Sports in Moscow
Whether it’s hot summer or dark winter, Moscow offers plenty of opportunities for sports. Each season has a lot to offer, and many activities are available throughout the year.
See below: winter sports in Moscow; all seasons sports in Moscow.
Summer
Every summer, more and more free exercise classes are being held in Moscow’s parks.
Yoga in parks
Every summer, the Yoga Journal organizes free yoga classes in over 20 Moscow parks. If it rains, the classes are held in parks equipped with tents: Vorobievy Gory, Goncharovsky, Fili, Izmailovsky, and Vorontsovsky. If the outdoor temperature falls below 18° C, classes are cancelled.
For the updated schedule, please check the journal’s website (in Russian). To see the exact location of yoga classes in the park, click the link on the park name. Don’t forget to take your mat with you.
Fitness in parks
List of locations
All seasons
The weather in Central Russia can be unpredictable, and during spring and autumn it may be particularly difficult to choose an outdoor sports activity. But one of the advantages of Moscow is that it offers not only plenty of fitness centres (see the list of gyms around HSE Guesthouse Buildings) and indoor swimming pools, but also other interesting indoor activities that combine both sport and entertainment at the same time and are open all year round.
Roller skating rinks
List of roller skating rinks
Rock climbing walls
To practice rock climbing with a rope, you need either an experienced partner or an instructor. If you want to practice alone, choose a bouldering hall, where you don’t need a harness: the walls are not high and the floor is equipped with soft mats.
List of rock climbing centres
Karting
Although the biggest karting centres are open-air, you can capture the feeling of car racing in a few warm and dry venues.
List of karting centres
Indoor skating rinks
Some sports lovers go to indoor skating rinks not only during low season, but even in winter: the weather is always good there, and, since they are located in purpose-built stadiums, the ice is of very good quality.
List of indoor ice skating rinks
Vertical wind tunnels
Vertical wind tunnels are an opportunity to safely experience skydiving without actually going up in the sky. The air in the tunnel moves upwards at approximately 195 km/h (120 mph), the speed of a falling human body. The ‘indoor skydiver’ floats in the wind tunnel, replicating the sensations experienced during freefall.
List of vertical wind tunnels
SNEJ.COM
Snej.com is a unique all-season skiing and snowboarding slope located very close to Moscow in Krasnogorsk. The temperature at this facility is always between -5 and -7 °C. Vertical drop: 65 m. Trail length: 365 m. Slope width: 60 m. Changing rooms, equipment hire, shops, cafes, skating rink, fitness centre.
How to get there
Curling
Curling is a relatively new activity in Moscow, but it is gaining popularity. To play you’ll need two teams of four people each. Choose a club, make a reservation, and – ‘sweeeeeeeep’!
List of curling clubs
Winter
Skating rinks
You can skate in Moscow all year round, but the most enjoyable and atmospheric skating rinks are outdoors and open in winter. The ice can be either natural or artificial (this can stay frozen even when the temperature is above zero). Most of them include a changing room, skates for rent, a café with snacks and hot drinks, lighting in the evening, and some music playing. Most of the rinks work in sessions with breaks, during which the ice is renovated. If you want the best and the smoothest ice, come at the beginning of a session. Here is just a small selection of the many skating rinks in Moscow.
As part of COVID prevention policies, visitors to all skating rinks in Moscow must register and/or purchase online tickets in advance. The number of slots in each rink is limited, so we recommend planning your skating beforehand.
List of skating rinks
Alpine skiing & snowboarding
Although there are no actual mountains in Moscow, or in the Moscow region, many hills are used for alpine skiing and snowboarding. The most popular ones are located in the Moscow region, about 70 km from the city (Volen, Yakhroma, Sorochany). But there are some slopes within the city limits, and they can be reached by metro. All the slopes listed below are equipped with snow making machines and lighting.
List of skiing & snowboarding centres
Tubing& sledding
While in Russia, do as the Russians do! Try sledding down the snow slopes, it’s fun! Use free slopes in many parks, or choose a specially equipped tubing trail with a lift. If you choose the first option, you might want to buy a device for sledding – it may be a simple plastic seat or a big inflatable tyre (‘tube’) – you’ll find a selection in shops selling sports equipment. There are tube rentals near some of the slopes.
List of slopes
Cross-country skiing
In a city like Moscow, even cross-country skiing is possible and, furthermore, quite popular. You’ll find ski tracks in every park and green area of the city. Both tracks for classical technique and prepared pistes for skating technique are available. Big parks offer skiing equipment for rent at a very reasonable price. Entrance to the pistes is free.
List of pistes