Kayaking
Sea Kayaking in the Annapolis-Baltimore-Washington Area: Maintained by a dedicated member of Chesapeake Paddlers, the local sea-kayaking club, this is a prime site to check for area kayak touring info. Substantial coverage of launch sites within striking distance of Washington and current weather forecasts make it especially useful for day trippers.

Atlantic Canoe & Kayak Co.: Visit this site if you've never been in one of those tippy-looking sea kayaks before: You'll find descriptions of guided kayak tours through local wetlands and wildlife preserves, upcoming classes and night tours. You will have to paddle the kayak yourself, but just about everything else is provided.

The Alberta & Canadian Canoeing & Kayaking Links Page: Don't be detoured by this site's Canadian background; it's a one-stop index for the sport, both whitewater and sea kayaking, with links to safety topics, equipment manufacturers, kayakers' travelogues, river and conservation organizations, magazines, clubs and more.

Virginia Whitewater: The dim background colors may make reading this like searching for sequins in a forest at night, but it has most of what a mid-Atlantic whitewater kayaker needs to know – trip stories from Virginia rivers, a mailing list, current weather forecasts and how-to help on topics such as selecting outfitters.

Rock-Climbing
The Climbing Archive!: At this filing cabinet of a site, you can hook up with local climbers, learn how routes are graded or look up a few local climbing spots. The Climbing Dictionary is the real gem here, with every piece of jargon you might use in English and eight other tongues.

Seneca Rocks, West Virginia: Read up on this challenging climbing area in West Virginia, its history and controversies over its use. The site also covers safety concerns and has terrific orientation maps and directions, guidebook guidance and local weather and tourism information.

Rock 'n' Road: Browse this site for its extensive regional lists, sorted by park or specific rock features. You'll also find the usual weather updates, maps and guidebooks, plus a climber's bulletin board where people can look for climbing partners.

– L. Peat O'Neil

Rollerblading
Skate FAQs: This page, which distills the knowledge of numerous experienced inline skaters, should be the first stop for novices. Browse through for skate-buying tips, basic techniques and tutorials for more advanced moves, plus its glossary – you'll be able to throw around terms like ABEC, durometer and monocoque like a seasoned veteran.

Washington Area Rollerskaters: The Washington Area Rollerskaters club, which organizes regular outings through Rock Creek Park and downtown D.C., lists a complete calendar of events and get-togethers on its page; it also has the scoop on finding local skating parks and pick-up rollerhockey games.

Skate City: The king of all inline skating link collections, Skate City has a searchable database of over 1,500 inline pages that includes everything from high-production PR sites for skate manufacturers like Rollerblade, Oxygen and Roces to areas constructed by high-schoolers with too much time on their hands.

– Anthony Zurcher