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WATCH: Kalamazoo family builds luge course in front yard

Posted at 5:42 PM, Feb 10, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-10 17:49:14-05

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Kalamazoo family has built a luge course made out of snow in their own front yard.

Watch the luge course in action in the video player above.

The Baker family turned their front yard into a winter oasis.

"The kids are cooped up, what else are we going to do in the winter time?" Ryan Baker said.

They didn't take the typical route of building a snowman and instead, built a luge course out of snow.

"Basically I built a big sledding hill essentially," Baker said.

He built it for his two kids, Hunter and Hannah.

They built smaller versions of it in years past, but the pandemic gave Baker the opportunity he needed to take it up a level.

"We started 2-3 years ago, we built some smaller versions and working from home this year I said 'why not?"

He said it took them nearly 20 hours total to compete, but the overall process was pretty simple.

"I kind of looked like a fool, just snow blowin' the yard. I'd do the driveway, do the yard and just basically put it in line as a basic shape."

It has a luge, a slide off the side and even tunnels to sled through.

"The hardest part is getting the banks right, and that's when the neighborhood kids are great. Send them down first, and if they look like Clark Griswold, ya know you tweak it down a little bit, then you send your kids," Baker joked.

Over all the structure, dubbed "the kid castle" is a neighborhood hit.

"It's really fun. It feels like you're flying down a rollercoaster. It just feels awesome," said neighbor Vaughn Wright.

"I'm glad my dad made it because it's really really fun," Hunter Baker said.

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