the hill, where a path connects it to the fields at Lewiston High School and Connors Elementary School. Coach McGraw and Mayor Sheline were on hand for remarks and a ribbon-cutting. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

According to Sun Journal Photographer Daryn Slover, sledding at Lisbon Community Federal Credit Union in Lisbon is a fun time. If you’re looking to stick around Auburn, look no further than Sherwood Heights Elementary School. Slover says the hill is short but steep — a good sledding spot for small children.

Photographer Russ Dillingham says Auburn’s Chestnut Park Hill is one of the better-in-town spots for sledding. And the hill at Pettengill Park is not to be missed.

Alixx Ryerson screams as she picks up speed Jan. 10 at Chestnut Park Hill in Auburn while sledding with her father and siblings. The thin layer of compacted and frozen snow made for a bumpy and fast ride that was exhilarating and fun even after veering off the trail and through the puckerbrush. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Of course, some hills are riskier than others. Photographer Andree Kehn says some people like to sled down Mount David on the Bates College campus but that is treacherous. “The same goes for Bradbury Mountain State Park,” she says.