The Ruby Hill Rail Yard will soon open for urban snowboarding and skiing— even as temperatures are expected to near 60 degrees this weekend.
While snow has been a rarity this year, Denver is trying its best to make it feel like winter. Last week’s brief spell of subfreezing temperatures helped the city make snow, which will allow the free park to open on Sunday.
Before the yard’s full opening, Denverites are invited to Denver Learns to Ride Day on Friday, Jan. 30, where there will be free rentals and snowboard lessons from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There won’t be any features installed yet for advanced skiers and riders. Bring your own gear.
A February open date is relatively late for Ruby Hill Rail Yard — in the last two years, it opened on January 26 after weeks of sporadic snow. Situated on a large hill in the park, it includes rails, boxes and other features “to accommodate skill levels from beginner to advanced.”
Staff from Winter Park Resort, which is owned by the city, helped with snowmaking.
This year, the park opens after a prolonged snow drought across the state. December 2025 was also the warmest ever on record in Colorado, with over 1,000 daily high temperature records set across the state. Even real ski resorts are having to carefully manage their natural and manmade snow.
Nonetheless, there are still a few more months for the weather to course correct. Denver Parks and Recreation said the rail yard will stay open until March, weather permitting.
Ruby Hill Park is open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. However, because lighting in the rail yard is out of service indefinitely due to electrical repairs; officials said it is not advised to ride, ski or sled after dark and doing so is at your own risk.
