Here’s where you can toboggan in Hamilton

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Published December 13, 2019 at 4:15 pm

When it’s a marshmallow world in the winter, what’s every kid and kid at heart’s favourite thing to do?

Toboggan, of course!

When it’s a marshmallow world in the winter, what’s every kid and kid at heart’s favourite thing to do?

Toboggan, of course!

But before you grab your downhill vehicle of choice, you better make sure you’re allowed to use the hill you’re about to conquer.

The City of Hamilton has designated hills for tobogganing and if you’re caught using a prohibited hill, it can cost you.

Manager of Municipal law enforcement, Kim Coombs, told IntheHammer in an email that under section 27(1) of the city’s Parks Bylaw, the fine for tobogganing in an undesignated area is $105.

Coombs did say, though, that “we have never issued a charge under this section.”

The reason, Coombs said, is that because of the efforts the city has put into educating the public about where and where not to toboggan, people comply with the rules.

So how do you know where you can toboggan in Hamilton? Look no further. Here are the designated places:

Garth and Stonechurch Reservoir
1515 Garth St.
Hill details:
Northeast corner
South side (East of parking lot)

King’s Forest Golf Course
100 Greenhill Ave.
Hill details:
Hole #9 – in front of the 9th green

Waterdown Memorial Park
200 Hamilton St.
Hill details:
Northeast corner, West of baseball diamond #3

The Martin Course Hole #10 at Chedoke Golf Course, located at 563 Aberdeen, is usually a designated tobogganing hill but is closed this year because the course is open for Winter Golf.

There was a ban on tobogganing within the city of Hamilton for years in the early 2000s after the City was successfully sued by a person injured while tobogganing within city limits.

There was a huge public outcry and in 2016, the city reversed the ban.

For more information about where to toboggan in Hamilton and some safety tips, check out the city’s website here.

Photo courtesy Paul VanDerWerf via Flickr.

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