When the entire world is wrapped in white, it is all too easy to get blue.

However, there are several local places that provide winter recreation in the State College area to get out in the fresh, although brisk, February air.

First and foremost is Slab Cabin Park, 316 Elmwood St., in State College. This community park is the only Centre Region recreational facility designated for the sole purpose of sledding. It is lit from 5:15 to 11 every night, as long as the snow is safe for sledding. This is just one of the many amenities that make this park a favorite sledding spot for locals, said Greg Roth, the Slab Cabin Parks supervisor.

For many years, Slab Cabin Park, which offers a warm-up spot with a fire ring and pavilion, has been the sled run of choice for the Centre County area, Roth said.

"People have been sledding there forever," Roth said.

Although Roth said sledders are not supposed to construct jumps or obstacles in the sled runs, the slopes are inevitably improved upon by adventurous thrill-seekers.

"It was really scary," Ingrid Hersh (junior-horticulture) said. "People had built their own jumps and stuff, and we ended up cracking our plastic sleds."

Besides having to walk back up the steep hill, the downside to Slab Cabin Park may lie in its immense popularity. Only about a mile from the edge of campus, this park sees a lot of use by families and students alike, Hersh said.

"There were a ton of kids and families," Hersh said. "I didn't expect to see that at all."

Another campus favorite for tobogganing is the hills surrounding the Bryce Jordan Center. There are several slopes angling down from this arena, and opportunistic students seize upon this nearby attraction.

"It's not as big or as steep as some, but we're in the middle of a campus, you know? It does the job," Ian Confer (sophomore-accounting) said.

Once again, there are usually crowds at this prime sledding spot. There were 30 to 50 students racing down the slopes last Tuesday on whatever sleds, snowboards, skis, dining trays or plastic garbage bags they had at hand, or more aptly, at butt.

"Sometimes, you have to wait," Confer said. "But people are real nice. They let you use their garbage bags and sleds, and they let you use their runs."

Although these are two of the more popular places for speedsters, basically any hill will do when the urge to hit the slopes comes upon a sledding fanatic.

Tussey Mountain offers tubing, for a price, from 4 to 10 p.m on weekdays. Local parks also offer opportunities for anyone willing to test their slopes.

"The Suburban Park, off of Suburban Avenue, is not a delineated slope, but the kids still use it," Roth said.

Regardless of whether residents have a high-tech bobsled or a thin, neon-pink, roll-up sled, there are available options for inventive individuals to take advantage of the cold.