Experience the Ultimate Toboggan Thrill at this Annual Maine Winter Event
A small Maine mountain delivers big thrills at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships, the only organized wooden toboggan race in the country.
A two-man toboggan team hurtles down the 400-foot-long Jack Williams Toboggan Chute, a time-honored fixture at Maine’s Camden Snow Bowl.
Photo Credit : Mark FlemingNew England is home to many one-of-a-kind experiences, and theU.S. National Toboggan Championships is one of Maine’s finest winter examples. Every year in mid-February, the weekend-long event (February 3-5, 2023) draws a crowd to the Jack Williams Toboggan Chute at Camden’s Snow Bowl, a beloved town-owned ski mountain. This 400-foot wooden run first opened to the public in 1936 and is still considered the longest of its kind in the country. After a steep drop, an icy straightaway sends riders spilling out onto the frozen Hosmer Pond, sometimes reaching speeds of 40 mph.
Ready to compete? The requirements are minimal. Your sled must be made of wood and you need to meet certain size and weight restrictions. Then you just pay the registration fee and get a bib number. If you prefer to avoid icy thrills, the event offers a welcome dose of winter fun for participants and spectators alike. Come for the pond tailgating, live music, Chili Challenge, and costume parade.
Photo Credit : Corey Hendrickson
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Read a longer version of this story by Ian Aldrich in the January/February 2023 issue of Yankee Magazine.
If you can’t make it to the U.S. National Toboggan Championships, take a virtual visit on the new season of Weekends with Yankee, which debuts this spring. To learn more, go to weekendswithyankee.com.
