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The most popular indoor location for rock climbers is Recreational Equipment IncorporatedREI), which maintains a huge practice wall in the atrium of their flagship store on Eastlake Avenue. Stone Gardens also offers classes and practice walls for members and walk-ins.

Lake Union is the most convenient point, being so close to downtown and its Ship Canal links to Lake Washington and Shilshole. When there’s no wind, the currents are barely an issue even for novices. More adventurous river-runners find their rapid transit in challenging whitewater courses closer to the mountains.

Seattleites wait anxiously for the first large snowfall that carpets ski runs in the Cascades. Crystal Mountain, Alpental, Snoqualmie Pass, and Stevens Pass attract faithful downhill and crosscountry skiers, and boarders who have honed their skills on the area’s famously challenging snow conditions.

The legacy of two of Seattle’s earliest railroad men, Judge Thomas Burke and Daniel Gilman, this disused railroad track is a paved trail (see Burke-Gilman Trail Features) that stretches for about 22 miles (35 km) from the western edge of Fremont to the north end of Lake Washington. Cyclists and pedestrians can enjoy the scenic beauty of key sights such as GasWorks Park and Magnuson Park at Sand Point.

An alternative to cold, inhospitable Puget Sound is a dip in Colman Pool. It uses heated and filtered saltwater drawn from Puget Sound, which it overlooks from its convenient beach location within Lincoln Park.

There’s only one open-all-year ice rink that serves Seattle. It entertains legions of loyal customers including graceful figure skaters, daredevil hockey skaters, and families with young children just starting to learn the ropes.

A new trend in wintertime sports is snowshoeing, an ancient method of walking on or through the white stuff. The National Park Service and local outfitters offer a series of guided walks. Beginners should start with an experienced professional guide to lead the outing.

For an adventurous sport opt for scuba diving in Puget Sound to discover undersea creatures such as wolf eels, octopus, sea stars, and urchins with amazing ranges of size and color. Divers embark solo or as part of chartered excursions to take advantage of the coastline that’s never victim to heavy damage or dangerous currents from Pacific Ocean storms.

For one of the country’s premier windsurfing meccas, you’ll have to go to Hood River, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. If extreme sports are not your style, Seattle has two prime locations for all who want to let the wind sweep them away — along the west shores of Lake Washington, between Magnuson Beach and Seward Park; and at Golden Gardens Park where Shilshole Bay meets Puget Sound.

Many of Seattle’s in-city parks have decent single tracks for casual-mountain biking. But for intermediate-level cyclists looking for small challenges in a great riverside setting, head east across Lake Washington for Carnation, in the Snoqualmie River valley, east of Redmond.