Our family recently had the chance to head Snow Tubing at Hawk Island in Lansing, Michigan, and man! It was so much fun.
Hawk Island is a fantastic park with a splash pad, lake/beach, cute playground and walking trail. We had visited a few times during summer, but never in winter, so decided to check it out after scoring notoriously hard-to-get snow tubing tickets.
Unfortunately tickets are mostly sold out for the 2022 season, but I will be sure to share as soon as more go on sale or they open for 2023. See current open times here.

What To Expect Snow Tubing at Hawk Island in Lansing
Since I received a lot of questions about our experience, I wanted to write a post to help others. For my kids, going into things like this — aka the unknown — can be a little scary, so the more information I have the better. I hope this is helpful to someone out there 🙂
First, you MUST have tickets prior to going. There’s a chance some may open, but personally, I wouldn’t risk it, especially if you have a drive. When you arrive, you will go through a front gate where you will pay a parking fee. It’s $5 for non-residents and $3 for Ingham county residents.
From there, you will follow the road to the back of the park, and you will see a giant hill in front of you. The building where you need to check-in is well marked.
Inside, you will need to sign a waiver for your family and then you will check-in {they will have your name on paper; nothing needs to be printed} and receive a sticker coat tag for the hill.
In this building you will also find the bathrooms and concession stands, which have hot beverages, popcorn, s’mores kits, and more. Everything is $3 and under.
After you are set, you can follow the paved trail out to the hill. Once at the hill, you can pick out a tube. There are large and small tubes, as well as double tubes.
The absolute best part of this hill is the “Magic Carpet,” which transports visitors to the top of the hill. Thank goodness because we wouldn’t have made it long otherwise! It took a few minutes to get from the bottom to the top, and did require some leg strength to remain standing confidently 😉
Once at the top, you can pick one of four lanes to tube down. We thought the first lane was the fastest, but that’s up for debate and may depend on conditions.
I was a little nervous for a bumpy ride and a bruised butt later on, but the lanes were extremely smooth and felt VERY safe. My cautious gal was super hesitant at first, and quickly got over it once she realized she wasn’t going to fly off and get hurt.
Age Recommendation
My kids are ages 7, 9, and 11, and I thought they were at a great age for it. I would recommend this activity for ages 5 and up, though we did see some toddlers. My reasoning is they must be able to ride down the hill solo {there are double tubes available or you can attach together}, head up the hill solo, and follow directions well. We had to stop a few times on the Magic Carpet due to toddlers not standing correctly, so keep this in mind if you have a rebel child 😉
Cost
This activity is really affordable for families. It’s $10 for both adults and children for a two-hour block, and if you have more than 4 members in your family/group, it reduces to $8. With a family of five, I super appreciate the price break!
More Information
Learn more and grab tickets here. I would also suggest following Ingham County Parks on Facebook so you can see when additional tickets become available.
Have you been snow tubing at Hawk Island? If so, what tips can you recommend to those looking to go?
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