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"New Hampshire's pastures and hillsides are still dotted with colorful sleds and kids in snow suits this time of year, enjoying free sledding hills.Here, everyone can get out of the house for a few hours with a plastic saucer or inflatable tube and enjoy the thrill of hurtling down a snowy hill.\u00A0It's good exercise, too.You can exhaust an 8-year-old on school vacation at one these places after only a few hours. Take a carload. What the heck. It's more fun that way. They will run up the hill at first and by the time they have done that for a few hours, you'll find them just lying on their sled, staring up the sky, at the bottom of the hill.Unless, of course, you are willing to drag them up for another run.There used to be far more of these great hills before people started suing the owners of the property and the insurance companies had a fit.Towns and cities own most of the 20 or so sledding hills I have found (see list) and even they don't like to talk about the hills, it seems, because of insurance issues.So stay at home if you think that you should be able to be compensated because your kid hurt themselves on the sledding hill.Either assume the risk or don't go, it's that simple.At Mack's Apples in Londonderry, for example, where hundreds go each week during the winter to sled, their insurance company wants nothing to do with the sledding hill.Mike Ross, farm manager said while they have not had a legal problem before, \"knock on wood\", they do not formally acknowledge it in their marketing or communications.The south-facing hill offers great thrills and some gentle stuff, but it also offers the comfort of being able to get a warm cider at the farmstand afterwards.At \"the Kanc,\" in Lincoln, the town has a great hill and even a few sleds you can borrow. It is right next to the town's rope tow (called \"the Kanc\") where you can get a great little ski in as well for a little money, and a nice little warming hut with cocoa.The sledding hill is free. It's located just behind the Common Man in Lincoln near the entrance to the Forest Ridge development.The same is true at Arrowhead in Claremont. You can sled for free, just stay clear of the skiers and snowboarders.On Sunday, I visited four sledding hills in Southern New Hampshire, where I met lots of nice families out enjoying the relatively warm winter day.The warmer the day, though, the slower the snow. The colder and the older the snow, the faster the hill.We took our sleds and visited Roby Park in Nashua, Benedictine Park in Bedford, Bragdon Hill in Amherst and White's Park in Concord before calling it a day.Each were very different. I think I liked Bragdon Hill the best for its big run out and variety of steeps. But the scary part was the icy tunnel you had to bend down and go through to get from the parking lot across Route 101 near the Bedford/Amherst line.Debbie Lielalsus of Milford was there with her son, Chad Wentworth, his children and dog for a few hours of fun.She said they were having fun \"except for the broken sleds a few times down.\"The sleds these days are pieces of junk. Nothing like the wooden sleds and toboggans of my childhood.A few weeks ago, I also visited Potter Hill in Gilford.It has a long hill and there is a nice gentle slope to it. Whether you are 2 or 42, it seems you can have a blast at Potter Hill. It's located on Route 11A on the way to Gunstock ski area.One of the best known places to go sledding in the state is in Manchester at the Derryfield Country Club off Mammoth Road. You can see it right from the traffic lights.One of the quietest hills is Benedictine Park, known more as a dog park, in Bedford. It's off Wallace Road near Route 101. It has an open sloping field which is very gentle, and perhaps it is that reason that it was not particularly busy, Sunday.I was disappointed with White's Park in Concord. From my childhood, I remember it being a very big steep hill. But when you are a grown up, things just don't look as big. Also, I think they let trees grow in at the top of the hill now so it is not the full run it used to be in the 1970s.Bow has a nice gentle hill for the kiddos over next to the Fire Station at the corner of Logging Hill Road.While I have not been, I have been told that Garrison Hill Tower in Dover is not to be missed. It is off Central Avenue and it has quite the hill.Keene has sledding in Robin Hood Park, though it is not maintained by the city. You can sled there, though and there is also a nice little skating rink in the 130-acre park.The Tilton School is on a hill in that town and the locals rave about the school's sledding hill at the corner of Prospect and Academy streets.Tilton also has sledding available a the town's Riverfront Park.Littleton offers sledding at Remich Park where they have a skating rink, too.In Campton, there is a sledding hill on Route 175 near the recycling center.In Derry, Alexander Carr Park uses a former ski jump outrun for sledding fun.Picturesque and a great place at sunset is the Wagon Hill Farm in Durham. It has about 400 vertical feet to sled and is visible from Route 4.In Claremont, you can sled at Arrowhead ski area at 111 South St. so long as you keep far away from the skis and snowboarders who are using the rope tow.While some recommend Horse Hill in Marlborough, it is on private property now. Sorry.And in Troy, the Inn at East Hill offers sledding for its guests. But insurance requires that the pasture be monitored by staff when in use. The season is over for this year after Monday's event.There are likely more sledding hills I have not mentioned, but if you would be so kind as to send a note, I will update this story with other places to go. You can reach me at paulatracy6@gmail.com or at our Escape Outside Facebook page.\u00A0"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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