Update on the Sledding Hill and Disc Golf Course
Update September 2025:
We’ve written about this before. And, as we’ve said all along, the City code ALLOWS for sledding and disc golf in Natural Areas at the discretion of the Natural Areas Department. Here, the Natural Areas Director says the Department would consider retaining these activities due to their popularity in the community if Hughes becomes a 100% Natural Area. (Remember, Vote for 303 and Against 2H!)
Would sledding and disc golf be allowed at a Hughes natural area?
A review of the code shows that sledding and throwing flying discs are not allowed in natural areas unless a sign has been posted specifically stating that use is allowed.
City staff have noted throughout its outreach on the future of the site that the idea of keeping both the sledding hill and disc golf is widely supported by the public.
But Katie Donahue, Natural Areas director, says it's too soon to know if the activities would remain.
If the Natural Areas Department were to create a natural area from scratch today, those uses wouldn't be included, she said, but because they are so valued at Hughes, the department would consider allowing them.
One factor the Natural Areas Department would consider is whether it should manage a Hughes natural area differently than the adjacent Maxwell and Pineridge natural areas, which do not allow any off-trail uses, Donahue said.
Sledding once was allowed at Pineridge, but it was closed due to safety concerns and because another sledding hill was available close by at the Hughes site, Donahue said. —
