Great Bear Recreation Park, South Dakota

Great Bear Recreation Park

Fun for the whole family!

Great Bear Ski Valley opened to the public in the early 1970s. After several changes in ownership, the City of Sioux Falls Park and Recreation Department purchased the area in 1991 and entered into a partnership with Great Bear Recreation Park, Inc., a non-profit organization, to co-manage the area.

Great Bear has fun for the whole family this year! Whether you downhill ski, cross country ski, snowboard or tube, Great Bear is a place you want to be this winter!

The recreational area has 12 downhill trails serviced by a quad chairlift and 2 handle tow lifts. There is also the only Olympic size 1/2 pipe in the state of South Dakota!

Snow Tubing
Try downhill tubing at the Kirby Family Tubing Park! Six lanes of thrills and chills -- and no more walking up the hill, since the Park is outfitted with a custom-built surface-lift system.

Great Bear is conveniently located just 3 miles east of Sioux Falls.

Mountain Statistics for Great Bear Recreation Park
Base Elevation: 0 ft (0 m)
Summit Elevation: 0 ft (0 m)
Vertical Drop: 183 ft (56 m)
Skiable Area: 20 acres (8 hectares)
Annual Snowfall: 0 in (0 cm)
Longest Run: 2,500 ft (762 m)
Snowmaking: 0 %
Number of Lifts: 5
Uphill Lift Capacity: 0 per hour
Types of Lifts: 4 Surface Lifts
1 Quad Chair
Number of Trails: 12
Trail Ratings for Great Bear Recreation Park
Easiest: Easiest 25%
More Difficult: More Difficult 50%
Most Difficult: Most Difficult 25%
Experts Only: Experts Only 0%
Trail ratings indicate the relative difficulty of the runs within a given ski area and are not meant to be used for comparison between ski areas.
Area Details for Great Bear Recreation Park
Alpine Skiing: Yes
Snowboarding: Yes
Required: Yes
Night Skiing: Yes
Terrain Park: Yes
Cross Country: 6 km
Half Pipe: Yes
Snow Tubing: Yes