Jyide Ortiz, 12, of Central Falls, flies off the hills at Neutaconkanut Hill Park, in Providence.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

PROVIDENCE — Families with young children found their way to Neutaconkanut Hill Park, in the city’s Silver Lake section, yesterday morning to slip-slide away the hours after an overnight storm left the ground covered in an ankle-deep blanket of granular snow.

“We’ve been out here all morning,” said Koreen Souzor, of Johnston. “It was awesome.”

Souzor and a family group that included her son and a nephew arrived at the park about 10:30 a.m. to let the boys have some fun sliding down a clearing at the back of the park off Plainfield Street.

Souzor’s nephew, 12-year-old Jyide Ortiz of Central Falls, was having a blast.

“I’ve been going off the ramp,” Jiyade said. “I’m having a lot of fun.”

While he took a short break, other kids slid down the clearing, aiming their air-filled tubes and plastic toboggans for a snowy bump that sent most airborne, if only for a few inches.

“This is a good way to spend a Sunday,” said Marlon Scott, a carpenter from Providence.

Scott spoke as he watched his daughter, 11-year-old Maritza, and 9-year-old Marlon, flash down the hill, giggling as they went.

“They love it here,” Scott said.

While everyone sounded as if they were having a good time of it, the morning wasn’t without its mishaps.

As he spoke, Scott nursed a knuckle bruised and bloodied from smacking a bare hand on a patch of ice underneath the new-fallen snow. Like any good dad, he’d given up a pair of gloves to his son, whose hands were getting cold.

Sledding is free at public parks around the state, but moms and dads can still end up spending money.

Gone are the days when children took to snowy hills in long-lasting rugged sleds with wooden decks and metal runners.

Some children use plastic or neoprene sleds that speed down hills, while others prefer the tubes that go airborne after hitting even small bumps. The former are sturdy but expensive, the latter are cheap and prone to leaks.

Ask Mike Perrotta, of Johnston.

His son, Mike Jr., likes to go tubing every chance he gets.

“He keeps popping the tubes; he doesn’t have to pay for them,” Perrotta said, shrugging his shoulders.

That won’t stop him from indulging his son’s love of the snow, he said.

Perrotta plans on taking his son to the Yawgoo Valley ski area, in Exeter, at some point this winter. His son wants to try out its snow tube and ski slopes.

“He wants to give [skiing] a shot,” Perrotta said.

If the dad from Johnston thinks a regular trip to Benny’s to buy snow tubes is running into money, just wait until he gets a look at the price of renting ski equipment.

pgrimald@projo.com