IDAHO CITY, Idaho — Looking for a different way to ring in the New Year? Steamboat Gulch sledding hill will be open until midnight after they strung up lights for night sledding.
"We’ve always wanted to do a little bit more because a lot of people didn’t get to take advantage of it because it was nighttime when they got off work," said Doug Pottenger. "This year we decided we got all these extra Christmas lights let’s throw them up and do some cosmic sledding."
Steamboat Gulch sits on land managed by the Idaho Department of Lands and when the previous lease ran out two years ago it looked like it might be the end of this mountain tradition in Idaho City.
That's when Pottenger, the owner of Seasons Cafe in Idaho City stepped up to take over the lease giving families a place for affordable fun.
"It’s $15 a carload," said Pottenger. "I don’t care what size a car it is we’ve had everything from buses to little Volvos, we just don’t care, we just want them to have fun."
Families need to bring their own tailgating setup, dogs need to be on a leash and don't bring wood that has nails or screws in it for firewood.
The lease with the Idaho Department of Lands allows two fire pits and they wanted to stress that if people bring their own wood it has to be clean wood.
Steamboat Gulch will rent sleds for $10 if families don't have them, they also sell firewood for $10 and people can get ten percent off at Seasons after sledding.
It has also snowed a ton in Idaho City so people also need to be ready for winter driving conditions.
