The runnerless toboggan was originally an American Indian sled made of poles tied together with thongs. The modern version is usually built of thin, straight-grained boards of hickory, birch, or oak fastened together by light crosspieces. Some are made of metal or laminated wood. The front end is bent up and back to form the hood and is braced by rope or leather thongs. The flat sliding surface is generally about 18 inches (45 cm) wide and from 4 to 9 feet (1.2 to 2.7 m) long. The toboggan is light in weight and will support a heavy load on soft snow. It is well adapted to sliding down open slopes, where its large surface rides easily on loose, fluffy snow. Several persons can ride at one time, either lying prone or in a sitting position. The toboggan can be steered by lifting and twisting the front or by dragging a foot in the snow. It is also useful for hauling loads over wilderness trails or cross-country as well as for sport.

Tobogganing as a sport probably originated on the slopes of Mount Royal in Montreal. During the late 1880s it spread to the United States, where it had considerable popularity until the early 1930s, when widespread enthusiasm for skiing brought about its popular decline. During the heyday of tobogganing, many artificial chutes were constructed. They were about 3 feet (about 1 m) wide with sides of ice or wood and frequently were built with several parallel tracks to accommodate more than one toboggan at a time. The chutes were quite steep at the top in order to accelerate the toboggan quickly. Speeds of up to 60 miles (96.6 km) per hour were attained. From the bottom of the chute, the toboggans coasted to a stop along a relatively flat, open track. Many of the chutes are still in use.

World competition sledding is frequently described as toboganning, but it actually involves bobsledding, lugeing, and skeleton (Cresta) sledding as well.