Park Design Considerations

Choosing the site for your park is very important. There are many considerations in park construction such as adequate snowmaking, traffic patterns, and the natural terrain.

However, ski areas often locate their parks on low use trails. Many times these trails are out of the way, hard to access and offer poor terrain to elaborate on.

A solution to this may be constructing an intermediate park and pipe to accommodate a larger group that would weigh in favor of committing more prime hill space to build your park. Under proper management a solid intermediate park can please a large group of ability levels and not be a nightmare to maintain.

Considerations for Parks of All Abilities

Existing Terrain:
Be sure that your trail has some roll to it. If the trail has some pitches you can easily elaborate on the existing terrain.

Width:
Try to choose a trail with some width. Maintaining some of these features can be easier if there is access all around them.

Pitch:
Try to avoid trails that are too steep. Maintainability and ride ability drop the steeper you get. Special circumstances may warrant features on the steeps but not as a rule.

Proximity:
Try to have your halfpipe in the same area as your park. Weather you open it to skiers or not, your pipe should be in or near your park.

Flow:
Keep in mind that offering terrain features to a larger range of abilities means more traffic. A practical design and management plan must be implemented to maximize flow.

Call SPM before you decide on your park's site.