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  From dry January to March madness: Seattle's worst ski season in years

  While the calendar says spring is near, it’s finally the peak of snow season in Western Washington. Mercifully for skiers and snowboarders, Seattle’s nearest ski resorts are now running most of their lifts. But this milestone should have happened months ago.

  • Natalie Akane Newcomb
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  These Seattle parks will stay closed until late December because of 'negative activity'

  Lake City Mini Park, Seven Hills Park, and the pavilion at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park will be closed until late December due to “negative activity.”

  • Casey Martin
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  Witness recounts cougar attack of 4-year-old, rescue by dad in Olympic National Park

  A 4-year-old boy was dragged from a popular trail by a cougar Sunday on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. A New Jersey man visiting the Northwest with his wife recalls what it was like to witness the aftermath of the attack.

  • Stephen Howie
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  This Bothell Santa spends his offseason keeping rose bushes in tip-top shape

  Summertime is high season for Seattle’s rose growers and lovers. They’re a passionate bunch. John Harmeling is one of the best-known among them.

  • Ruby de Luna
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  Heading outdoors? WA recreation prices go up as state tries to fix budget deficit

  The 38% price hike is the first increase since 2011.

  • Ruby de Luna
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  Sole survivor of deadly North Cascades climbing accident shares details

  We’re learning more about the climbing accident that left three men dead in the North Cascades last weekend. The men were identified yesterday as 48-year-old Vishnu Irigireddy of Renton, 36-year-old Oleksander Martynenko of Bellevue, and 63-year-old Tim Nguyen of Renton. One man survived what the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office says was a 400-foot fall. It's one of Washington state's worst climbing accidents since 2014, when six climbers fell to their deaths at Mount Rainier. KUOW’s Kim Malcolm spoke to Seattle Times reporter Catalina Gaitán about what happened.

  • Kim Malcolm
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  This one weekend a year, the North Cascades Highway is (unofficially) just for bikes

  Washington State Route 20 is closed while crews remove months of snow and ice from the scenic drive through the Cascades. But one weekend a year, cyclists pedal through the mountains with the road all to themselves.

  • Casey Martin
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  Unkept trails, cancelled programs. Washington state feels the impact of federal forest cuts

  Dozens of people across Washington state who worked at national parks and forests have lost their jobs in recent weeks, as part of sweeping overhaul of the federal workforce by President Donald Trump. Those firings could cause ripple effects across state programs that benefit hikers, backpackers, and mountain bikers.

  • Casey Martin
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  Cleanup at Seattle's Green Lake targets abandoned fishing lines that can ensnare wildlife

  Abandoned fishing lines are the focus of a volunteer cleanup effort at Seattle’s Green Lake this weekend. The stray lines are blamed for killing two owls along the water’s edge in recent years.

  • Amy Radil
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  The steep climb to unionize REI

  The successful union drives at REI, Starbucks, and other companies that were historically seen as too difficult to unionize have revived a rusting labor movement. But whether that momentum is sustainable remains to be seen, particularly as organized labor becomes more polarized.

  • Monica Nickelsburg

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