For close-to-home winter fun it's hard to beat the views and abundant snow of mile-high Hurricane Ridge in Washington's Olympic National Park.

This winter, for the second year in a row, the area will be open daily for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sledding. Or simply enjoy the scenic drive — 17 miles from Port Angeles to road's end at Hurricane Ridge — with views from snowy peaks to the glittering Strait of Juan de Fuca. See www.nps.gov/olym.

Most years the Hurricane Ridge road has been open on weekends only in winter, but a pilot project with federal and local funding has brought the everyday openings and boosted the number of winter visitors in local communities.

For skiers and boarders there's a small family-oriented downhill area at Hurricane Ridge (one of the few within a national park) with two rope tows and a Poma lift, run by the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club: www.hurricaneridge.com.

Snowmobiling around Washington

Snowmobilers can zip along more than 3,000 miles of trails groomed through Washington state's Winter Recreation Program. A Sno-Park permit is required for trailhead parking; see www.parks.wa.gov/winter/snowmobiling/ For tips on where to snowmobile — and efforts for more snowmobiling access — see the website of the Washington State Snowmobile Association, www.wssa.us.

Quick links to Northwest ski resorts

For web links to Washington downhill ski areas — from the little Loup Loup in north-central Washington to big brother Crystal Mountain, see www.skiwashington.com (run by a nonprofit trade group).

Oregon has a similar ski-info site at www.skioregon.org. For British Columbia, see www.hellobc.com/ski. For Idaho resorts, go to www.visitidaho.org/winter.

Vancouver ski area opens

Cypress Mountain, a half-hour drive from downtown Vancouver, B.C., opened Wednesday thanks to its Winter Olympics-legacy snowmaking equipment. www.cypressmountain.com