Steamboat Springs, CO

Steamboat Springs, Colorado is a resort town that feels much larger than its population of 13,000. It attracts nature folks of all sorts for its skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and fishing. The city also boasts geothermal springs.  As one friend said, "Steamboat sure is dreamy!"

We visited during the off season (autumn), but what most would consider the most beautiful time of year. The surrounding mountains were filled with yellow and orange aspens. During our four days there, we ate out at a few places: ice cream at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, dinner at Carl's Tavern, and lunch at Otto. I also spent considerably more than I expected when casually browsing the downtown shops. 

As far as outdoor activities go, we hiked Fish Creek Falls and walked along the Yampa River Trail into downtown and the botanical gardens. We also played putt putt golf, saw two bears, and drove around looking for real estate flyers.

The Good

• Really beautiful mountain scenery: two ski areas and plenty of creeks that feed into the larger Yampa River. Bonus: Steamboat Ski Resort is visually prominent but the mountain doesn't look too cut up.
• Lively and cute downtown with lots of eating and shopping options. The town's aesthetic perfectly appeals to me, as evidenced by the shopping I did. If I had unlimited funds I would have definitely also purchased some pillow cases, an apron, a sweater, a few games, and surely plenty more.
• Other than the ski-in, ski-out region near the ski resort, the neighborhoods feel residential. 
• The town culture seems friendly and safe: kids were on bikes, families were out for post-soccer game treats, and people were generally interested in chatting.
• There are enough major stores (Safeway, Walmart, Ace Hardware) for the town to be fully self-sufficient. 
• It's a destination spot for friends/family to visit.
• Lots of activities: skiing, biking (road and mountain), hiking, fishing, hot springs, bowling, mini golf, nearby lakes, river actives, botanical gardens....you name it!
• Good trail systems.
• Options to buy homes with some acreage, or to buy a plot of land and build on it, without being too far from downtown.

The Bad

• A bit busy during the off season, which means it's likely really crowded during the peak seasons.
• It's a destination for a lot of reasons, so tourists can be a hassle; while we were hiking we saw two bachelorette parties.
• Expensive housing market.
• The main road going through downtown is an extension of the highway, so there are lots of cars driving through.

The Verdict

Yes, but with some caveats. This is by far my favorite place we've visited, but I fear we may have experienced it during the ideal conditions. If this becomes one of the final contenders, I would need to experience it during peak tourism before I commit. I'm also becoming somewhat disenchanted with Colorado as a whole, so if there were a similar town in a less-trafficked state, I would almost surely chose the alternate option.

Look how beautiful this places is! This was within 1 mile of downtown along the Yampa River Trail.

The main Yampa River Trail runs about 4 miles. There was a wide variety of folks using it on Sunday morning: retirees doing morning exercise with their friends, dads towing kids in their bike baskets, and pre-teens riding to their friend's house.

The hike we did was also gorgeous, but pretty busy. That might have been because we were there on a promotional free parking Saturday, but I think Steamboat attracts enough wealthy people that the $5 discount didn't significantly impact the crowds.

One really nice thing about Steamboat is you don't have to travel far to get out into nature.

We saw two bears. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad indicator, but I throughly enjoyed the sightings!

There seem to be lots of parks in town.

Downtown parallels the river and has lots of things to see and spend your money on.

Their annual Food and Wine Fest seems to be a hit: they were sold out of tickets for final BBQ luncheon.