Officials say the state's only toboggan run helped a northern Indiana state park reach record attendance.
The toboggan run at Pokagon State Park is a unique attraction; visitors climb onto a sled for a 90-foot vertical drop down an ice-packed chute.
Park officials don't track attendance by numbers, but income for both park gate fees and the toboggan run are higher than any previous winter season.
Park Naturalist Marie Laudeman says celebrating the centennial of the State Parks system last year helped boost attendance, but she says President's Day weekend proved the mild weather is also a factor.
"There were several visitors who just came out because it was a beautiful warm February day, they weren't even aware of the fact that we have a toboggan run and that it was even still running," she says.
Laudeman says they're hoping attendance will stay up this year, even though centennial celebrations are over.
"Once they've had the toboggan run of fun, they're addicted and want to come back," she says.
The toboggan run is closed for the winter, but Laudeman says visitors can take advantage of Pokagon's two beaches, miles of hiking trails, and a nature center that's open year-round.