Steamboat Springs, Colorado - Ski Town USA

Steamboat Springs: Home to Olympians, Skiing Legends, Champagne Powder and Livestock...

Steamboat Springs' rich heritage in ranching and skiing differentiates us from many of our ski resort competitors; and it is something we take great pride in. Our town got its name in the mid-1800s, when fur trappers ventured over the Continental Divide, and heard the chugging sound of a mineral spring that reminded them of a steamboat. In 1875, James Crawford and his hearty pioneer family arrived and settled Steamboat Springs. The first skiers descended on the slopes of Storm Mountain in the 1960s; today Mount Werner is a world-class ski resort. And even though Steamboat has doubled its population in the past two decades, small-town values still reign.

Steamboat has a reputation for premiere skiing, ranching, down home Western hospitality, outdoor recreation for all seasons, and more! But, don't just take our word for it. Check-out the following excerpts from articles about Steamboat Springs.

From TripAdvisor.com:
"A ski town that is also an authentic ranching center, Steamboat Springs is more down home than glitzy. Cowboy hats and ski boots are equally welcome on the city's friendly streets. The place where downhill skiing first flourished in the United States, Steamboat Springs remains a premiere slopes destination. But the town also offers outdoor recreation of every stripe and season. And after a long day hiking or shopping, you can relax in one of the natural hot springs for which the town was named."

From Fodor's:
"Steamboat Springs is Colorado at its most authentic, where hay bales and cattle crowd pastures, McMansions are regarded with disdain, high schoolers compete in local rodeos, deer hang from front porches during hunting season, and high-fashion means clean jeans. Steamboat Ski Resort has none of the pretensions of the glitzier Colorado resorts. Ask a local about the last celebrity he saw in town, and he's liable to tell you the name of the kid who won the steer-roping competition."

From The New York Times:
"Situated in the Yampa River Valley in Colorado's northwestern corner, Steamboat Springs exudes a subtle beauty. Fresh snow blankets the meadows and aspens, and Douglas firs look as if they've been dipped in frost. Storms from the Pacific charge unimpeded into Steamboat releasing froths of ''champagne'' powder onto its peaks. At 6,695 feet, Steamboat Springs is a true mountain town; in addition to skiers, you'll run across whitewater paddlers, mountain bikers and trail runners. One tip for visitors: if the combination of the high altitude and the high-quality beers sold at many of the Steamboat restaurants and bars proves to be a debilitating combination, take advantage of the free city bus shuttle that operates every 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. each day."

"Steamboat is a modern, expanding ski resort that prides itself on being a little bit wild, wide-open and big. The trails at some points are 240 feet wide, just as the main street in the old part of town is expansive because decades ago it had to accommodate cattle drives. The snow-dusted town pushes the extremes of being suitable for families and singles ready to take on a Western-flavored ski holiday. The inducements, besides the saloons and slopes, include Kids Ski Free and Kids Rent Free for children 12 and under and activities (not free) that range from hot-air balloon trips to total bliss in bubbling hot springs."

"The town seemingly has a fat wallet with which to face the competition for the ski dollar, and an unabashed campaign slogan: ''More mountain than Aspen, more powder than Vail, more lifts than Snowmass, more sun than Sun Valley, more bars than Utah.''

From Hot Springs and Snow Angels:
"While some resorts promote themselves for their skiable terrain, access to off-mountain activities or shopping, Steamboat is able to highlight perhaps the most important item: snow. This is where the term "champagne powder" was created: the snow is so pure, so light and such a delight for skiers of any calibre. Nestled in northwestern Colorado, the Steamboat Springs area has been welcoming skiers for nearly 100 years. Today, more than 50 summer and winter Olympians call the area home, largely because of the availability of snow.

While Australian resorts measure their snowfalls in centimetres, Steamboat does it in feet; the average is more than 30 feet (9.14m) a year. The shape of the mountain also lends itself to beginners and snow hounds; gentle slopes near the main base are wide and plentiful. The ski instructors are numerous, catering for a wide range of skill levels. Further up the mountain is a huge variety range of high quality runs, from reasonable green ones to double black diamonds for those who like their skiing at the extreme level." Read more...

From Frommer's:
One of our favorite Colorado resort towns, in part because it's a real town in addition to being a resort, Steamboat Springs fuses two very different worlds -- a state-of-the-art ski village with a genuine Western ranching center. This historic town, with a population of just under 10,000, is a pleasant laid-back community where ranchers still go about their business in cowboy boots and Stetsons, seemingly unaware of the fashion statement they are making to city-slicker visitors. Read more...

From the Orlando Sentinel:
I had heard that Steamboat Springs, Colorado mixes the charm of a small Western cattle town with a world-class ski resort. So my expectations were high when I chose Steamboat as a winter destination from several weeklong ski trips offered by Central Florida Snow Skiers & Snowboarders Travel Club. I pleasantly discovered that Steamboat is not a pre-fabricated town, carved out of the base of a mountain, to provide a cookie-cutter shopping and dining experience for visitors. Read more...