Adventure Awaits at Cone Park in Sioux City!

December 9, 2025

By April Pearson

“I got into this line of work because, in college, I kept thinking to myself, ‘I want to have fun.’ And it took me four years to realize that the formal word for ‘fun’ is ‘recreation.’” Justin Atlas is the recreation superintendent for Sioux City Parks and Recreation. He says, “Our team focuses on making sure that the Siouxland community has wonderful opportunities and facilities to be able to recreate throughout the year. Cone Park is one of our crown jewels.” 

Winter Wonderland

Cone Park has a 700-foot tubing hill with fresh, white, powdery snow that’s perfect for frolicking. A magic carpet lift, like an escalator, offers quick, easy access to the top of the hill. Snow tubes are provided for each 3-hour session. For kids under 6, a “bunny hill” is available, delivering the same thrills as the 700-foot hill, just a shorter distance. Every Friday and Saturday night, “Snow Glow” lights up the tubing hill with lasers, making it a winter favorite. “It might be a little bit cold on the hill, but the lights and music just make for a more festive atmosphere,” says Atlas.  

Included in the price of tubing admission is ice skating. For those with fancy feet, there’s a 5,400-square-foot ice skating rink, with skates available for rent. When visitors need a break from the cold, they can warm up in the beautiful, cozy day lodge. It has a fireplace, free WiFi, flat-screen TVs and lockers, plus food and drinks. Guests can also enjoy the new outdoor patio, with festive lighting and fire pits that create a toasty, intimate environment. 

When building the facility, Sioux City Parks and Rec worked with Sioux City Public Health to make Cone Park accessible to everyone all year-round. The lodge meets ADA requirements, but the snow hill goes above and beyond, providing two-person inner tubes so individuals of any ability level can ride down the hill with a caregiver or parent. “Cone Park is the essence of what parks and recreation should be,” says Atlas. “It’s a model facility where everyone can participate in a wide variety of activities and become better connected with each other, the community and nature.”

Summer Sport

Come warmer weather, the winter tubing hill becomes a summer tubing hill, complete with water misters, and the ice-skating rink becomes a free splashpad. The beautiful paved recreational trail loop thaws, and the mountain bike park opens. Visitors can enjoy 10.5 miles of soft-surface mountain bike trails, a pump track and progressive jump lines. From tot tracks to technical trails, there’s something for all skill levels. 

Sioux City Parks and Rec works with several regional nonprofits that provide learning opportunities for mountain bike enthusiasts. Cone Park is the home base for the Siouxland Composite Mountain Bike Team, a skills development program for kids in grades 5 through 12. Atlas says, “We hope to continue programming for years to come for all levels — beginner, intermediate and expert.”

Year-Round Revelry

Cone Park hosts many events and programs throughout the year, including outdoor yoga, All Abilities Day, Breakfast with Santa, Brunch with the Bunny, Cone-Acopia (a fall festival with hayrides, a pumpkin catapult, and arts and crafts), I Love My Park Day (training for volunteers to help maintain the trails), and Trail Fest. “Trail Fest is probably our biggest; we had around 3,000 people come last year,” says Atlas. “It's where we do mountain bike workshops and races, listen to some live music, eat from local food trucks and have a lot of fun.”

The lodge is also available for private parties, fundraisers and events. Parks and Recreation also offers Cone Park birthday packages.

Attraction in Action

The Cone Park tubing hill, ice skating rink and lodge opened for business in 2018. “Over the years, we’ve done a lot of work to enhance the facility, like adding the patio, summer tubing hill and mountain bike park, a park for all seasons,” says Atlas. 

Being the premier facility that it is, Cone Park attracts around 29,000 visitors each year, not even counting the free services like the trails and splash pad. Guests visit from all over the country — Atlas says. “We've had people come all the way from Indiana, Arkansas, Colorado and Georgia.” They’re not the only ones who’ve traveled far and wide for the opportunities Cone Park has to offer. “I recently moved here from New York,” says Atlas, “and I absolutely love that I get to manage and operate these cool amenities and work with a bunch of awesome people for the betterment of our community.”
 
Whether it's learning physical or cognitive skills, like understanding the physics behind the pump track; developing emotional skills, like embracing nature and environmental stewardship; or practicing social skills, like enjoying activities with family and friends — visitors can plan for more than just a day of fun at Cone Park. Atlas says, “One of the most beautiful things about recreation, and one of the reasons why I got into the profession, is that it teaches us to be better humans.”

Visit coneparksiouxcity.com for hours and pricing.