Ruby Hill Terrain Park facts for kids

Ruby Hill Rail Yard is a cool place in Denver, Colorado, where you can go skiing and snowboarding! It's a special kind of park called a terrain park, full of fun features for riders. You can find it in Ruby Hill Park, close to downtown Denver. Many groups help make this park possible, like Winter Park Resort, Denver Parks and Recreation, and lots of amazing volunteers.

What is Ruby Hill Rail Yard?

Ruby Hill Rail Yard first opened its gates in January 2007. It was the very first free terrain park in a city area in the whole USA! Winter Park Resort helped create this park. Their goal was to get more young people in the city excited about winter sports.

This park started as a test idea, and it has been a huge success! In its first year, about 3,000 young people and adults visited. It became a great example for other ski resorts to follow. The next year, over 6,000 visitors came to the park. Now, the city of Denver considers Ruby Hill Rail Yard an important yearly park.

How Does the Park Get Snow?

For Ruby Hill Rail Yard to have snow, workers have to make it! They create enough artificial snow to cover about one acre of land. They usually blow the snow in January. The hope is that it will last for the rest of the winter, if the weather helps.

Man-made snow is actually better for this park than natural snow. This is because it melts much slower! Natural snow has less water in it, but man-made snow has a lot more. This makes the artificial snow thicker and heavier. Because it's so dense, it doesn't melt as quickly in the sun. Also, Ruby Hill is set up so that the sun doesn't hit the snow directly in the middle of the day. This helps the snow last for many weeks.

It takes about one million gallons of water to cover Ruby Hill with 2 to 3 feet of snow. When this snow melts, the water goes right back into the plants around the park. The City of Denver and Denver Water have an agreement. They make sure that the amount of water used for snow in winter is saved during the summer. This means no water is wasted; it's just used at a different time!

Fun Things to Do!

Ruby Hill Park is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. The rail yard stays open during the winter until all the man-made snow melts. The park has lights, so you can even ride at night until 9 p.m.!

Ruby Hill does not have any lifts or T-bars. This means you have to walk back up the hill after you ride down. The terrain park has seven different rails. These rails come in easy, medium, and hard levels, so there's something for everyone.

Sometimes, special events and contests happen at Ruby Hill. There are also youth programs run by Denver Parks and Recreation. Besides the terrain park, other areas are set aside for winter fun like sledding!

Park History

The Ruby Hill Rail Yard is located inside Ruby Hill Park. This park is very large, covering 88 acres of land. The city bought the park in 1954. It got its name from the red stones found in the nearby Platte River. Ruby Hill Park has a tall hill that gives you an amazing view of the Denver city skyline. Long ago, Native Americans used this high spot as a lookout point.

What's Happening Now?

The terrain park is free for everyone to use. It's a popular spot for skiers, snowboarders, and even people on sleds and inner tubes.

In the summer, Ruby Hill Park is still a great place to visit! It has an outdoor swimming pool, baseball fields, and a handicap accessible playground. It's also a favorite spot for summer picnics and flying kites.