Everything to Know for a Trip to Steamboat Ski Resort
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Skiing and snowboarding can be dangerous activities, please ride within your ability levels and respect others around you
Alright it’s winter and your interested in taking a snowboard (or ski) trip to Colorado. Well one of the best hidden gem resorts is located Northwest of Denver in the Yampa Valley. Right on the continental divide, Steamboat Springs is a small town and only ten minutes from the ski resort. Averaging over 300 inches of snowfall per year, time it right and you’ll be riding champagne powder until the lifts stop spinning.
As you drive into town, there is an authentic feel to it that doesn’t feel touristy with a couple old school ski shops and locally owned restaurants. You’ll even notice the famous Rabbit Ears Motel, that always seems to have a no vacancy sign. What I like most about riding the resort, is even during the busiest times of the year, the lift lines seem to go quick and you still get plenty of laps in for the day. With that being said, in the this post I’ll be going over how to get to the resort, what to expect, where to stay, eat, and what to know about the resort. Coool, lets get into it.
Any cool history of the town and Ski resort
Like many towns throughout Colorado there is some cool history. The name is thought to be originated from early settlers who thought they heard the sound of a Steamboat engine, yet it turned out to be a natural mineral spring, that they named the Steamboat Spring. By 1900 Steamboat became an official town, and by the early 1900’s the commercial railroad sparked a boom in ranching and visitors to the area. In the early 1960’s Steamboat opened to the public and was named Storm Mountain before it became Steamboat ski resort. After putting in new lifts and trails the ski resort was able to make over 100,000 in revenue by the 1966-67 season.
Are there Hotsprings nearby
Yep, the infamous Strawberry Hotsprings will be about 7 miles from downtown Steamboat. They require reservations with slots being two hours. You can make a reservation on the Strawberry Hot Springs website. The cost is $20 cash only and you’ll need a four wheel drive vehicle to get up to the springs. They offer a shuttle service if you don’t have a vehicle or AWD, that don’t require reservations.
How to get there
What’s cool about Steamboat is it’s farther away from the front range and DIA, therefore it doesn’t draw the crowds during Holidays and weekends such as other Colorado resorts closer to Denver. There’s two airports that you can fly into, Denver International and Yampa Valley. Yampa Valley Airport will be much closer. Below I’ve listed times and distances from these areas. If you’re coming from Denver or the front range, you’ll take 40W from I-70 driving on Rabbit Ears pass until you reach Steamboat.
Rabbit Ears pass can be a little sketch if it’s dumping snow, so be careful!
Denver International Airport- 3 hours 15 minutes/180 Miles/290 km
Yampa Valley Airport- 30 Minutes/24 Miles/39 km
Boulder- 3 hours/163 Miles/262 km
Ft Collins- 3 hours 15 minutes/160 miles/258 km
Where to Stay
You can either stay near the resort or in downtown Steamboat. The resort is only about 10-15 minutes away from the town depending on traffic. There’s some nice options right on the slopes which is what I decided to do. I booked through VRBO and stayed in a nice 1 bedroom right by the Wildhorse gondola. The place was pretty epic with easy parking and some good views from the balcony.
If you’re looking for something more affordable, there’s a few cheaper hotels in Steamboat such as the Rabbit Ears Motel or the Nordic lodge.
Where to Park
One of the best parts about Steamboat if you’re day tripping it is the free parking that is close to the base of the mountain. During busier times, try to get to the lots early as they fill up. The two free lots are the Upper Noll and Meadows. Meadows is much bigger with a quick shuttle service. You can also hop on the Wildhorse gondola if you don’t want to take the shuttle. It is a farther walk to this gondola then just hopping on the shuttle.
Any good Restaurants
Downtown Steamboat will have some of the best restaurants in my opinion with a number of different options. Just make sure to make a reservation ahead of time, especially for larger parties! You might even have to do this months in advance, depending on the time of year. For breakfast I really liked Creekside Cafe and this biscuit spot on the North End of town called Lil’ Country Biscuits and Coffee. I was also recommended the Shack by a local for more of a classic old school diner menu. But my favorite breakfast place was actually Colorado Bagel Company. Simple menu and close to the parking area. The Tuscan bagel is pretty incredible.
For Dinner there’s a number of restaurants in downtown and also a couple at the base. I was recommended Cafe Diva’ at the base. In town Laundry, Salt and Lime, and Table 79 were highly recommended. I tried Salt and lime as well as Laundry and both were amazing! Salt and Lime has an awesome menu with lots of taco options! (only $4 each until 5:30!) and cocktails with Laundry being mostly family style with shared plates.
Table 79 will be an upscale restaurant and is also farm to table with sister restaurants Aurum and Periodic Table also in the Boat.
Where can we rent or buy snowboard and ski equipment
There will be a handful of shops at base of the mountain and also close to the base area such as Christy Sports and Powder Pursuits. For snowboards Powder Tools has been around for a long time and is more of a core snowboard shop; with knowledgable staff, rental, and tuning services.
Of course my favorite snowboard shop will be the Burton store, right at the base as well. They will have just about everything you need for a day on the mountain. The Burton store has rental and demo packages too, so you can try a set up out before you buy one.
In town there is Ski Haus, a huge store with lots of different options for equipment, including splitboard and back country gear. They also have a large selection of rentals and a legit tune shop. The shop has been around for over 50 years! They even provide a shuttle service that will pick you up if you don’t have a car so that you can check out the store or pick up rentals.
Is Steamboat on the Ikon or Epic
The full Ikon will get you unlimited access to Steamboat Resort with the Ikon base pass giving you five days at Steamboat.
Are there lessons and beginner terrain
Yep, Steamboat will offer lessons for Adults and kids in groups or with a private instructor (for skiing and snowboarding). Full and half day times are available with private lessons being more expensive. Private lessons can be nice because if you’re looking to ride and learn the mountain, an instructor will show you around the resort. Make sure to book these far in advance as they can fill up quickly throughout the season!
What is the mountain like and where to ride
One of the most unique resorts in Colorado, Steamboat doesn’t have any above tree line terrain or huge back bowls. Instead they have awesome tree riding, a handful of fun bowls, plenty of blue or black groomers, and a hike-to zone that accesses cliff drops and steeper faces. It has the feel of an original ski resort without all of the big commercialization (even though the base area is growing and lifts are being updated). Even during the busiest times, the crowds aren’t bad in my opinion.
Mountain Stats
Skiable acres: 2,965
number of runs: 171
Lifts: 21
Summit Elevation:10,568 feet/3224 meters
Favorite places to ride
For easier fun cruiser laps I like to take lifts Thunderhead Express, Storm Peak, and Four Points. If you’re looking for some of the easier more family friendly runs those can be found off of the Sunshine Express lift! If the main gondola has a long line head over to the Wild Blue Gondola and either keep going up or get off halfway and cruise over to the Thunderhead Express lift to access a lot of the mountain.
If you’ve never skied or snowboarded before, take the Christie Peak express right at the base and get off at the half way point. This will be an easy run to get warmed up on and to learn the fundamentals!
If you like steeper terrain with deep snow after a storm, my favorite run is East Face, accessed off of the hike to the top of Mt. Werner. You have to take the Morning Side lift then head right off the lift to access the hike. Its an easier trek that takes about ten minutes to get to the top. Be aware of signage and cliff areas when riding through here! If you like jumping off cliffs, this is the best area for that in my opinion. Keep in mind that towards the bottom you either have to ride through trees or skate on a catwalk to get back to the main area of the mountain.
If you want to do the hike again, the quickest route is to take the Barue lift back to the top, drop into Frying Pan, and hop on the Morningside lift for round 2. It’s also fun to only hike up halfway and drop into Alarm Clock or Wake up call for some quick steeper laps to the bottom of Morningside.
Does Steamboat get a lot of snow
Depending on the season, Steamboat can get lots of snow, as you can see in some of the photos. The average snowfall is around 314 inches with January and February on average having the most snowfall. On a really good year, they can get over 400 inches of snow.
When there’s that much snow it’s good to ride with a friend or partner as it can be dangerous with tree wells and other terrain hazards. If you are going to ride by yourself be cautious and aware of your surroundings. I ride by myself quiet a bit, but try to lean on the side of caution if its a really deep day.
Is there good tree riding
Yep! However I recommend riding with a partner if you decide to venture into the trees, because when it snows a lot, Steamboat is known to have tree wells. A tree well is a pocket that forms around the base of the tree, if you get too close, you can sink into it and become trapped. Tree wells can be very dangerous! so be careful.
Some of my favorite tree runs will be off of the Pony Express lift as well as the Cheesy Grits and Gravy Runs, off the backside of the mountain. These are quick runs, but I like how secluded and quiet it is when riding through them. The trees runs off Pony will be Aspens and the trees through Cheesy Grits or Gravy will be huge Pine trees.
For Longer tree runs, ride through the Aspens off of Thunderhead Express. I’ve definitely like to cruise through these at the beginning or end of the day and on deep days it honestly feels like your maybe in Japan. It’s a cool experience that I haven’t experienced at too many Colorado ski resorts.
Is there a Terrain Park
Steamboat has three different terrain parks which includes the pipe. Rabbit Ears will be the main park with a few jumps and a number of rails, while the Lil Rodeo Park and pipe will be smaller with some great beginner features. You can do laps through both parks or if you want or just lap the smaller park by taking the Christie Peak express lift up to the halfway point.
If you like to ride a bigger halfpipe there will be one close to the Rabbit ears park off of the Bashor lift. If you like to race and hangout out with friends, every year there is the Steamboat Slash and Burn banked slalom competition. This is a snowboard event where riders are timed on a slalom course. Picture a race course with snow bank turns. It’s not a serious event and more for fun and bragging rights.
Is there anywhere to eat on the mountain
There are three lodges with food; Four Points, Rendezvous, and Thunderhead Lodge. Four Points has a cabin like feel inside and overlooks the different mountain ranges and the Yampa Valley. They also have outdoor seating for those Bluebird days. Four points will also have some healthy options with local ingredients while Thunderhead and Rendezvous will have more traditional resort food.
Each lodge will have a bar too if you’re looking to grab a drink and chill in between riding.
Any great places for Apres’
The base of the mountain will have a few places to grab a drink and food, however I really like Apres’ burger bistro not too far from the base. There’s less people and also a local brewery, Storm Peak, on the ground level.
Is Downtown worth checking out
Definitely, as mentioned there’s a number of good restaurants as well as outdoor/winter gear shops. There’s even an old drugstore and movie theatre right in the middle of town. It’s a cool downtown area that’s fun to walk around if you get the opportunity. You’ll even notice a ski resort in the downtown area called Howelsen, the oldest operating ski resort in North America!
If you have film camera or digital camera, even a phone it’s also a cool town to walk around and shoot photos of if the lighting is good, especially in the evening when the sun is going down. I highly recommend having a warm jacket when walking around town as it can be pretty cold once the sun starts to go down. A thicker puffy jacket, such as the Baker Expedition, is guaranteed to keep you warm, especially with single digit temps.
Parking downtown
Is free with plenty of side street parking if Main Street is full. Typically two hour limits in a lot of spots.
Looking for other Colorado ski or snowboard trip ideas? Check out Hiking the bowl at Aspen Highlands which is also works with an Ikon pass. Thanks for reading the blog and if you have any questions or comments to add, leave them below! See you on the next post.
