Things to Do · Duck Creek Journal
Where Can You Go Sledding Near Duck Creek Village? Three Hills and This Week's First Snow
The closest sledding to Duck Creek Village is a free hill at the Strawberry Point Road turn, 2.8 miles east on Highway 14. Wood Ranch in Cedar Canyon is the bigger free hill, and Brian Head sells groomed tubing from $25. The first real snow of the season is due tonight, November 13.
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The closest sledding to Duck Creek Village is a free, unsigned hill at the Strawberry Point Road turn, 2.8 miles east of the inn on Highway 14. Wood Ranch in Cedar Canyon is the bigger local hill, also free. For groomed lanes and a tow, Brian Head sells tubing from $25 a person. Bring your own sled to the first two.
All three need snow, and the village has none on the ground yet. The National Weather Service forecast for the inn, issued the morning of November 13, calls for 3 to 7 inches tonight and 1 to 3 more by Saturday noon. A second storm follows Monday night into Tuesday with another 7 to 15 inches between the two periods.
| Sledding near Duck Creek Village | |
|---|---|
| Closest hill | Strawberry Point Road turn, 4 min east |
| Bigger hill | Wood Ranch, Cedar Canyon |
| Groomed tubing | Brian Head, from $25 per 1.5 hours |
| Sled rental in the village | None we could confirm |
| Snow at the village sensor, Nov 12 | 0 in |
The Strawberry Point Road hill, east of the village
Drive Highway 14 east from the village and turn south onto Strawberry Point Road. A local winter guide from Zion Adventure Photog, updated in December 2024, describes plenty of parking at the turn and a hill east of it, a short walk from the car. USGS elevation data puts the turn at 8,086 feet, about 380 feet below the inn.
Strawberry Point Road itself goes unplowed in winter and turns into a snowmobile route, so expect machines on the road bed. Keep kids on the slope, pick a run that ends in flat meadow rather than the road, and park facing out.
Wood Ranch, the big local hill in Cedar Canyon
| Wood Ranch in winter | |
|---|---|
| From the inn | 18.6 miles west, about 29 min |
| From Cedar City | 12 miles east on Highway 14 |
| Fee to sled | None listed |
| Drinking water | None |
| Restrooms | Two double vault toilets |
Wood Ranch is an Iron County park on the Cedar City side of the mountain, and a popular local sledding spot. Southern Utah University put Wood’s Ranch on its 2023 list of the best sledding hills near town, and the Zion Adventure Photog guide calls it a large, steep hill with a covered pavilion and a fireplace. The pavilions rent in summer for $40 to $75; the open meadow takes no reservations.
The county lists a park season of June 1 to September 30 and says nothing about winter plowing. Call Iron County Parks at 435-586-5124 before you make it the whole day’s plan. Getting there means crossing the Highway 14 summit and dropping into Cedar Canyon, so read our note on Highway 14 in winter and check road conditions that morning.
Brian Head tubing: groomed lanes, a ticket and no personal sleds
| Brian Head tubing | |
|---|---|
| Where | Giant Steps base |
| Session | 1.5 hours, tube included |
| Hours | Sun to Thu 10 to 4, Fri and Sat 10 to 7 |
| Ages | 4 and up |
| Christmas hours | Every day 10 to 7, Dec 20 to Jan 4 |
Brian Head Resort runs a groomed tubing hill with its own lanes and its own ticket. A child under 50 pounds rides alone in a tube, with a ticketed adult in the next lane. The resort does not allow personal sleds, saucers or tubes on its slopes, so leave yours in the car. Our Brian Head tubing guide covers the rest.
Timing matters this year. The resort set November 6 as opening day, then postponed it with no new date on November 4 after rain at the lowest elevations kept it from building a base. Its website still showed 0 percent of trails open on November 13.
The drive changes with the season too. Over Highway 148 through Cedar Breaks it runs 23.5 miles. The Park Service says that road closes for snow from mid-November to mid-May on average, and then the route goes around by Cedar City and Parowan: 61.2 miles and about 95 minutes. Our Brian Head driving guide has both routes and the canyon cameras.
Snow you can count on, month by month
| Median snow on the ground, Harris Flat | |
|---|---|
| Thanksgiving, November 26 | 1 in, bare in 11 of 23 years |
| Christmas Day | 9 in |
| January 15 | 15 in |
| March 1 | 21 in |
| April 1 | 1 in, bare in 10 of 23 years |
A November sledding trip is a coin flip at village height. Close to half the Thanksgivings on record found Harris Flat bare, and this week’s storms decide 2026. The deepest snow near the village arrives in late February and early March, which makes March the safest bet for a sledding weekend. Our post on how much snow Duck Creek Village gets has the full record, and the winter guide to Duck Creek covers snowshoe and ski trails for the grown-ups.
Bring a sled from home, since we found no shop in the village that rents them today. Southern Utah University’s sledding list also asks parents to put helmets on small children.
Quick answers about sledding near Duck Creek
- Is there a sledding hill in Duck Creek Village?
The Dixie National Forest’s winter sports page lists no sledding area. The informal hill locals use sits at the Strawberry Point Road turn, a short drive east of the village.
- Can you bring your own sled to Brian Head?
No. Brian Head Resort bans personal sleds and tubes on its slopes, and the tubing ticket includes a tube.
- How much does sledding cost near Duck Creek Village?
The Strawberry Point hill and Wood Ranch cost nothing. Brian Head tubing starts at $25 a person for a session.
- Is there snow for sledding at Thanksgiving?
About half the years. Check the Harris Flat sensor on our weather page the week before you drive up.
Our cabins and rooms sit at 8,464 feet on Highway 14, a short drive from the Strawberry Point turn, with room to dry wet boots and mittens by the end of the day.
Trip Planning How Much Snow Does Duck Creek Village Get a Year? The Gauges Below and Above It Say 77 and 215 Inches
No gauge in Duck Creek Village measures snowfall. The two long NOAA records on either side of it do: Alton, 1,300 feet lower, averages 77.5 inches a year, and Blowhard Mountain, 2,300 feet higher, logged a median 215 inches a winter. The snow sensor nearest the village peaks at about 30 inches on the ground.
Trip Planning Is Highway 14 Open in Winter? The Cedar City Climb to Duck Creek Village, and This Week's Storms
Yes. Utah Highway 14 stays plowed and open all winter between Cedar City and Long Valley Junction, and it runs through Duck Creek Village. The nearby paved road that closes for the season is Highway 148 to Cedar Breaks. The catch is the climb: 30 miles and about 4,000 feet up to a high point near 9,900 feet, where storms hit first.
Trip Planning What Is the Weather Like in Duck Creek Village in November?
November in Duck Creek Village runs 48 to 49F by day and about 24F at night, with 24 to 29 freezing nights in the month. Snow sits on the ground about 10 days in an average November at village elevation and 22 days at the Highway 14 summit. The highway stays open; Cedar Breaks closes on snow.
Book the basecamp
When the trip idea is taking shape, Duck Creek Village Inn makes an easy base between slower mountain time and bigger Southern Utah days.