Jingle Bell 5K Run: Dress up in festive, colorful attire for this fun-run or walk on Dec. 7 at Spokane’s Riverfront Park to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation.  

Festivals & Tree Lightings: Regional events include Parade of Lights in Missoula (Dec. 7); Wallace Retro Christmas festival (Dec. 7-8 & 14-15); Holiday Fest & Tree Lighting in Pullman (Dec. 7), which includes a YMCA Kid’s Jingle Bell Fun Run; and the epic Christmas Lighting Festival in Leavenworth (Dec. 6-8, 13-15, & 20-22). 

Holiday Lights: Destinations include Manito Park’s Gaiser Conservatory  in Spokane, open Dec. 7-31 (extended dates this year); Luminaria Walk at Yakima Area Arboretum (Dec. 9-10); and Lighted Boat Parade along the Columbia River between Kennewick and Richland (Dec. 6 and 7). 

DIY moonlit fat bike, snowshoe, or cross-country ski adventure. The Cold Full Moon is December 12—also referred to as the “frost” or “long nights moon” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.  

Christmas Tree Hunt: Cut down your own tree at a Christmas tree farm or make the hunt a National Forest backcountry adventure. Purchase a tree-cutting permit from your local U.S. Forest Service ranger office and follow regulations to harvest your own rustic fir tree. More info at fs.fed.us. (Can also harvest trees on BLM land.)

Ice Skating & Yoga at Riverfront Park: Riverfront Park Skate Ribbon is open daily, with free ice-skating lessons every Sunday, 11 a.m.-noon, and there are free yoga classes at the Pavilion on Tuesday evenings.   

Cross-country ski and fat bike in the city: When there is enough snow in Spokane and many other Inland NW towns, groomed trails may be available at select locations. In Spokane, that includes Indian Canyon Golf Course (ski only), Riverside State Park (ski and fat bike), and Dwight Merkel Park (ski and fat bike). All are free to use, except the state park requires a Discover Pass. More details at the City of Spokane website. 

Night Skiing/Snowboarding: Starting Friday, Dec. 20, Mt. Spokane’s alpine area remains opens for night skiing until 9:00 p.m. (earlier time this year), recurring Wednesdays-Saturdays through mid-March. (Note: Previous years night skiing ended at 9:30 p.m.) Sunsets and summit views of area city lights are spectacular. Other regional resorts also offer night skiing. 

Dress-up like Santa and ski/snowboard for free: On Dec. 21, Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park will host an all-day Holiday Party, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., as well as a Jingle Rails terrain park event. Anyone who dresses in a full Santa outfit receives a free lift ticket that day. Lookout Pass hosts its Santa dress-up and ski-free day on Dec. 22. 

Ski/Ride with Santa: On Dec. 23, Santa Claus will visit Schweitzer Mountain Resort to ski and ride with kids. Then on Dec. 24 he’ll fly to Lookout Pass, and also make time to visit Schweitzer on Christmas Eve for the annual kids’ balloon parade.   

New Year’s Eve Festivities: Watch (or ski in) the Torchlight Parade at Lookout Pass. Fun begins at 5 p.m. (see participation requirements online). Spokane’s Riverfront Park hosts a New Year’s Pavilion Party from 8 p.m.-midnight.

The post 11 Ways to Get Out There for the Holidays appeared first on Out There Venture.

The same qualities that produce award-winning wine entice winter-weary hikers; a scant six to eight inches of rain mist the Tri-Cities each year, most of it in the winter, and ample sunshine sweetens grapes and wildflowers alike.

The multi-user trail system at the 650-acre Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve in Richland anchors the area’s Ridges to Rivers Open Space Network, an ambitious plan to link undeveloped lands. Two primary trailheads access the mountain from the east and west; the western portal is the easiest for out-of-towners to reach and provides convenient access to nearby wineries.

The most popular route is the Skyline Trail, which features impressive ridgeline hiking for minimal climbing effort. This is one of the Tri-Cities’ most popular trail systems, so prepare to share the trail – nearly 200,000 hikers, bikers, dog-walkers and equestrians access the Skyline Trail each year. But the spectacular ridgeline route is worth the company, and so are the views of the arid Columbia and Yakima river basins; the pristine Hanford Reach; nearby Candy, Red and Rattlesnake mountains; and, on a clear day, distant Mounts Adams and Rainier, their angular summits in stark contrast to the orderly rows of grapes below.

Near at hand, springtime flowers – lupine, arrowleaf balsamroot, phlox, vetch, larkspur, lomatium and more – punctuate the sweetly pungent sage. And all around is the surprising hum of springtime life on the Columbia Plateau, where raptors perch on vineyard fenceposts, coyotes trot on the skyline, and rodents – and rattlesnakes – move underfoot.

Hikers can connect the Skyline Trail to the popular Trailhead Park trailhead via the Sagebrush Trail for an out-and-back, or they can make a loop around Badger with the Langdon Trail, which stays low on the south side of the mountain. Either way, it’s a round trip just shy of 8 miles – or enough calories to cancel out several glasses of wine.

Getting There: From Interstate 182 in Richland, take Queensgate Exit 3A. Drive south on Queensgate to the intersection at Keene Road. Turn right and proceed 2.1 miles to Dallas Road.  Drive 1.4 miles to the large trailhead parking area on the left.

Post-Hike Wine Tasting around Badger Mountain

Just south of the Skyline trailhead sits Goose Ridge Winery and its 2,200-acre vineyard – the largest contiguous plot of grapes in the region. Goose Ridge grows grapes on contract for many of the large regional labels, but its small-barrel special reserve grapes are the star of the French farmhouse tasting room, their character reflective of the Columbia Plateau’s landscape: bright and airy. They impart the essence of fruit without being, well, fruity – perfect for spring sipping.

Despite its top-shelf pedigree, Goose Ridge Winery has the laid-back atmosphere of much of the Tri-Cities; go ahead and play bocce ball in hiking boots. Finish with a sunset drive up to nearby Goose Ridge, or taste your way around Badger Mountain with a stop at Kitzke Cellars just to the north of the Skyline trailhead. //

The post Hiking in Wine Country: Pair Sagebrush Walking with Wine Tasting in the Tri-Cities appeared first on Out There Venture.

Volunteers build the trail at Badger Mountain

This great quote comes to us from Mr. James Dunlap. Click here to read about how Dunlap drove his truck up the popular Tri-Cities hiking trail at Badger Mountain at two in the morning and got stuck.

Dunlap damaged the hiking trail with his vehicle and later said “I was unaware that it was illegal to go up there or anything like that.” For more about Badger Mountain check out the Friends of Badger Mountain site and learn about some of the cool preservation activities going on in the Tri-Cities.

The post “Why would anybody walk up a hill?” appeared first on Out There Venture.