The Town of Beech Mountain offers the only municipal sledding hill in the southeast. Designed for kids ages 12 and under, parents or other responsible adults are allowed on sleds with preschoolers. Natural snow is enhanced by a snow gun (weather permitting) when needed, so there’s plenty of good sledding to go around.

There’s no charge to use the hill, and it is a wonderful way to introduce kids to winter sports. Many families make a day of it on the mountain, sledding at the hill, then warming up and learning about other things do at the Visitor Center across the street, and eating a great meal at one of the town’s restaurants (three of which are walking distance from the hill). The Beech Mountain Resort, which offers skiing, snowboarding, tubing and ice skating, is a mile and a half further along the Beech Mountain Parkway. Even if families don’t plan to ski, it’s worth a trip to the resort, to see the other great winter sports options for the whole family. There are several good dining choices there as well, along with the Beech Mountain Brewery, and some opportunities for shopping.

The Town Sledding Hill requires the use of plastic sleds. Sleds aren’t provided on the Town Sledding Hill. You can bring your own plastic sleds or rent one from the Beech Meadows Ski Shop or White Wolf Lodge. Fred’s General Mercantile also has sleds for sale.

Snowmaking is an integral part of snow sports in the South. Our Parks and Recreation department makes snow as needed at every opportunity. The Beech Mountain sledding hill has two dedicated snow guns to help enhance or supply snow to provide family fun in the winter. A snow gun functions by blowing tiny water droplets into the air, letting them freeze, and fall to the ground, very similar to natural snowfall. (Source: OpenSnow) Traditional snow guns are, unfortunately, not magic so they cannot make snow in any conditions. Just as conditions have to be right for natural snowfall, they also need to be a certain way to produce snow. The main things you need to manufacture snow are water and cool temperatures, about 30 degrees or below, but humidity also plays an important role. (Source: HowStuffWorks) Additionally, SMI Snowmakers states that about 80 percent of the water used ends up running back to its original source, making the process pretty efficient.

Hours of operation for the Sledding Hill are 9-5 pm Monday through Sunday and holidays, weather permitting. Call the Visitor Center to find out about snow conditions at 800-468-5506 or check out our live webcams here.