Snow Sports in Siouxland

It's officially snowy fun season in Sioux City!

While we don't have huge mountains, we do have plentiful snow most years, and some great places to enjoy snow sports. I researched the best places to enjoy snow sports in Sioux City, Sioux Falls, and our surrounding communities in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota like Hinton, Ponca, and Yankton, and I was inspired by the beautiful scenery, and by the pictures shared with me of families having so much fun out in the cold. I hope you will be too!

Here's where to go sledding, tubing, skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, and ice skating in or near Sioux City. I'm updating for the 2023/2024 winter season as details become available--please let me know if you have info I should add!

Sledding

Sledding at Ponca State Park, photo courtesy of NEBRASKAland magazine

• Grandview Park Sioux City, IA
• Sledding at Grandview Park is free and open to the public in the designated sledding zone (near the playground off Stone Park Blvd)
• Sertoma Park Sioux City, IA
• Sledding at Sertoma Park is free and open to the public in designated sledding zone
• Sledding not allowed in Sioux City public parks or lands other than those two places
• Hillview Recreation Area Hinton, IA
• Sledding at Hillview Recreation Area is free and open to the public except during tubing hours (see next section for more details)
• Ponca State Park Ponca, NE
• Find great sledding within Ponca State Park on "Scout's Hill" 
• Nebraska State Parks Permit required
• Gavin's Point Dam Yankton, SD
• The Gavin's Point Dam sledding hill near the Pierson Ranch Recreation Area has been a favorite of Yankton area families for many years!

Sledding at Gavin's Point Dam. Photo used with permission from the Yankton CVB

Tubing

Lazer tubing at Great Bear Ski Valley, photo used with permission from Great Bear Ski Valley

• Cone Park Sioux City, IA
• Opens for the season on Friday, January 5th, 2024
• Open Friday nights for Snow Glow tubing from 6-9pm for $15 per person
• Open Saturdays from 11am to 11pm (Snow Glow tubing starts at 6) for $15 per person
• Open Sundays from 11am to 9pm (Snow Glow tubing starts at 6) for $15 per person before 6pm and $10 per person after 6pm
• More info and reservations available on the Cone Park website
• Hillview Recreation Area Hinton, IA
• Hillview Recreation Area is open for public sledding and tubing during most hours, but will be staffed and offer a tow rope, tube rental, and supervision from 1-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays
• $5 per person during these dates, which includes the tube rental and tow rope
• Hillview is free and open to the public during other times but tube rentals and tow rope will not be available
• You can check the Hillview Facebook page for information, but they suggested that families call (712)947-4270 to find the most up to date information about hill closures
• Great Bear Ski Valley Sioux Falls, SD
• Planned tubing hill opening day for the season on Friday, January 19th, 2024
• 12 lanes of tubing!
• Lazer tubing sessions will be held on select Friday nights with tickets available online 

Skiing

Ski race at Great Bear Ski Valley, photo used with permission of Great Bear Ski Valley

• Adams Nature Preserve North Sioux City, SD
• Free and open to the public for cross-country skiing on trails
• More info available on the Adams Homestead & Nature Preserve website
• Ponca State Park Ponca, NE
• Ponca State Park features many miles of groomed cross-country ski trails
• Great Bear Valley Sioux Falls, SD
• Great Bear Ski Valley offers trails for cross country and our area's only downhill skiing slopes
• Open for the season on Monday, January 8th, 2024
• Kids 5 & under free with paid adult
• Adaptive ski equipment also available, which I love to hear as a parent of a child with special needs. When he is a tween or teen, I love knowing that the option even exists, which I didn't until I heard about it from Great Bear!
• Lessons available, including fun group programs for kids 4-14
• Special $5 deals for 5th graders available--if you have a 5th grader, make sure to read about their 5th grade deals on their website!
• For more info on their skiing options, check out the Great Bear Ski Valley skiing page.
• Lewis & Clark Recreation Area, Yankton, SD
• Trails are open in snowy weather for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing
• Snowshoes available for rental at the Lewis & Clark Recreation Area Welcome Center!

Ice Fishing & Winter Animal Encounters

Ice fishing at Ponca State Park, photo courtesy of NEBRASKAland Magazine

• Ponca State Park Ponca, NE
• The pond at Ponca State Park is stocked with rainbow trout
• Nebraska Parks Permit and Fishing License required
• West Lake Okoboji, Okoboji, IA
• Okoboji ice fishermen have been known to find perch, bluegills, walleye and more
• Iowa fishing license required
• More info in this great post 
• Lewis & Clark Lake & Lake Yankton, Yankton, SD
• Walleye, Northern Pike, and Perch are commonly caught! 
• South Dakota fishing license required
• Lewis & Clark Visitors Center, Yankton, SD
• Watch Bald Eagles, who nest along the Missouri River
• Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, Sioux City, IA
• Snowshoe hikes for all and animal learning events for kids held regularly throughout winter.
• Visit the Woodbury County Conservation website or follow the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center on Facebook to get the most up-to-date information on events this winter.

Bald eagle in Yankton, South Dakota. Photo used with permission from the Yankton CVB

Snowboarding

• Great Bear Ski Valley, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open for the season on Monday, January 8th, 2024
• Lessons available, including fun group programs for kids 4-14

Ice Skating

Ice skating at Cone Park, photo used with permission from Sioux City Parks & Rec Department

• Cone Park, Sioux City, IA
• Open for the season on Friday, January 5th, 2024
• Cone Park features a large outdoor ice-skating rink next to the cozy lodge
• More information available on the Cone Park website
• Leif Erickson Park Sioux City, IA
• Sioux City Parks maintenance staff basically flood the upper part of the park along 31st street, where almost a century ago a pool sat
• 2024 opening date TBA
• Free and open to the public, no equipment rentals available
• IBP Ice Center, Sioux City, IA
• Sioux City's only public indoor ice skating
• Open public skate from 7-9pm on Friday and Saturday nights
• $8 per person, which includes skate rental (no discount for bringing your own skates)
• More information available on the IBP Ice Center website
• Vets Park, Orange City, IA
• 80x120 area for skating or hockey plus a warming shelter, free and open to the public
• Vernon Arena, Sioux Center, IA
• Indoor arena with NHL sized ice floor
• Hockey and skating classes for kids available
• Open skate and skate rental available
• Schedule and more info available here.
• Campus Park, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open Mondays through Fridays from 4-8pm and weekends from 1-8pm. 
• Intended opening date for this season is Friday, January 12, 2024
• Check the Sioux Falls Parks & Rec website for more info.
• Outdoor skating rink just off the campus of the University of Sioux Falls
• Frank Olson Park, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open Mondays through Fridays from 4-8pm and weekends from 1-8pm. 
• Check the Sioux Falls Parks & Rec website for more info!
• Outdoor skating rink
• McKennan Park, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open Mondays through Fridays from 4-8pm and weekends from 1-8pm. Check the Sioux Falls Parks & Rec website for more information.
• Outdoor skating rink 
• Memorial Park, Sioux Falls, SD
• Opening dates depend on weather.
• Open Mondays through Fridays from 4-8pm and weekends from 1-8pm. Check the Sioux Falls Parks & Rec website for more information.
• Outdoor skating rink
• Sherman Park, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open Mondays through Fridays from 4-8pm and weekends from 1-8pm. 
• Outdoor skating rink. 
• Tuthill Park, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open Mondays through Fridays from 4-8pm and weekends from 1-8pm. 
• Outdoor skating rink
• Scheel's Ice Plex, Sioux Falls, SD
• Open to the public for ice skating, with skate rental also available. Non-Skating parents receive free admission!
• Check the Scheel's IcePlex website for public skate hours--usually open to the public on Wednesdays and from Friday-Monday 
• Kiwanis 4-H Arena, Yankton, SD
• Skating, skate rental, and punch cards available
• Find more information on Open Skate dates and time on the Kiwanis 4-H arena website
• Tripp Park, Yankton, SD
• Outdoor skating available once it's cold enough! Watch the Yankton Parks & Rec page for opening dates.
• Yankton Sertoma Park, Yankton SD
• Outdoor hockey arena once it's cold enough! Watch the Yankton Parks & Rec page for opening dates.

One of my last memories of my great-grandma was a snowy day when my mom, brothers, and I were visiting, and we kept peering outside. She eventually asked us what we were looking at, and we told her we were looking at the snow, she exclaimed: 

"Well what are you doing in here fer?!? 

Grab yer fella and yer sled and get out there!"

And that's what I want you to do too: grab your loved ones and get out there! I know some of you naturally love winter sports and the fresh cold air and don't need much encouragement, and some of you are cold weather wimps like me, who prefer cocoa and quilts to snowy boots. But if you too are hesitant to get out, we have to fight through that, go beyond our comfort zones, and get active outdoors in the winter weather. This winter, I want all of you to grab your winter bucket list, your friends and family, and go play in the snow together!