Walls Students Report Best DC Winter Activities

Winter has quite a few negatives: seasonal depression, tons of schoolwork, and bad weather just to name a few. However, there are many positives to this cold season, like the many holiday themed, seasonal activities across the DMV.

One classic holiday activity that many SWW students enjoy is looking at Christmas lights, and there are many places to do that, both inside DC and just outside the city. Lucy Mayer (‘27) recommends ZooLights, an annual light show at the National Zoo. “It’s very lowkey and it's super nice to walk around at night.” She added that “you see the animals but it’s way more interesting than normal.” ZooLights runs until January 3, and admission tickets cost $9 each. 

If you venture a little further out of DC, there are also many drive through light displays like Bull Run Festival of Lights in Centreville Virginia, which has 2.5 miles of lights and a ticket cost of $32 per car. Eila Schultheiss (‘28) shared that “driving through and looking at the Christmas lights” was one of her favorite winter activities, noting that “the lights are pretty and it feels very nostalgic.”

Another popular winter activity is ice skating. Penelope Hoppes (‘28) noted that “ice skating is fun to do with friends even if you’re really bad at it.” Some popular local ice rinks include the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden rink, Canal Park (near Nationals stadium), the Wharf rink (at the Wharf) and the Washington Harbor ice rink (near Georgetown). Prices range from free to $20, not including rental skates. 

If you want cardio through shopping instead of skating, there are also some fun holiday markets throughout DC. The Downtown Holiday market, which is next to the Portrait Gallery, features 119 different vendors selling food, vintage clothes, gifts, jewelry, and much more, like the viral S’MORES N’ MORE hot chocolate. Sasha Roston (‘28) noted that a highlight of her winter is “going to holiday markets and getting to buy stuff and support small businesses.” Another fun holiday market is the DC holiday market at Dupont Circle, with more of a focus on arts and crafts, although it also has food options.

One of the best parts of winter is snow and all the fun activities like sledding and snowball fights that come with it. Some popular sledding locations include Fort Reno, which “is really big so it has a lot of untouched snow, plus the hill is steep and great for sledding,” according to Olivia Liebert (‘28). Other popular spots include Capital Hill, Battery Kemble park, Rock Creek Park, Eastern high school and the National Arboretum. That’s only if it snows enough though, so keep your fingers crossed.

Winter is a season that can be super fun, with a bunch of awesome activity options across DC. Just make sure to take advantage of them and have some fun in the cold winter months!