Our last post talked about some great indoor activities for the winter months, and using the colder weather and darker days to spur us on to cozier, quieter pursuits. But if you think Washingtonians stay inside all winter, you’d better think again!

Washington residents enjoy the out-of-doors in all seasons. In fact, when it snows in the lowlands of western Washington, you may even see cross-country skiers gliding past your front windows. I know a man who once skied down the very steep counterbalance of Queen Anne hill in Seattle (on Nordic skis, no less) and lived to tell about it! (Kids, don’t try this at home. Adults, well … you can do what you want, but we don’t recommend this to you, either!)

Most Washington residents do their skiing in the mountains, however. One of the huge benefits of living in western Washington is our ready access to both the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. We’re surrounded by mountains. And of course, wherever you find mountains with snow on them, you’ll also find skiing (both alpine and Nordic) and a host of other outdoor winter adventures just waiting to happen (snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, sledding are just a few that come to mind).

Here on the Olympic peninsula, the closest ski lifts are located at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains. If you’re in the mood to travel a few short hours, you can also find good skiing in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. In either case, you’ll need to call ahead to make sure the roads are passable.

Check out this map of skiing and other winter recreation opportunities at TravelWashington.com, and let the fun begin!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 8:44 pm and is filed under Activities on the Olympic Peninsula, Seasons, Weather. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.