One of the best parts of midwest winters is sledding! And this week, Jamie Ludovic, Washington County’s Chief Community Development Officer, joins me to talk about all of the great sledding options in the county. Next time the snow falls, you’ll have some great ideas on where to take the kiddos!
I also got my daughter out of bed to help me on the intro and talk about her experience at Sunburst Ski Hill, as well as to find out how her senior year powerlifting season is going.
[00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: Happy new year and thanks for tuning in to another episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz, a show where we feature all the fun, interesting, and all around wonderful things happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin. While this year we didn’t have a white Christmas, We did have a White New Year’s and we’re finally able to explore some of the wonderful sledding options that are available to us here in the area with Washington County’s chief community development officer, Jamie Ludovic.
That’s coming up. But first, I thought I’d bring on a pre guest guest. Her name is Bree. And her face is red and she’s my daughter. Hey kid. Oh, I need to turn on your microphone. Hey kid.
[00:00:54] Bri Martin: Hello.
[00:00:54] Fuzz Martin: How, so you went skiing last night at Sunburst and Kewaskum, right?
[00:00:58] Bri Martin: I did.
[00:00:59] Fuzz Martin: And how was that?
[00:01:00] Bri Martin: It was good.
[00:01:01] Fuzz Martin: It was good.
What’d you guys do? Did you, did you like do the big hills?
[00:01:04] Bri Martin: Yeah, I did.
[00:01:06] Fuzz Martin: Did you hit the moguls?
[00:01:07] Bri Martin: I don’t know what that means.
[00:01:09] Fuzz Martin: You don’t ski very often, but No,
[00:01:11] Bri Martin: once a year.
[00:01:12] Fuzz Martin: Once a year, but you did take ski lessons when you were at Silver Brook Middle School. Yep. And And they’ve stuck with it. It’s like riding a bike, right?
[00:01:23] Bri Martin: Oh, yeah. Don’t fall ever.
[00:01:26] Fuzz Martin: What was your favorite part of skiing last night?
[00:01:32] Bri Martin: Watching people fall. I’m kidding. I’m kidding. No, going fast down the hills, I guess.
[00:01:37] Fuzz Martin: Going fast on the hills. Yeah. And did you do anything besides skiing? You said you bought a Monster. I bought a Monster. And that’s
[00:01:44] Bri Martin: why I was up until like
[00:01:45] Fuzz Martin: Midnight last night? Early morning. Yeah. And that’s why, uh, as we record this, it’s 9 37 and you woke up at 9 25.
That
[00:01:55] Bri Martin: is true.
[00:01:56] Fuzz Martin: Um, so now pretty much everybody that I know knows this, but for those. Of you to whom I have not bragged yet, Bree is a competitive power lifter. She’s currently the only power lifter from the West Bend high schools, even though there’s like 2, 500 kids, she’s the only one, uh, and she took third instate right before the pandemic.
So in 2020, and then we had a little hiatus, but we’re back in season now. How’s training been going? It’s going good. You’re winking at me. Do you have something in your eye? Are you ready for your next meet, which is coming up this weekend? Yes. Are you gonna, are you gonna take, what is your favorite lift?
So for those of you who don’t know, powerlifting is three lifts. You do squat first, you do three lifts and squat, and then they take your best one. Then you do bench press, you do three lifts of bench press, and they take your highest score there. And then you do, you know, Deadlift, which they, you do three lifts and they take your best score.
Then the total combined with a whole bunch of other stuff gets you to be whether you win or not. What is your favorite of the lifts?
[00:03:03] Bri Martin: Definitely deadlift.
[00:03:04] Fuzz Martin: Definitely deadlift. Yeah. Yeah. You kind of, uh, own that one. And then, uh, what was your highest you’ve ever deadlifted when you were a sophomore in high school?
I think it was, was it 345 or 355?
[00:03:15] Bri Martin: 345, I think.
[00:03:16] Fuzz Martin: 345. Um, so, and you were at one point you were ranked nationally,
[00:03:21] Bri Martin: Yep.
[00:03:22] Fuzz Martin: Might get you back there. Okay. Well, thanks for getting out of bed to join me and now go get to the gym and get swole.
[00:03:29] Bri Martin: Yeah.
[00:03:31] Fuzz Martin: Thanks, Bree. All right. And now here is Fifteen Minutes on Washington County ski hills with Jamie Ludovic on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Jamie, thanks for joining me. Before we get started talking about all the fun places that we can go in Washington County, Thanks, Jamie. Let’s talk a little bit about your role with Washington County and what you do. You’re the chief community development officer, which sounds like It’s a really fun position.
[00:04:01] Jamie Ludovic: Oh, super fun. I just travel the county and, you know, with my kids and do fun things. Um, and then we, we go on Fifteen Minute with Fuzz podcast.
[00:04:12] Fuzz Martin: Perfect. Yes. Talking about, uh, things like sledding. Seems like a, a pretty awesome job to have. And, uh, and I also have that too. And. As the father of two, I’ve got a high schooler who kind of does her own thing with her friends, but also likes to come with dad and her sister, and then I’ve got a first grader, and we’re always looking for different options when the snow’s flying, you know, like where can we go sledding, and I know there are a number of different places to go that vary in what’s appropriate for big kids or little kids, families with younger kids, those kinds of things.
Let’s talk about West West Bend,
[00:04:47] Jamie Ludovic: Kewaskum, Slinger, West Bend, Kewaskum, Slinger, West Bend, Kewaskum, Slinger, West Bend, I’ve taken a new interest in how to get them outside and what those options are and I’ve started to try to, you know, all of a sudden it was, wait a minute, we didn’t tell anybody that that hill was going to kill my kids.
So we kind of started to look at the marketing a little bit closer as I started to visit all these options myself. The county has two, Homestead Hollow in Germantown. Which is really great. Um, we have just had so much fun at this park. It is a relatively mild hill.
[00:05:33] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:05:34] Jamie Ludovic: Um, the kids love it. I would say it can keep kids of any age, including adults, occupied and have, having a good time, but also you can send a three year old down this hill, a two year old, three, four year old down this hill, which is, which is wonderful.
Um, all of the county sled hills are lit in the evening. Oh,
[00:05:53] Fuzz Martin: great. How long are they open? What time are they open to when it’s sledding time?
[00:05:57] Jamie Ludovic: Um, the parks are open until nine or nine ish.
[00:06:02] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:06:03] Jamie Ludovic: Is, is really when the parks close. Sure. We have the burn gardens out at Homestead Hollow right now. Yeah,
[00:06:08] Fuzz Martin: yep.
[00:06:08] Jamie Ludovic: Those happen, those are running from 12 to 7 on Saturday and Sundays. Is that the one
[00:06:13] Fuzz Martin: where you reserve, uh, uh, like a, a burn pit?
[00:06:17] Jamie Ludovic: Yes, right. You reserve a burn pit for two hours, 20. Fireside Beer Service by 1840 Brewery. Yeah, yeah. Um, Fire Pit Pale Ale is new, but there’s s’mores and snacks, and so it’s perfect for after sledding.
Okay. Um, really, really a fun time out there. We did that last winter with a group of friends, and as kind of that socially distant safe option for gatherings, um, it was great.
[00:06:41] Fuzz Martin: Perfect. So at Homestead Hollow, is there an entrance fee beside your park sticker to go on the sled hill?
[00:06:46] Jamie Ludovic: There is not, no. There is the 5 entrance fee and the, and or the annual sticker that’s required for the park.
But you can get, decide after what you’re going to do. So, and if you visit the burn garden, the entrance is actually free.
[00:06:58] Fuzz Martin: Oh, really? Okay, great. Uh, yeah, we’re, we’re looking at booking one of the burn gardens, uh, because we got the email from the county and it looked like a lot of fun. Oh, it’s
[00:07:07] Jamie Ludovic: super fun.
[00:07:07] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, um, and then, so, uh, Homestead Hollow is in Germantown and then there’s one other one that the county has, right?
[00:07:14] Jamie Ludovic: Right, yep, Glacier Hills, um, which Glacier Hills is the, is just an absolutely gorgeous park after it snows. Um, it’s a little bit, and when I say a little, I mean a lot more intense in terms of the sledding.
Now, I have sent a three year old down this hill, but I would recommend going with a parent if you’re going to take young children. Um, because it’s fast. Um, so it’s a fast hill and But it’s, it’s gotta be, I mean, it’s just fabulous.
[00:07:45] Fuzz Martin: Now, where is Glacier Hills? I know it’s in Richfield, but where, where exactly, how do you get there?
[00:07:50] Jamie Ludovic: Um, you take Holy Hill Road towards Holy Hill, um, and then you’re going to turn basically left out past, there’s a big sign there that points to Fox and Hounds and Helpine Retreat. So it’s just kind of tucked back there. It’s about 20, 25 minutes from the West Bend area.
[00:08:09] Fuzz Martin: Sure. So certainly in a hilly area there in Richfield.
[00:08:12] Jamie Ludovic: Oh yeah. Absolutely.
[00:08:14] Fuzz Martin: Perfect. Now, Aside from, and again that, that’s the same where it’s the five dollar entry fee and the, that one is lit as well, correct?
[00:08:23] Jamie Ludovic: That is, yes. All
[00:08:24] Fuzz Martin: right, perfect. Um, aside from the county options, there are plenty of other sledding opportunities in Washington County though, uh, that aren’t the county parks, right?
[00:08:34] Jamie Ludovic: Right, yep. So, you know, West Bend has Ridge Run Park, um, which is great. The Lac La Ranne also has, um, kind of a little park that has sleds and, and, and, cool thing about Lac La Ranne is, uh, last year, you know, that’s a West Bend Parks Department park, but they, um, actually had a sled shed put up there, which offers free usage of sleds when they’re on the Royal, it’s called the Royal Oaks Sled Hill.
Um, and basically this is a little free library concept where you borrow the sleds and then you return them. Um, and so this year at Homestead Hollow, we actually had the Girl Scout Troop from Amy Bell Elementary School, the fifth grade troop, construct a huge, um, sort of little free sled shed. Um, and there’s gonna be to start about six or seven donated sleds in there.
So if you happen to be in the park and you don’t have a sled. You can kind of take one, use it for your enjoyment, and leave it when you go. So I think that’s a really cool concept that’s starting to take off in these sledding parks in Washington County.
[00:09:36] Fuzz Martin: That’s really cool, and I would say, aside from getting kids buckled into their car seats when they’re full on with their snow pants and winter jacket, getting the sleds in the car is the next biggest challenge.
Oh
[00:09:50] Jamie Ludovic: yeah, and then you have the tube pop.
[00:09:52] Fuzz Martin: Oh, yeah. In the
[00:09:52] Jamie Ludovic: fight over, well, I want that one.
[00:09:55] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, exactly. So, so the sledge shit. So, again, there’s one at Homestead Hollow, you said? Yeah. And then one at Lac La Ranne?
[00:10:01] Jamie Ludovic: Yeah. Yeah, so we’re going to see. I’d be curious, you know, what, if any listeners have experienced with that, how they feel about it.
Um, I just think it’s a, it’s a great concept, and I know we’re writing really large on the sleds in hopes that they don’t get stolen. Walk off, yeah. Yeah, but well, I guess we’re going to see how that goes.
[00:10:18] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, I, well, I think the, um, I mean, again, it’s kind of tough to, haul a sled back home. So hopefully everybody that’s going in there is, is being, uh, you know, a good citizen with their sleds.
And, uh, but I think it’s a great idea. And I think if you have multiple kids or if you forgot to bring your sleds and all that, it’s going to be Well, and
[00:10:41] Jamie Ludovic: there’s a sled shortage if you try to buy them.
[00:10:44] Fuzz Martin: Yes, we went last year to Fleet Farm one day after it snowed and that was kind of just a mistake all around because there aren’t, there aren’t many sleds around and hopefully, hopefully that replenishes this year, but who knows.
[00:10:58] Jamie Ludovic: Absolutely, um, Fireman’s Park in Slinger is another great option. Okay. Kinderberg Park in Germantown. Those are the other two that I would say, you know, we hear a lot about in the Parks Department.
[00:11:09] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, and certainly there’s the, you know, the ski hills, uh, uh, Sunburst and Little Switz have, uh, uh, their own, you know, tubing options and those kind of things.
But mostly, I know, for, uh, Tubing, you have to be six or older, I think. And even then, if you’ve got a little six year old, tubing can be a little bit aggressive, depending on how busy it is. So, um, some of the other options are great. We typically go to, and we’re going to, we’re going to tour this year based on.
And with the info you’ve provided, Jamie, but, uh, we typically go to Ridge Run because they have kind of the smaller side and then if you’re feeling daring, you can go up down the big screaming fast hill. So, um, that’s always fun when
[00:11:50] Jamie Ludovic: Well, let me just add then if you’re going to tour that Glacier Hills, after a fresh snow, the trails and like the pines out there are worth the experience in terms of just a winter option.
The other parks don’t quite have that, where you kind of walk through and you feel like, oh wow, this is just beautiful.
[00:12:09] Fuzz Martin: Yeah.
[00:12:10] Jamie Ludovic: Um, so make sure you hit that one, when it’s going to be a gorgeous day.
[00:12:14] Fuzz Martin: Perfect. That sounds great. And then, um, I, I want to get you back on the show here soon to talk about some of the other great things as we get back into warmer weather.
So with the, the golf course, the Washington County Golf Course and some of of the great stuff going on there and then also. The mountain bike trails at Washington County. Oh
[00:12:31] Jamie Ludovic: yeah, that’s exciting.
[00:12:32] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, very exciting about that. That’s uh, Heritage Hills.
[00:12:35] Jamie Ludovic: Heritage Trails.
[00:12:36] Fuzz Martin: Heritage Trails.
[00:12:37] Jamie Ludovic: Yep.
[00:12:37] Fuzz Martin: And then um, also you guys have a bunch of options with little uh, rental huts and things now right at some of the county parks.
[00:12:45] Jamie Ludovic: We do, yeah. We have tiny cabins out at Glacier Hills. They’re actually solar powered. There’s nine of them now. Um, and you know, the whole glamping concept, there, if you’re out there sledding and you get a chance to kind of take a look at a couple of those, they are just another really great opportunity for families.
[00:13:03] Fuzz Martin: Certainly. And if you’re interested in looking into those, are those on Airbnb yet?
[00:13:07] Jamie Ludovic: They are, yes.
[00:13:08] Fuzz Martin: Okay, very cool. So, Jamie, thanks for coming on. I’m looking forward to sledding. It’s good exercise for the kids. It’s a good way to get them out of the house when they’re stir crazy in the winter. And, uh, we appreciate all of the, the county has made for our recreation.
[00:13:24] Jamie Ludovic: Yeah. Thanks for having me.
[00:13:29] Fuzz Martin: And that’ll do it for another episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. If you ever have an idea for the show, whether it’s an interesting business owner or a cool event coming up. An all around nice person who should be celebrated, you name it. Should be an email, 15withfuzz at gmail. com. That’s 15 spelled out, f i f t e e n, withfuzz at gmail.
com. New episodes every Monday. They drop at midnight. I drink a Monster, I get up, and I push play. Have a great week. We’ll talk to you next time on 15 minutes with Fuzz.
