Jonas Ridge Snow Tubing Park in Burke County: Your Ultimate Winter Fun Destination Despite Rainy Christmas Forecast

It’s expected to be a wet Christmas, but not a white Christmas for Burke County this year.

But those with children out of school and between sports practices and games who are seeking some winter fun next week need look no further than about 25 miles and 2,500 feet north.

Jonas Ridge Snow Tubing Park, located in the northern end of the county at 9472 N.C. 181, has been serving up its own snow and accompanying thrill rides down a 400-foot, five-lane slope for over a decade and a half.

Marc Wakefield and his wife, Madison, own and operate the business, which was built from the ground up by Wakefield’s grandfather William Loven, who is now 93.

Opening day of the winter season at the park was Monday, Dec. 18. The park has new hours this season, Wakefield said. It is open every day through Jan. 3, with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and its hours of operation in that span are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Then once January starts in earnest and school starts back in most areas, the park will be open only on Fridays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Saturdays (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and Sundays (1-5 p.m.) until the season ends on Saturday, March 9.

The park is also open on two Mondays, Presidents Day and Martin Luther King Day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wakefield said on a typical day, “we typically have about 800 to 1,000 people a day come through, so it definitely keeps us very busy up here.”

The park offers one- and two-hour sessions. Cost per person is $30 for one hour or $45 for two hours. That cost is $5 less for those in the military, or in the law enforcement and medical fields and their immediate families. Children ages 6 and under are also admitted for $5 less than the normal rate. And group discounts for 15 or more people are also available ($7 off per person per two hours).

“We have had a few people ask about doing an all-day pass or something like that, but typically at the end of two hours, people are worn out,” Wakefield said. “It is very, I don’t want to say physically demanding, but it’s definitely a lot of physical activity. Those same people will come back in and say, ‘We see why you only do two hours now.’”

To get tubers up the slope, Wakefield said the park several years back transitioned from what many traditional tubing slopes still use – the hook-and-cable method, “where you sit in the tube, they hook the tube up, and it pulls you up” – to a conveyer belt by Magic Carpet Lifts. From the top of the lift, it’s a short walk to the top of the slope.

“You hold your tube and step onto the conveyer belt, which takes the person and tube to the top,” Wakefield said. “The conveyer works so much better. People tend to enjoy that a whole lot more.”

The park allows families or friends to link tubes together, or “chain,” for up to four people for rides down. There is no minimum age to tube, but all those doing so must be in his or her own tube.

“We recommend ages 3 and up, and some other places, they require kids to be 3 and up,” Wakefield said. “We don’t allow kids to ride on parents’ laps, and that is a safety concern. If they were to flip over, they could land on the child. 

“With that said, we have children’s tubes that are a lot smaller. And we do tell people, because it’s a common question we get, if a 2-year-old can sit in their own tube while a parent holds onto the tube as they go down, then they’re more than welcome to go.”

Concessions and restrooms are available on site, and Wakefield said warm clothing is about all that folks need to remember to bring, although on warmer days, waterproof clothing is also recommended.

“Some days, you wouldn’t really need to worry about that because it’s so cold everything is frozen up here,” he said. “But there are days we’re open and it’s 40 or 50 degrees outside so the snow will melt some.”

Reservations can be made online at jonasridgesnowtube.com (preferred) or by calling 828-733-4155. It’s recommended that folks book in advance, particularly on Saturdays.

“Online reservation availability is updated in real time,” Wakefield said. “Click the ‘book now’ link, and the site shows everything available for that day. So if that date is not showing, we are already sold out or not open. (Online booking) is not required but very highly recommended. Most Saturdays we cannot talk walk-ons.”

After booking and arriving and before taking off down the slope, all guests must sign a waiver and watch a safety video.

Wakefield said he is out grooming the slope each day before opening. That always includes softening and packing the snow as well as sometimes laying down a fresh layer.

“In order for us to turn the guns on (to make snow) it needs to be 28 degrees or colder, but we really prefer it to be in the low 20s or even in the teens, which is when we can start making a lot of snow,” he said. “And we typically do that at night. We don’t make snow when we’re operating because contrary to popular belief, if it is snowing or if we are making snow, it actually inhibits snow tubing dramatically. It stops you in your tracks. 

“Even sleds do better on fresh snow than tubes do. It’s now like when you go skiing, you want the fluffy snow to go down on. With snow tubing, you want it to be packed and more icy.”

Though the park sees a lot of visitors from Morganton and surrounding areas, and on the opposite extreme, had some visitors from foreign countries including the Ukraine last winter, Wakefield said “we get a ton of business from people in Florida coming up to the mountains for the holidays. That’s probably the majority if I had to pick one to be honest.”

“We haven’t done a lot of advertising over the years,” he added, “just a very small amount. So I think people come, have a good time, and help us spread our business through word of mouth a lot.”

Wakefield’s family, which also includes his father Joey and mother Sherry, also owns Steele Creek Campground a few miles south on N.C. 181, from where his father is planning to retire after 20-plus years with Marc and Madison stepping it to take over operations as well soon as well, Marc said.

“I know my parents as well as my wife and I do appreciate the fact that it is a family-owned and operated business, and we’ve worked really hard to get it to where it is today,” he said. “And we just want to say thank you to everyone in the community that’s supported us and come tubing with us over the years.”

Paul Schenkel can be reached at 828-445-8595 or paul@thepaper.media.