The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites youngsters young and old to go sledding in the Union County Parks System.
Sledding is one of several winter sports, along with cross-country skiing and ice skating, for which areas are set aside within the parks system – weather, snow and ice conditions permitting.
Cross-country skiing is allowed at Ash Brook Golf Course in Scotch Plains, Oak Ridge Park in Clark, and the Watchung Reservation. There is no location in the park system suitable for downhill skiing.
The “Summer Arts” concert area in Echo Lake Park in Mountainside, located off Springfield Avenue, is one of five sanctioned sites in the Union County park system for sledding. The others are Briant Park in Summit, Lenape Park in Cranford (in areas away from the waterways), Meisel Avenue Detention Basin in Springfield, and Unami Park in Garwood.
Please note that toboggans, bobsleds and other non-steerable devices are strongly discouraged at any time, for safety reasons. Children should be supervised at all times. The park supervisor may suspend sledding activities if there is not enough snow or if there are severe ice conditions.
Snowmobiles are strictly prohibited in the Union County Park System.
The Union County park system is heavily wooded. The parks sit in proximity to roadways and bodies of water that can be hazardous to sledders and snowboarders.
Galloping Hill Golf Course is not available for winter sports activities. Terrain of the course is considered too hazardous for this use. Snowboarding and sledding are also prohibited at the Ash Brook Golf Course and Oak Ridge Park.
For ice skating lovers, the County’s Skating Center at Warinanco Park is open for the season. Check www.ucnj.org/skate for hours.
Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated and lakes in the county parks system have not frozen to sufficient thickness to allow for skating in any of the lakes and ponds in the county parks system.
The Union County Department of Parks and Community Renewal reserves the right to cancel winter sports at any park at any time if the conditions of the park are such that the safety of the public is in jeopardy.
For additional information regarding winter sports, call the Department of Parks and Community Renewal at (908) 527-4900 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Information can also be obtained by visiting our website at www.ucnj.org.
For information about indoor ice skating, call the recorded message at the Warinanco Skating Center (908) 298-7850.