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I think the best hobbies for hackers are the ones that will force you to go out . Walking, sports, astronomy, going to the beach, and so forth. We already use too many hours to stay at home hacking so it is better to counterbalance in some other way in the free time.
On the non-sports side: Clarinet, learning sax, going to shows, dancing, writing music, cooking, sitting in trees and reading.
Keeping bees. Playing viol (that baroque instrument) and guitar. But I like to "follow my nose", so the answer might be different next year (did someone mention metal casting in this thread? hmmm...)
Chess. In many ways, chess is very similar to programming. It is a beautiful mix of art & science. It requires constant learning, studying and practice to get better. It allows you to solve puzzles and identify patterns. It has been around for many centuries and yet people still find new strategies.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Photography too... particularly landscape and wildlife photography. It forces you to get outside, to wait, to be still and patient.
Photography also :) glad to see some photogs on HN. I do mostly street photography - I find that it gets me engaged with people and forces me to be much more social than I'd otherwise be (I do stare at a screen all day for my day job...) [edit] Also, working in an industrial kitchen. Nothing like getting your hands dirty that takes your mind off brainy matters like programming. In the end IMHO the best hacker hobbies…
I'm also into street photography: running a photoblog where I post a photo every workday (http://journal.boblycat.org/cosmozoo). Still going strong since 2005 or so, and I concur it's a great compliment to screen-gazing.
Sports - absolutely cannot live without. Enjoy it as much as my work. Anything goes: soccer, volleyball, squash, or rarely some water sports. I follow a lot of sports too.
Ultimate Frisbee. It's real good exercise (which hackers need), and there's something peaceful about throwing a frisbee. Plus "reading" the disc (figuring out where it's going to land) is interesting because a disc has a few more degrees of freedom than a ball.