CAMDEN – Hurtling down a snow-covered hill on a pair of slender sticks or on a single board isn’t enough of a thrill for some people.

For many young people – mostly boys – merely skiing and snowboarding isn’t as much fun as jumping off hillocks and flying up “quarter pipes” on the same equipment. Many of the same kids who do jumps and stunts at skate parks with their in-line skates and skateboards in warm weather convert their hobby to the winter version, usually using snowboards.

Accordingly, the Camden Snow Bowl – the town-owned ski area on Ragged Mountain – is putting the finishing touches on an area of its slopes that is designed just for boarders. The terrain park should be ready for the upcoming season, said Chip Taylor, Snow Bowl director.

Taylor estimates that between a quarter and athird of those coming to the slopes in Camden in recent winters are snowboarders.

“It’s been growing steadily for six or eight years,” he said Thursday. Other ski areas may see an even higher percentage of boarders.

“It’s grown steadily,” Taylor said, but he expects that growth to level off soon.

In an effort to give boarders – and skiers – another reason to come to the Snow Bowl, Taylor and others pitched the idea of building a terrain park. In the spring, permitting was secured, and the Ragged Mountain Recreation Area Foundation – a group which has been raising money to support the Snow Bowl – agreed to pay for the work.

Taylor estimates that the final cost will be about $15,000.

Josh Lempert, a designer from the Sunday River ski area in Bethel, traveled to Camden to act as a consultant in planning the terrain park. Choosing just the right area was difficult but critical, Taylor said. Ultimately, a wooded portion of the slope just uphill from the lodge was chosen, in part so that those using the terrain park would be in full view.

The trees were cut over the course of a few days in August, and then excavators and bulldozers came in. The local Laite Construction firm donated most of its time and equipment to sculpt the area of the ski slope into the terrain park, Taylor said.

“They really do deserve credit for getting out there and getting it done,” he said.

Three light poles were moved, and will be outfitted with lights to illuminate the area for night use.

The terrain park will be fenced in, with an entrance at the top. It will be accessible from the small T-bar lift or from farther up the slope. The Snow Bowl operates three lifts in all, including a chairlift.

The terrain park will feature a quarter pipe – a slope that forms one-quarter of a circle – a table top, which is like a small plateau – and a “spike,” which is a small ridge allowing boarders to slide up and down from either side.

Boarders can work their way through the park and then out the bottom, Taylor said, or stay in the area and walk back to the top of the short series of jumps.

“It’s not just snowboarders” who will use the terrain park, Taylor said. Skiers using double-ended “trick” skis will probably try the jumps.

To date, there has not been any real conflict between traditional skiers and snowboarders at the Snow Bowl, Taylor said.

“I don’t think it’s really been a big issue.” The only complaints from skiers are that boarders tend to sit in groups on the slopes, chatting or waiting to make their next run down, and that “snowboards make a lot of noise,” sometimes startling skiers.

There will be no age limitations on use of the park, nor any safety equipment requirements. Taylor said he recommends that parents outfit their children with helmets, and with wrist braces, which absorb the impact of a fall.

A sign at the opening will warn users that they enter at their own risk, Taylor said, and that some expertise is required.

In past years, the Snow Bowl staff tried to create an area for snowboarders using packed snow, but it didn’t fare as well as having the jumps carved into the hill.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Taylor said of the terrain park.

The Snow Bowl has added other amenities to keep the excitement high, such as a tubing slope and a toboggan run. Last year, the facility ended its season slightly in the red. Taylor and town officials are hoping the snowboarding area will help draw people to the Snow Bowl and put it in the black.

The Snow Bowl makes its own snow, but like other ski areas, often doesn’t see many visitors until snow falls. Taylor said season passes are selling well so far this year.