Map of Sledding spots in Maine below - comment your favorite sledding spot in Maine! Lets go sledding!!

History and description..from WIKIpedia - Sledding or tobogganing is a common activity in Maine, similar to sliding, but in a prone or seated position requiring a device or vehicle generically known in the US as a sled or in other countries as a sledge or toboggan. More formally it is one of three olympic sports— the luge, skeleton, or bobsledding.

The generic US term sledding refers to traveling down a snowy hill using a sled such as a flexible flyer with wooden slats and metal runners. Flat plastic or aluminum discs, or improvised sleds (carrier bags, baking trays, etc.) may also be used. Many college students will go sledding on durable cafeteria trays. The activity has been known to exist as a fringe recreational activity far into the distant murky past in toboggan-type sleds which seasonally supplant the ubiquitous cart, wheelbarrow, and small hand-pulled wagon for winter work needs in the agrarian societies of the day, or winter yard work even today. A sled, sleigh, or sledge, as a work vehicle, is far more efficient and easier to motivate in ice and snow covered terrain than wheeled vehicles, including even the simple wheelbarrow. Wheels simply pile up snow in front of themselves in the direction of travel and create a great deal of rolling friction which must be overcome to move a load of firewood or fodder for the cattle.

Modern sledding began in St Moritz during the early 1870s when British visitors with more time than activities began to experiment and play around with boys’ delivery sleds for recreation at the dawn of winter resorting in winter climes. Soon they were brainstorming on how to steer the old-fashioned flat-bottomed toboggans (toboggans coming from the words to and bargain. These sleds were created after citizens of St. Moritz would bargain over lumber to create sleds.) typical of the time and added runners whilst terrorizing the pedestrians as they used the narrow lanes and streets of the picturesque town as a run and subsequently took to racing. Soon the Bobsled, Luge, and Skeleton were developed in succession. By mid-decade, Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt had the first run or course purpose built for the fledgling sport, and alpine events began amongst the privileged leisure set.

News of the rich and famous inspired the invention of the flexible flyer covered hereafter, which along with toboggans were the prosaic substitute to the nascent competitive sports aborning among the beautiful people of wealth and leisure. Unlike purpose built courses, such sleds were available to the common man and usable on any suitably snow covered nearby slope.

The first ride down a hill on a sled is the most important, but most also the most difficult, as it determines the path of the sled for further runs down the hill. It is essential to steer the sled along the most exciting course, perhaps adding twists and turns to make the run down the hill faster or more exciting. Other techniques to improve the ride include turning around, lying on the stomach, or closing both eyes. Running up to a sled and jumping onto it can create additional momentum and improve ride speed. This technique can be referred to as “Flopping.”

There are four types of sleds commonly used today: disks, toboggans, tubes, and runner sleds. Each type has advantages and disadvantages if one is trying to get the most out of a given slope.

With each course down the hill, the sled’s path through the snow can become more icy. Sleds with a greater surface area (disks, toboggans and tubes) are able to make the first runs a great deal easier than the variety of sleds with metal runners. Runner sleds are typically faster once the snow has compacted or turned icy. In the 1880s, Samuel Leeds Allen invented the first steerable runner sled, the Flexible Flyer. Since that date, the ability to steer the sled away from obstacles has led people to believe it to be more appropriate choice for the safety conscious. On the other hand, the hard wood or metal front section of steerable runner sleds is far more likely to cause serious injury if it strikes a person, or if the hands are caught between the steering mechanism and a solid object in a crash. Each year, around 30,000 children in the US are injured in sledding, with one in 25 injuries requiring hospitalization. In a majority of these serious cases, young children are riding runner sleds in a prone position, and suffer hand and finger injuries when they are caught under the runners or between the sled and another object. [1] In addition, runner sleds force the weight of the rider onto two thin runners where the pressure causes a microscopic film of snow or ice to melt as the sled passes over it. This invisible layer of fluid reduces friction, causing the sled’s speed to greatly exceed that of its flat bottomed relatives. Some people who sled sometimes use ramps or jumps to increase the danger or fun factor of sledding. In some cases, the ramp or jump may send the participant over objects such as fences, boxes, plants, and benches.

In contrast to the more common forms of sledding, backcountry sledding involves four important elements in combination: a great amount of directional control, flotation, a binding system, and padding. First, backcountry sleds are made of strong plastic material, with the snow-side surface possessing various grooves and chines for directional control. Second, the plastic construction, with a large amount of snow-side surface area keeps the sled afloat in deeper snow conditions (the same principle behind wider powder skis or snowboards). Though the original runner sleds possessed directional control, their thin runner blades bogged down in anything but icy or thin snow conditions. Disk sleds, on the other hand, possessed floation but no directional control. Third, modern backcountry sleds have a binding system, which usually consists of a simple belt strap that attaches to the sides of the sled. With the sledder in the kneeling position, the strap may go over the sledder’s thighs or calves before connecting with the strap from the other side of the sled with some sort of buckling device. Finally, backcountry sleds have foam pads glued for the sledder go kneel for shock absorption.

Backcountry sledding is a closer kin to backcountry alpine skiing or snowboarding than to traditional “pile the family in the van and go to the local hill” type of sledding. The terrain for backcountry sledding includes gladed powder-filled steeps, open mountain bowls, cliff-filled ridges, and basically anywhere that one finds the powder, steeps, rocks and trees. Backcountry sleds, with the binding system and padding, may also be used for freestyle moves such as spins and flips off jumps and rail slides. Though similarities exist between backcountry sledding and alpine skiing/snowboarding, important differences separate the disciplines. From a technical perspective, the lack of a metal edge and the lower center of gravity make it more difficult to directionally control a backcountry sled on icy or packed snow surfaces. From an access perspective, alpine resorts do not allow sledding on the actual mountain, except for the occasional small tubing hill. And in essence, backcountry sledding is a more underground, do-it-yourself activity that is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other sledding activities.

The U.S. National Toboggan Championships is the only organized wooden toboggan race in the country and possibly the world. The toboggan chute is located in Camden, Maine at theCamden Snow Bowl, a community-owned year-round recreation area which has developed thousands of dedicated skiers since 1936. All race revenue goes to off-setting the Snow Bowl budget.

The original chute was first built in 1936 by a dedicated group of volunteers who also built a ski lodge and ski hill, one of the earliest in America. The chute was again rebuilt in 1954 by local Coast Guardsmen and lasted until 1964 when it was brought to an end because of rot and neglect.

In 1990 it was resurrected once again out of pressure treated wood by another enthusiastic group of volunteers and material donors and was to become known as the Jack Williams Toboggan Chute. The week before the race many hours are spent during the dark of night, when it is the coldest, to coat the wooden chute with layer upon layer of ice. This is accomplished by a “Rube Goldberg” invention of David Dickeys, which pulleys a tub up the chute to slowly dispense water from holes in its back.

The chute is 400 ft. long, 70 ft. in elevation and speeds up to 40 mph are attained. The run-out is on to frozen Hosmers’ pond. If there is clear ice on the pond, some sleds will go the entire way across (1/4 of a mile).

The Nationals used to be held the first weekend of February, but to avoid conflict with the Super Bowl the event has been changed to the second weekend in February, starting in 2008.

The race toboggan must be of traditional shape, material and design to qualify for the Nationals. The race is like any race, in that the few rules are constantly pushed to the limits by tweaking the toboggan to make it go a tenth of a second faster. Even the “Inspector of Toboggans” from the 2007 race was found to have violated the slat rule to make his go a little faster.

The most wonderful aspect of the U.S. National Toboggan Race, is that anybody can participate in a national race and anybody can be the National Champion, no matter the age or ability. In 2007 two gentlemen from Tennessee, who had never seen snow before, went on to become the second place champions in the two man division.

For more info visit http://www.camdensnowbowl.com/

Custom, handcrafted sleds. We make ‘em right here in Freeport the same way we make our canoes and kayaks. We create new color combinations every day and will definitely take custom orders - just call. We found two molds when we bought the business and they both produce simple but very fast and effective sleds. We can customize these whether you want to use it for fun sliding down a hill, pulling your child with a harness on snowshoes or for a perfect expedition sled. Comes in any color combination you want. If we don’t have the exact one you want in stock, they take 2-3 days to make.

http://www.lincolncanoe.com/

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How to make a Toboggan