Skiing

Thirty miles northeast of town on Highway 206 at Mt. Spokane State Park [1], Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park (tickets 509/238-2220, snow report 509/443-1397, www.mtspokane.com [2], $42 adult, $36 college and military, $33 youth) offers alpine skiing and snowboarding, including five chairlifts, and a 2,000-foot vertical drop. It’s uncrowded and friendly, with a small-town atmosphere.

Night skiing draws the crowds here, as does the dry snow and 360-degree view of the Cascade, Selkirk, and Rocky Mountains. Other features include ski and snowboard school and rentals, restaurant, and bar, but no child care. Bus transportation from Spokane [3] is available on weekends.

Some 24 kilometers of groomed cross-country ski trails are adjacent to the downhill area; get Sno-Park permits at local sporting goods stores before heading up to ski. The 10-kilometer Langlauf Cross-Country Ski Race takes place here in early February; it’s the biggest such race in the Northwest. Other nearby places with cross-country ski trails are Downriver Golf Course (509/327-5259), Indian Canyon Golf Course (509/747-5353), and Hills Resort (208/443-2551) in Priest Lake, Idaho.

Other nearby ski areas include 49° North (509/935-6649, www.ski49n.com [4]) near Chewelah, along with two Idaho resorts: Schweitzer Mountain Resort (800/831-8810, www.schweitzer.com [5]) and Silver Mountain (800/204-6428, www.silvermt.com [6]).