KEWUANEE (NBC 26) — Winter Park in Kewaunee will open its snow tubing hill next week just in time for winter break. The park will open the hill during special winter break hours ahead of opening skiing and snowboarding runs, which is expected to happen in early January.
The snow tubing hill will be open December 28th through December 30th from 10 a.m to 4 p.m and again on January 2nd from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. Visitors take the magic carpet to the top of the 5 lane hill before tubing down the 70-foot vertical drop that runs about about 500-feet long.
The park begins using snow guns to prepare the hills as early as the end of November. The season typically runs from January through February or early March, depending on weather.
“Winter park has historically been a sledding hill from the history of Kewaunee way back when. It’s been in its current form since the late 1990s early 2000s,” said Dave Myers, the Kewaunee County promotions and recreation director.
Winter Park is a major attraction for Kewaunee county, attracting anywhere from 12,500 to 14,000 visitors every season.
“We are attracting people not only from the local area in Northeast Wisconsin but we’re seeing a lot of out-of-state visitors as well," said Jennifer Gonzalez, the Kewanuee County tourism coordinator. "We will have families drive from Illinois or surrounding states, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana to come and visit and we’ll also have family who’s here welcoming visitors for the holidays.”
Gonzalez says the park has become a bucket list item for travelers around the state and even the country.
“We have returning faces every year. It is something that we’ll start seeing throughout the year, people tagging each other in Facebook posts, saying we have to do this, put this on your bucket list," Gonzalez said. "It’s something that keeps us extremely busy and it’s something that everyone looks forward to every year.”
Regular season hours will begin on January 8th, which will allow for snow tubing, skiing and snowboarding on Saturdays and Sundays as weather permits. The cost of snow tubing is $10 per person for two hours. The cost for skiing and snowboarding is $17 for the day for ages 7 and up, and $10 for the day for ages 6 and under. Both ski and snowboard equipment are available to rent for an extra fee.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy the on-site Dana Farm Ice Rink which is expected to open in January 2022. Visitors can skate for free 7-days a week from 9 a.m to 8 p.m as long as the temperature is below 32 degrees. Skates are not available to rent.
