Sports & Recreation

• Arts & Entertainment
• Food & Drink
• People & Places
• Shopping & Services
• Sports & Recreation
• Readers' Choice

• Best Beach for Babe-Viewing

  Madison Park Beach

  Come summer, having suffered from sun deprivation for nine-plus months, Seattleites are eager to strip to their skivvies. At Madison Park Beach, that's always a good thing. Owing to its proximity to Capitol Hill and the U District, Madison's shores become crowded with the toned, tanned bodies of gay men and college students. Enjoy the enticing view, and keep in… More >>

• Best Place to Forget You're in Seattle

  Beach Drive

  Alki Beach is its own ecosystem. Not only is it unlike any territory in Seattle, it's unlike any territory in West Seattle—and it's in West Seattle. And with the notable exception of the wonderful Alki Tavern (which appears on Harbor Avenue Southwest before the Alki scene really explodes), most West Seattleites avoid it like the plague, especially in summer (when… More >>

• Best Alternative to the Stairmaster

  Hidden Staircases of Queen Anne Hill

  Be a local tourist. Unfold the hand-drawn Map of the (oft) Pedestrian Stairs of Queen Anne and find a walking guide to the hidden staircases of Queen Anne Hill, including a look at historical architecture, some lesser-known parks, the Ruffner Wilds, and what is labeled as a haunted stair. Created by architectural designer and urban hiker Thomas Horton, this charming… More >>

• Best Way to Get From Seattle to Chicago

  Amtrak

  You know how sometimes it's easier to spend $200 on a whole pig in the I.D. than $20 on an overpriced plate of barbecue? That's exactly the attitude with which to approach the 2,000-mile trip to the Windy City. Hopping aboard Amtrak may take 45 hours, compared to a flight's four. But if you've got a couple of days to… More >>

• Best Cross-Cultural Hub

  Crossroads

  No, it's not in cosmopolitan Seattle. It's in Bellevue, where Crossroads is as much a community center as a suburban shopping plaza. While it contains chain stores like Hallmark, QFC, and Starbucks, it's also home to branches of the King County Library and Bellevue City Hall. On any given afternoon you'll find immigrants reading newspapers from their native countries, playing… More >>

• Best Summer Camp (Arrrrguably)

  Dragonfire Pirate Camp

  Captain Hook would not approve of Dragonfire Pirate Camp. It's not that the place lacks pirate credentials. From the Jolly Roger flag on the lookout tower, where young scalawags watch for parental intruders, to the pirate songs the scurvy lot belt out every morning, the Maury Island day camp has swashbuckler cred to spare. But Hook hates children, and if… More >>

• Best Workout That Doesn't Feel Like a Workout

  Sky High Sports

  Exercise is a necessary evil, but life is too short to spend on a treadmill. The solution: Sky High Sports. Made entirely of trampoline floors and walls and foam pits, the facility feels more like a playground than a gym. There are as many kids celebrating birthdays as athletes clocking in cardio sessions. At Sky High, you can goof off… More >>

• Best Burke-Gilman Alternative

  Cedar River Trail

  If you've grown tired of the rumble strips, stop signs favoring driveways, and four-abreast power walkers on the Burke-Gilman Trail, the Cedar River Trail offers a great alternative. Beginning in downtown Renton, it runs 12 miles east to Maple Valley (plus another five, unpaved, beyond that). The posted speed limit is 15 mph and the grade is subtly uphill (you're… More >>

• Best Lake Access for Misanthropes

  Howell Park

  Like the lake but hate, well, the other people who like the lake too? You're in luck! Because nestled between two primo lots on Lake Washington Boulevard is Howell Park, a sloped, not-at-all-sandy, yet satisfyingly out-of-the-way "beach" whose high degree of difficulty in being found makes it perfect for those who want to lay out on a sunny day without… More >>

• Best Horse-Racing Jockey

  Gallyn "Booger" Mitchell

  Gallyn "Booger" Mitchell stands five feet tall. He grew up in Southern California, and his parents worked in the film industry. He once did enough drugs to merit sharing a mirror and straw with Charlie Sheen. The person we're describing was not one of the late Gary Coleman's schoolyard sidekicks on Diff'rent Strokes. No, Mitchell is the winningest jockey in… More >>

• Best Clothing-Optional Beach

  Howell Park

  Last month, as the weather finally turned warm, some activists in town started agitating for an official nude beach. Who needs it? If you want to swim au naturel, just head to Howell Park. True, not everyone is naked. But that's one of its selling points. You can wear a suit (or half a suit) and not feel totally odd.… More >>

• Best Seedy Pool Hall

  Rainier Billiards

  First thing: You have to be OK playing with pool cues that are slightly warped. And with spending your inaugural visit stalking the tables by your lonesome while the regular patrons freeze you out, unfamiliar face that you are. Located in ever-gentrifying Columbia City, Rainier Billiards isn't the prettiest pool room in town. Or the most welcoming. With its too-bright… More >>

• Best Start to a Ski Tour on Aurora Avenue North

  Pro Ski Service

  On a stretch of pavement better known for hookers and used-car lots, Pro Ski Service is a bustling oddball business during the winter months. Specializing in randonee gear (aka alpine touring), the shop is a favorite Friday-afternoon destination for skiers who want to rent a new backcountry setup or have their own boards tuned. Backcountry skiing is a niche sport,… More >>

• Best Landscape to Reclaim

  Green River

  The psychopath who spent years killing hookers will never again walk the earth as a free man, which means there's really no reason to keep avoiding the Green River. Winding its way northwest through Auburn to the mouth of the Duwamish, much of the infamous body of water is accompanied by a lightly trafficked 20-mile trail that provides a singular… More >>

• Best Bench on Which to Snuggle With Your Sweetie at Sunset

  Lincoln Park

  Being in love is totally gross for everyone around you and your significant other. But screw the haters. If you want to push the oh-my-God-aren't-we-so-cute factor to 11, head for Lincoln Park. Almost all the paths eventually wind up at the swimming pool. And a few hundred yards away sits the park bench with the best west-facing view in the… More >>

• Best Place to Visit a Tropical Clime

  Volunteer Park Conservatory

  Three climate-controlled ecosystems are brought under one roof at the Volunteer Park Conservatory. You'll travel from a garden of delicately formed, intensely colorful orchids (caged so they won't walk) to an enclosure populated with spiked cacti, and then into a room crowded with bromeliads, which seem to feed on nothing but air. Hundreds of species crowd this free observatory, each… More >>

• Best Sunday Morning Stroll With the In-Laws

  Fremont Sunday Market

  A weekend with your in-laws doesn't have to be painful. OK, I lied. It does. But it can be less painful if you find a place where everyone can be happy doing their own thing. The Fremont Sunday Market is that place. It's like browsing around a real-world version of Etsy, only less expensive and with tasty wood-fired breakfast pizza… More >>

• Best Rooftop Yoga Class

  Mountain Flow Yoga

  Weather permitting, Mountain Flow Yoga in Madrona opens its rooftop to yogis wanting a break from clammy, foot-smelling rooms. Gaze east toward the Cascades as you assume your mountain pose. Rooftop classes are held either in the early morning or evening so you can get that yoga glow without a nasty sunburn. —Lacey Chenault 3308 E. Spring St., 380-2558, mountainflowyoga.com… More >>

• Best Place to Get Soaked on a Scorching Day

  Franklin Falls

  The last thing many mossy Seattleites want to do is hike in the blazing sun. So instead take a gentle one-mile stroll through some majestic old growth until you arrive at the base of Franklin Falls. There the dramatically cascading water throws off a cooling mist, and you can take a swim in the pool below. Back at the trailhead,… More >>

• Best Husky

  Danielle Lawrie

  Jake Locker's great and all—don't get us wrong. The Husky quarterback will likely be selected first in the 2011 NFL draft, which would be a whopper of an individual accomplishment. But talented as he is, until he marches the Huskies back into a bowl game, he won't be within sniffing distance of Danielle Lawrie, the UW softball (a misnomer, this… More >>

• Best High-School Basketball Coach

  Jason Kerr

  Jason Kerr has yet to turn 40, but he's been involved in coaching youth basketball so long that he feels like the prep-school equivalent of the late John Wooden. Sure, Kerr managed to make the varsity while an upperclassman at Blanchet High, but even then he was more interested in the dry-erase board than boxing out. He was only 26… More >>

• Best Place for a Two-Hour Summer Vacation

  Alki Beach

  It's only 15 minutes from downtown, yet it offers all the staples of a beach vacation: sun, sand, views, and countless places to have a drink with a frilly umbrella. Sure, there are other beaches around town, but Alki Beach has always seemed more like the real deal. Maybe it's the beach volleyball games that always seem to be going… More >>

• Best Pee-Wee Park

  Oxbow Park

  For those of you who think Seattle has inadequate public green space, bear in mind that Detroit just had to relinquish stewardship of 77 city parks due to inadequate funding. Cheered up now? Good. So...Seattle has a great park system (schools too, believe it or not, but that's for another day), but only Oxbow Park makes you feel like you're… More >>

• Best Site for an Urban Picnic

  Kobe Terrace

  Set atop a hill overlooking the International District, and filled to bursting with highly productive garden plots lovingly tended by diminutive, strong-willed nanas, Kobe Terrace is a secluded spot to spread out your blanket. It's located just west of I-5, between Main and Washington Streets, so stop by the deli department of Uwajimaya or the nearby Viet Wah for supplies… More >>

• Best Free Panoramic View

  Volunteer Park Water Tower

  Built in 1906 as part of the Olmsted Brothers' park project, the Volunteer Park Water Tower offers one of the finest views of the city. Climb the 106 steps for a full 360-degree vista from the north end of Capitol Hill, at an elevation of 570 feet. On a clear day, peering over tall trees and the rooftops of nearby… More >>

• Best Quickie Hike/Proving Ground

  Cable Line

  You don't have enough time for a lot of driving, but still want a trail workout? Look no further than the Cable Line. Before he got fired, ex–Seahawks coach Jim Mora used the 2,000-foot, two-mile jagged scar running down the side of Tiger Mountain for his morning jog. Whereas most trails climb gradually, the Cable Line (so named because that's… More >>

• Best Place for an Eagle Pose Under an Eagle

  Olympic Sculpture Park

  You won't find a better view for your downward dog than that of Puget Sound at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Free, one-hour classes are held beneath Calder's Eagle at 10 a.m. Saturdays through Aug. 28. Led by skilled teachers from 8 Limbs (named Best Yoga Studio in last year's Readers' Poll), these sessions get crowded, so come early and lay… More >>

• Best Stairways to Paradise

  Stairs at Golden Gardens

  Driving to Golden Gardens on a sunny weekend afternoon can be a nightmare: Traffic slows to a crawl, parking is scarce, and you have to navigate an army of paddleboard renters who seemingly take forever to lug their unwieldy boards across the street. But you can avoid the whole thing by parking up on the bluff and then winding your… More >>