So what do you do in a winter when parts of Massachusetts get more snow in one storm than the total skimpy snowpack at Stevens Pass?

If you've lived around Puget Sound long enough to know how to pronounce "Sequim," you know that skiing is our winter safety valve. It's our ticket out of the seasonal mildew of Seattle at sea level. Without skiing between November and April, our attitude sours and we get all damp and unpleasant, like liquefying lettuce left too long in the fridge.

We could just stay inside until April. But even a BarcaLounger feels like a prison cot when the only thing on TV is "Friends" reruns. And the sun is making occasional appearances.

So just for you, here's our Northwest Weekend list of 20 Pretty Darned Good Things to Do Around Puget Sound This Winter — the lowlands version:

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES Idea No. 1: A green vine snake is just one of the attractions at the Woodland Park Zoo's Tropical Rain Forest exhibit, where the temperature approaches 80 degrees on a cold winter's day.

1. Revel in the rain forest (minus the rain)

Getting out of the house doesn't mean you have to be cold. Step inside the Tropical Rain Forest exhibit at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo and say "ahhhhh." Or, say "ahhhhh" after you've peeled off your Sir Edmund Hillary Memorial Sub-Zero Expedition Parka, which you'll want to get off really fast owing to the fact that it's up toward 80 degrees inside, with enough humidity to qualify as a cheap facial. This is the next best thing to a trip to Costa Rica, and you'll see some of the same wildlife (like the recently added jaguar exhibit near the front entrance, or the colorful, tiny poison-dart frogs inside). Tango in front of a toucan, or simply sit for hours among lush greenery in the open aviary as exotic birds chitter and flitter about you.

Another option, if you're more energetic: Go to the zoo's Web site, www.zoo.org, click on "Things to Do" and print out a copy (with a handy map) of the zoo's own suggested Rainy Day Tour. (Cuteness alert: Don't miss the Sumatran tiger cubs, now on view from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.)

If you go: The zoo is at North 50th Street and Fremont Avenue North. Winter hours: 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Admission: $7-$10, free to children 2 and younger. Zoo grounds fully accessible, ask for a brochure at the gate. 206-684-4800.

2. Get cozy with coral

The next best thing to snorkeling at Molokini — and definitely easier on the budget — is cozying up to the big window at the 25,000-gallon Pacific Coral Reef tank at Seattle Aquarium. Play your own version of "Finding Nemo": If you look hard enough for a bright orange body with white stripes, you'll find clownfish just like the ones that starred in the Disney movie. You'll also find a blue fish like Dory, the forgetful fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres (see today's cover photo). And even a few sharks. Count on this as a big hit if you've got kids in tow. Go the first Sunday of each month for family activities, with a craft project, included in regular admission. Feb. 6 the theme is "Jellyfish, Beautiful Drifters."

If you go: The aquarium is on the waterfront at Pier 59, 1483 Alaskan Way. Winter hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission: $5-$12, free to children 2 and younger. The aquarium is wheelchair accessible. 206-386-4300 or www.seattleaquarium.org.

3. Tour what tempts you

There are lots of interesting tours around town. If you really need to be indoors, but you're also feeling claustrophobic after spending too much time in the house, here's a tour that might fit you like a 747 seat upright and in the locked position: the 472 million-cubic-foot Boeing Everett factory. It's the world's largest (by volume) building, where they put together the 747, 767 and 777. Inside four walls, but oh so spacious.

Maybe you're thirsty, but the thought of those little bitty airline cocktail bottles doesn't suit you? Head for Woodinville and tour the Redhook Ale brewery, or one of the nearby wineries: Chateau Ste. Michelle or Columbia Winery. Sips included if you're 21 or older.

For one of Seattle's favorite old standbys, much of it indoors (though it's likely to be a bit dank), take Bill Speidel's Underground Tour through the streets and basements of Pioneer Square. Learn about the city's Great Fire and hear "humorous stories our pioneers didn't want you to hear."

If you go: Boeing tour: Start your weekend early, because the tours are Monday-Friday only. $3-$5 at the door (no credit cards), or $10 for reserved tickets. Check schedule: 800-464-1476 or www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/tours/index.html. Redhook: Daily tours, $1, www.redhook.com or 425-483-3232. Ste. Michelle: Free tours daily, www.ste-michelle.com or 425-415-3300. Columbia: Free tours daily, www.columbiawinery.com or 800-488-2347. Underground: Daily tours, first-come, first-served. $5-$10, no credit cards. 206-682-4646 or www.undergroundtour.com.

4. On a clear day, you can see forever (or at least to Poulsbo)

When we get one of those sunny winter days between the drizzle, when the skies clear and the mountains come out in all their snow-speckled glory, do something that some Puget Sound residents haven't done since 1962: Take the elevator 520 feet up to the Space Needle Observation Deck. The view is hard to beat. Grab a free telescope and look for your house.

If you go: Observation deck open Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-midnight. Tickets to ride the elevator $5.50-$13; children 3 and younger ride free. Note: The Sky City restaurant is closed for refurbishment until Feb. 4. 206-905-2100 or www.spaceneedle.com.

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2003 Idea No. 5: Swans such as these frequent the Johnson/DeBay Swan Reserve, near Mount Vernon, where birds are feeding to build strength for a springtime migration.

5. Swan songs

Few winter wildlife sightings are more stirring than a "V" of six or eight swans passing overhead with their necks extended like trombone slides and wide wings flapping their own frantic overture. You might trump that, though, with a visit to Johnson/DeBay Swan Reserve near Mount Vernon, where hundreds of trumpeter and tundra swans have been known to congregate this time of year to feed on downed corn. It can be one big honking party, with swans coming and going and eating and flapping. Polite guests (who keep a low profile and leave their dogs home) can stand on the sidelines and enjoy the spectacle. (Quell the temptation to chase swans into the air to get that in-flight photo; it traumatizes the birds at a time when they need to feed and gain weight for spring migration, and could earn you a stern tongue-lashing from a wildlife agent.)

If you go: Plan your visit after hunting season, which ends Jan. 31. For a map and driving instructions, see www.swansociety.org/watching/debay.html (though note that some other information on this Web page is not up to date). The area is level and relatively wheelchair-friendly. Fish and Wildlife vehicle use permit required; $10.95 wherever fishing or hunting licenses are sold. For updates on wildlife viewing around the state, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has a helpful Web page: wdfw.wa.gov/do/weekendr/weekendr.htm.

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2002 Idea No. 6: Museum of Glass in downtown Tacoma features a Hot Shop Amphitheater where you can view all aspects of glass blowing.

6. Best of Tacoma

Downtown Tacoma is like a museum-lover's banana split: full of good stuff and all sorts of flavors. There are three fine museums, all within walking distance. The Washington State History Museum is among our state's leading venues for historical interpretation, and this Sunday it opens a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit sure to draw interest, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History" (continuing through April 24).

Next door, a short walk across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, the 2-year-old Museum of Glass is a distinctive complement, in content as well as design (with its Hot Shop demonstration amphitheater housed in what looks like a 90-foot-high upside down Sno-Kone).

A half-block away is the latest incarnation (opened in summer 2003) of the Tacoma Art Museum, which this weekend opens a show featuring a decade's worth of winners of the Neddy Artist Fellowship, which recognizes distinctive Northwest artists.

If you go: History museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma; open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. except for Thursday, when it closes at 8 p.m., with free admission after 5 p.m.; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. $5-$7, children 5 and younger free. 888-238-4373 or www.washingtonhistory.org.

Glass museum, 1801 E. Dock St.; winter hours Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. $4-$10, children 5 and younger free. 866-468-7386 or www.museumofglass.org.

Art museum, 1701 Pacific Ave.; Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., noon to 5 Sunday; closed Mondays. $5.50-$6.50, children 5 and younger free. 253-272-4258 or www.tacomaartmuseum.org.

7. Bloomin' January

You might think of spring when you think of gardens, but Seattle and Bellevue both offer gardens worth a visit in winter. Now's the time to see witch hazel and more at Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum Winter Garden, which showcases more than 100 species that might be of as much interest for their bark or foliage as for their flowers or fragrance. (Though winter's daphne odora will fill your senses with sweet fragrance unlike any summer rose.) At Bellevue Botanical Garden, look for Sarcococca confusa, or sweet box, with blueberry-like berries and its own fragrant white flowers in January. And — surprise — find hardy fuchsias still blooming.

If you go: Seattle's Arboretum is 230 acres extending from 40th Avenue East and East Madison Street on the south, to Highway 520 and Lake Washington on the north. Free admission. Free guided walks are held the first and third Sundays of each month at 1 p.m. starting at the Graham Visitors Center. Call ahead to ensure availability: 206-543-8800. Winter Garden details: depts.washington.edu/wpa/wintgard.htm.

Bellevue's garden: 12001 Main St., open daily, dawn to dusk, visitor center open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. 425-452-2750 or www.bellevuebotanical.org.

8. Asian Art 101

If you never got enough art history in school, the indoor months of winter are a good time to catch up. Seattle is especially well-suited for fostering an appreciation of Asian art. Seattle Asian Art Museum is the perfect starting point, with ongoing exhibitions of art from Southeast Asia, China and Japan, plus a special focus on "Discovering Buddhist Art." Featured through June 19 is the first solo exhibition in the United States by Yoon Kwang-Cho (born in 1946), one of the master potters of his generation in Korea.

If you go: The museum is in Seattle's Volunteer Park, 1400 E. Prospect St., on Capitol Hill. Winter hours Wednesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursdays 10 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Suggested donation of $3 general admission; children 12 and younger free when accompanied by an adult. Fully accessible, with free wheelchairs provided. 206-654-3100 or www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/visitSAAM.asp.

9. Continuing education

But don't stop there. Seattle Art Museum downtown has its own Asian-art collections with more than 7,000 objects. A special exhibition, "Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China," starts Feb. 10. SAM prides itself, too, in its permanent collections of African, Northwest Coast Native American, and modern art, and European painting and decorative arts. There's a nice cafe, a museum shop, and the chance to get up close and personal with the museum's "mascot," the giant streetside sculpture called "Hammering Man."

If you go: The museum is at First Avenue and University Street. Winter hours Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Mondays. $5-$7, children 6 and younger free. Fully accessible, with free wheelchairs provided. 206-654-3100 or www.seattleartmuseum.org.

10. Work out the kinks

Hikers: If the weather won't keep you indoors but the slush keeps you out of the mountains, this might be the season to make some new friends and try new destinations. The Issaquah Alps Trails Club roves all over the Eastside foothills of Tiger, Squak and Cougar mountains, and any other nearby semi-lowland hiking trails worth muddying their Vibram on. They have group hikes scheduled year-round, including this weekend. Membership is free.

If you go: Check the Web site for a schedule of hikes, listed with leaders and contact information. issaquahalps.org.

ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 1998 Idea No. 10: The Issaquah Alps Trails Club offers year-round hikes through the Cascade foothills of Tiger, Squak and Cougar mountains.

11. More winged wonders

Western Washington attracts more than just swans wintering over in our mild and welcoming wet climate (welcoming if you're a waterfowl, that is). And you can get a look at many from parks not far off Interstate 5 in Snohomish County. South of Stanwood, Kayak Point Regional Park is 428 acres on picturesque Port Susan. From its long pier or along 3,300 feet of shoreline, look for double-crested cormorants, Barrow's goldeneyes, horned and red-necked grebes, bald eagles and more. There are even heated, waterproof yurts for winter camping in comfort. In Everett, little North View and South View parks, off Marine Drive, typically offer saltwater views of grebes, American wigeons, brants, gadwalls, northern pintails, red-breasted mergansers, buffleheads and mew gulls. East of I-5, nearby Spencer Island offers 412 acres surrounded by saltwater and freshwater sloughs and the Snohomish River estuary. It's a top-notch birding destination year-round, with merlins and peregrine falcons often added to the mix in winter.

If you go: For information on Kayak Point and Spencer Island, see www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Parks. Note: Dike erosion has reduced access to Spencer Island, call for updates: 425-388-6616. Kayak Point: $5 parking/boat launch fee. 360-652-7992. For a map to North View and South View parks, see www.everettwa.org/parks.

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2003 Idea No. 12: A would-be aviator sits in awe as he pretends to fly a jet fighter at the Museum of Flight's Great Gallery, which has more than 20 full-sized aircraft suspended from the ceiling.

12. Wings plus landing gear

If you prefer powered flight, beyond just Boeing, Seattle's Museum of Flight might be your ticket. The fully enclosed Great Gallery alone, with more than 20 full-sized aircraft suspended from the ceiling, is worth a long gawk. If you've been before but not in a while, new attractions include the Personal Courage Wing (added last summer), with 28 rare World War I and World War II fighter planes. Plus there's the retired British Airways Concorde supersonic transport that arrived just over a year ago.

If you go: The museum is at 9404 East Marginal Way S., Seattle. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $7.50-$14, children 4 and younger free. www.museumofflight.org or 206-764-5720.

13. All dolled up

If anybody in your family didn't get exactly the doll they were hoping for from Santa, maybe a visit to Bellevue's Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art will help make up for it. Here you'll find Barbie from the 1950s or a German china-head lady with peg-jointed wooden body from 1850. There are thousands of dolls on display and for sale, plus teddy bears, other toys, dollhouses and miniatures.

If you go: The museum is at 1116 108th Ave. N.E., Bellevue. Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission $5-$7, children 4 and younger free. www.dollart.com or 425-455-1116.

14. Get Centered

How easily we forget. Sometimes, the most obvious answer is right at the foot of Queen Anne Hill. Seattle Center always has something going on. Catch an IMAX flick at Pacific Science Center or see the new "Powers of Nature" exhibit opening Feb. 4, in which you can create your own thunderstorm. This Saturday alone, the Center hosts a travel exposition, an indoor rowing championship, three stage plays, one opera and a hockey game. Plus there's always the food court, the Fun Forest and the fountain.

If you go: Look for the Space Needle and you'll find Seattle Center. www.seattlecenter.com or 206-684-7200. Pacific Science Center: Open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. — 5 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m. — 6 p.m. Admission $7-$10, children 2 and younger free. www.pacsci.org or 206-443-2001.

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Idea No. 15: A prickly pear cactus thrives in the tropical climate at the Volunteer Park Conservatory.

15. Indoor sun

Another source of wonderful warmth on a cold winter day: Go sit among the tropical gardens inside a lovely Victorian glass conservatory in Seattle or Tacoma. In Seattle's Volunteer Park Conservatory, the Palm House is 72 degrees and 60 percent humidity, with banana plants, giant birds of paradise, heliconia and more orchids than you've seen since senior prom. In Tacoma's W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory, a special display in February offers an early spring, with hyacinths, tulips, cyclamen, azaleas and more.

If you go: Seattle conservatory: 1400 E. Galer St. Winter hours 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Free ($2 donation suggested). www.cityofseattle.net/parks or 206-684-4743. Tacoma conservatory: 316 S. G St. (in Wright Park). Open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., closed Mondays. Free (donations appreciated). www.metroparkstacoma.org or 253-591-5330.

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2004 Idea No. 16: The cafe at the Frye Art Museum offers views of the museum's architecture, including the reflecting pool. Selections from a permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings are always on display. And admission is free.

16. The Frye is free

When it comes to art, everybody supposedly knows what they like — but sometimes they discover something new that they like. So it never hurts to keep looking. One thing lots of people like is free admission, and that's something you'll always find at the Frye Art Museum, the legacy of a prominent Seattle couple of the early 20th century who made money in meat packing and collected art along the way. Always on display are selections from a permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century German, French and American paintings. But the Frye can surprise you, too. Special exhibits include the realist paintings of contemporary artist Alan Magee, opening Saturday. Concluding Feb. 13 is "Wondertoonel," a collection of the carnivalesque, sometimes nightmarish paintings of Mark Ryden.

If you go: 704 Terry Ave., on Seattle's First Hill. Open Tuesday — Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (except closing at 8 p.m. Thursdays); Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays. Free. Wheelchair accessible. www.fryeart.org or 206-622-9250.

17. Bike beyond the Burke

If schussing down Alpental isn't in your near future, might mountain biking make up for it? Even flatland pedaling has its merits. But if the Burke-Gilman Trail bores you, turn your knobby tires toward the crushed-rock of the 36-mile Snoqualmie Valley Trail, a former railroad route connecting Duvall and North Bend. Explore one of the region's beautiful agricultural valleys, and ride across trestles over the Snoqualmie River and Tokul Creek. The trail is not heavily used; you'll likely have it all to yourself.

If you go: For more information, see www.metrokc.gov/parks/trails/trails/snoqv.htm

18. Or bike to the Burke

Only this time we mean the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, on the University of Washington campus, where now through March 6 there's a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit, "The Burgess Shale: Evolution's Big Bang." The exhibit tells the story of one of the most important fossil sites in North America. The fossils are more than 500 million years old and include the ancestors of virtually all living animals. Inhabiting a shallow sea when they lived, the creatures — what's left of them — are now found high in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. But you can see them here.

If you go: Burke Museum is at the northwest corner of the University of Washington campus near the corner of 17th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street. Open daily 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. $5-$8; free to children 4 and younger and to UW staff/faculty/students. www.burkemuseum.org or 206-543-5590.

19. Are you Experienced?

EMP — Experience Music Project — is a trip in itself (double meaning fully intended). Plan to spend a full day if you've not been before, to pay homage to Hendrix's Stratocaster and Janis Joplin's boa (and so much more). The big special exhibit of the year is about Bob Dylan's early years. But there's stuff going on here all the time, like the battle of the bands in which under-21 rockers compete every Saturday night in February. Or this weekend's Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra concert. EMP might be an acquired taste for some. But if you haven't been, you gotta go.

If you go: EMP is in the multicolored reflective blob complex designed by Frank Gehry, near the base of the Space Needle at Fifth Avenue and Broad Street. Winter hours: Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Closed Mondays. $14.95-$19.95, children 6 and younger free (added charge for Science Fiction Museum, in same complex). www.emplive.com or 206-367-5483.

20. Go to the library

That doesn't sound exciting, but if you've yet to visit Seattle's new Central Library, which opened last May, this is more than a trip downtown to look for the latest John Grisham. The dramatically different 11-level steel-and-glass structure, which looks like it's bursting out of its city block, was recently named a 2005 recipient of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award for Outstanding Architecture, among 13 winners of the prestigious award. Says City Librarian Deborah L. Jacobs, "The Central Library is one of the most remarkable buildings in the world and you don't even need a reservation to get in."

If you go: The library is at 1000 Fourth Ave. Open Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sundays 1-5 p.m. www.spl.org or 206-386-4636.

Madeline McKenzie of the Seattle Times staff helped compile this list.