Speed Demons
Sledding has long been a winter tradition, but if your trusty-rusty saucer and backyard hill no longer compare to your fondest childhood memories, head to Indiana’s Pokagon State Park for the ultimate winter thrill: tobogganing.
Park interpreter Fred Wooley estimates the run draws 60,000 tobogganers annually. Since its original construction by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the run has evolved into one of the Midwest’s only refrigerated double-tracks.
After launching from the 30-foot tower, riders drop 90 vertical feet over a series of dips and valleys before skidding to a stop a quarter mile down the track. Along the way tobogganers soar pass a radar gun that flashes speeds between 35 and 45 miles per hour. “That’s pretty fast when you consider you’re scooting on your bottom,” Wooley says.
The toboggan run, which operates from the Friday after Thanksgiving through the last Sunday in February, is a great way to ward off cabin fever and get outdoors during the winter months. The wind rushing against your skin and the blood pumping through your veins will inevitably leave you with a smile. And no matter what your age or gender, expect that ear-to-ear grin to be accompanied by a scream.
“The first time I did it I thought ‘I’m not going to scream,’” Wooley says. “Then you get up there and launch and you’re like ‘Whoooa!’ It just kinda comes right out of you.”
After you’ve had your fun, thaw out with a steaming cup of hot cocoa at the nearby warming center’s outdoor fire.
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