Every few years, Seattle residents have the opportunity to get a little snow recreation right here in our back yards. Greenlake Park and the adjoining Woodland Park are popular biking and jogging areas. But the heavy snow of Christmas 1996 turned these parks into winter wonderlands.
Photo: (Top) A cross-country skier zips around the baseball diamond near GreenLake Blvd and 50th.
We skied around Greenlake and across the street into Woodland Park, where the zoo is. The long, rolling hills were jammin' with kids, sleds and skiers. We went on around the park, onto Phinney Ridge, then back down the hill by way of some wooded trails. This took us about three hours, including time to climb back up the hills for another run.
Photo (Bottom): Reeds taken by surprise by the snow and ice on Greenlake's shore.
Getting there: Drive north on I-5 to the Ravenna exit and turn left on Ravenna Blvd. Go straight ahead on Ravenna until it intersects with Greenlake. Parking can be tight due to the high population (though many can be found "apres-ski" in Starbucks).