25-year tradition sees hundreds plunge into 2020 with frigid dip into Lawrenceburg lake

LAWRENCEBURG, In. (FOX19) - The skies were sunny and the temperatures were mild as hundreds took the yearly plunge into Lawrenceburg’s Hidden Valley Lake Wednesday.

The annual Polar Bear Plunge is a New Year’s Day tradition going back 25 years.

This year, nearly 200 participants braved the cool air and the cold water.

Organizers say the water temperature was 42 degrees this morning. Some of the perennial participants say they’ve seen conditions much worse.

"The last couple of years, it was terribly cold,” Jack Rahn said. “Today does not seem so bad.”

Many participants make the event an annual family tradition. Some dunk in honor of other friends or family members.

Organizers send participants off in three waves. They start with kids and younger plungers, then the first-timers take the leap, and last are the brave souls who make this a yearly event.

“It is exhilarating. It is a great way to start the new year,” event organizer Ashley Howe said. “You are fresh and clean, and it puts blood into parts of your body you didn’t know you had.”

Participants say it’s hard to breathe once you plunge into the water, which begs the question of why they do it.

“I don’t know," Bryan Moeller admitted. “It is a great way to ring in the new year.”

Moeller and his wife Shannon have participated for the last 8 years.

“It’s cold,” Shannon explained. “I am glad we do it every year.”

Copyright 2020 WXIX. All rights reserved.