Head down belly-first for optimal sliding.

Simply put, what you see is what you get when it comes to Slide the City. The puffy slip-and-slide is a little crazy, a lot crowded and hella fun. While the Goshen event was well staffed with people keeping things under control and sliders on their way, it’s still a little nerve-wracking to glide down wet vinyl with limited control.

The real danger comes not from the slide—it’s really just a wet bouncy house—but from the other sliders. Adults and kids are sent careening down one of the three rows in rapid succession, and what begins as a wide berth between sliders can quickly narrow when someone slows down, gets stuck or falls off the tube. This writer crashed into a kid who was about 8 (tube first, thankfully), and one can see why the activity comes with a waiver longer than some wedding vows.

A mouth guard is included and we suggest using it; however, take note that it didn't fit the 6-year-old we were with.

Slide the City Mt. Vernon will be located at 350 Gramatan Avenue on Saturday, August 26, from 10am-4pm. Pricing starts at $20 and will increase as the event date nears. Admission includes an inflatable tube, drawstring bag and mouth guard.  

Expect long lines at this popular event.

Our Tips

• Slide on your stomach for the best results. Most of the people we saw who tried sitting on the tube struggled to maintain momentum.
• Tightly grip the front of the tube with your hands when it’s time to launch. This will avoid having it slip out in front of you, and lessen the chance you’ll land with a wet, hard smack on the ground. (Yeah, we saw that happen a lot.)
• Bring your patience—and a tube if you can. There was a long line to have a tube inflated, and then a really long line to wait to slide. If you have your own tubes, bring ’em. If you don’t, send one person to have the tubes inflated while everyone else waits on the slide line. We inflated our tubes ourselves while waiting to slide, but that wasn’t fun.
• Travel lightly or bring a designated carrier. Your ticket includes a drawstring bag to hold your stuff, but it’s not waterproof. You’ll have to find somewhere to park your stuff or have someone hold it if you don’t want a soggy wallet.

All photos taken by the author.