Reverse skiing up a mountain is only possible during full moons on the summer equinox, which is why Rube Goldberg invented ski lifts. Rise to the top with today's Groupon: for $25, you get a three-day Nordic-skiing trail pass at Methow Valley Sport Trails Association, with four locations across Winthrop and Mazama (a $51 value).

Methow Valley Sport Trails Association's 120 miles of manicured snow pathways unfurl through a scenic landscape of valleys, forests, and mountains. Adventurers spend three consecutive days carving swathes through the powdered paths, with gently rolling areas for beginners, lengthy climbs for veterans, and loop-the-loops for skiers with rockets strapped to their backs. Coast through the 30-kilometer Methow Community Trail, which traverses the Foster-Twalks Suspension Bridge and bows low to the Methow River. On the machine-groomed tracks of the Mazama Trails, newcomers glide through flat farmlands, and the Sun Mountain Trails have an even mix of easy, intermediate, and difficult runs that all end at the doorstep of a warm hut.

Parents find appropriate challenges for their progeny on flat, kid-friendly trails, and pooches trot alongside their owners on the Rendezvous system: 46.9 kilometers of trails dotted with squirrels, snout-teasing aromas, and feral frisbees. Kids aged 12 and younger ski for free, and teens aged 13–17 ski for $10 a day.