The gondola cabin swings out over the base area and the town drops away behind you. Thirteen minutes later the doors open at 10,384 feet on top of Sunshine Peak, and the snow under your boots squeaks the way only very dry snow does. Steamboat has trademarked the stuff. They call it Champagne Powder, and on a good morning in the trees you understand why they bothered with the lawyers.
Getting There From DFW and Love Field
Getting there from North Texas is easier than most people realize. American flies nonstop from DFW once or twice a day from Dec. 17 through April 5. Southwest flies from Love Field from Dec. 18 through April 5 on a schedule that varies by week. Both land at Yampa Valley Regional Airport in Hayden, about 30 minutes from the mountain. Steamboat’s flight page keeps the full winter schedule.
The resort opens Nov. 21, with lifts scheduled to start turning at 8:30 a.m. after the ringing of the Champagne Powder snow bell.
The Skiing
Start with the skiing, because that’s what you came for. Steamboat is really a small range of peaks, Mount Werner, Sunshine, Storm, Thunderhead, Christie and Mahogany Ridge, with 3,741 acres, 184 trails and 23 lifts according to the resort’s mountain stats. That makes it one of the biggest ski areas in Colorado.
The Wild Blue Gondola changed the morning routine here. It runs from the base all the way to the top of Sunshine Peak, and it’s the longest and fastest 10-person gondola in North America. Halfway up it stops at Greenhorn Ranch, a learning area built just for beginners and ski school, so first-timers get their own corner of the mountain instead of dodging traffic at the bottom.
If this will be your first time on skis, start with CraveDFW’s first-timer’s guide to a Colorado ski vacation. The advice there holds up here too, and the biggest piece of it is simple. Book the lessons. Steamboat’s ski school works out of Greenhorn Ranch, so a beginner’s whole first day can happen in one calm spot halfway up the mountain.
Intermediate skiers will find long, groomed cruisers off nearly every peak. The real reputation, though, lives in the glades on Sunshine, Storm Peak and Mahogany Ridge. After a fresh storm the aspens hold soft, light snow for days, and skiers who know the mountain head straight for the trees.
Mahogany Ridge and Fish Creek Canyon added roughly 650 acres of advanced and expert terrain a few seasons back, served by the Mahogany Ridge Express. It’s steep, it’s wooded, and on most days it’s surprisingly empty. Strong skiers should plan at least one full morning over there.
Steamboat’s mountain rental shops are listed on the resort’s rentals page, and booking ahead online saves time on arrival day. Families who want one call for lodging, lift tickets and gear can reach Steamboat Central Reservations at 877-783-2628.
Off the Mountain
When the legs give out, there’s plenty to do off the mountain.
Howelsen Hill sits right in town at 845 Howelsen Parkway. It’s the oldest ski area in continuous use in Colorado, operating since 1915, and it still trains Olympians on its ski jumps. It’s also a cheap, low-key place to tube or let kids practice without the crowds.
Time a February trip for Winter Carnival, scheduled for Feb. 2 through 7, 2027. It’s the oldest continuing winter carnival west of the Mississippi, run by the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Kids get pulled down Lincoln Avenue on skis behind horses, and the Saturday night show at Howelsen Hill lights up the jumps. A carnival button gets you into the events.
Hot Springs and Spas
Then there are the hot springs, which may be the best reason to bring a non-skier.
Strawberry Park Hot Springs is about 7 miles north of town at 44200 County Road 36, with natural stone pools set in the trees. It runs on timed reservations and takes cash only. From Nov. 1 to May 1, Routt County requires four-wheel drive with snow tires or chains on the road up, so most visitors book a shuttle. After dark the pools are adults only. Massages can be booked on site.
Old Town Hot Springs, at 136 Lincoln Ave., is the easy in-town soak. It’s a nonprofit run around pools fed by natural hot springs, with water slides for the kids and no drive required.
Spa time is easy to find without leaving the base. The Steamboat Grand has a full-service spa run by Rocky Mountain Day Spa, and residence guests at One Steamboat Place get The Spa at One Steamboat Place. Downtown, Old Town Hot Springs books massages too, so you can soak and get worked on in the same stop.
Shopping Lincoln Avenue
Save an afternoon for Lincoln Avenue. Locals will tell you it was built wide enough to drive cattle down to the old stockyards, and it still has that feel.
The anchor is F.M. Light & Sons at 830 Lincoln Ave. Frank Light and his sons opened it in 1905, and it’s still in the same building and still owned by the family, now in its fifth generation with Lindsey and Chris Dillenbeck. Many of the display cases came in by stagecoach. Driving in on U.S. 40, you’ll pass the store’s yellow hand-lettered road signs starting miles outside town. Texans tend to leave with boots or a hat, and the full-size horse out front, named Lightning, has been posing for photos since 1949.
Where to Eat
Café Diva at 1855 Ski Time Square Drive opened on Dec. 1, 1998, as a wine bar with four tables. Chef and partner Kate Rench, who trained at the French Culinary Institute and cooked at Jean-Georges in Manhattan, writes a new menu every season. Two dishes stay year-round. The Crab & Tomato Bisque is the starter regulars order without looking. The Venison Short Loin with Cabernet veal demi-glace and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes is the plate people book for. On the fall menu, the Duck Cannoli with five spice aioli and peanut and duck skin crunch was worth a look. The dining rooms seat from 5:30 to 9 p.m. nightly, and the restaurant reopens Nov. 18 after its seasonal break. Book well ahead in winter.
Three of downtown’s busiest spots belong to the same local group, Rex’s Family of Restaurants, and each does its own thing well.
Laundry Kitchen & Cocktails fills the old Soda Creek building at 127 11th St., which housed the Steamboat Laundry from 1910 to 1977. The kitchen smokes and cures much of what it serves, and the menu is built for sharing. Get the Pork Cheeks with Vietnamese barbecue, steamed buns and kimchi, and the Mac n’ Cheese with blue crab and green chiles. The Bison Tips with butternut purée and black garlic demi make a good main. Happy hour runs from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Salt & Lime at 628 Lincoln Ave. has the only rooftop deck on the main drag. Texans may raise an eyebrow at Mexican food in Colorado, but the Tacos de Birria are crisp and cheesy with a morita dipping broth, and the Lucky 8 Bison burrito uses local bison. The Bison Fundido is the table snack. Happy hour runs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
For breakfast, Creekside Café at 131 11th St. is known for its Eggs Benedict and Bloody Marys. It’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and runs on a waitlist only, so put your name in early on a powder day.
Après
T Bar sits at the base at 2045 Ski Time Square Drive, and you can ski right up to it. It calls itself a dive bar, the picnic tables fill fast on sunny afternoons, and the kitchen turns out better bar food than it needs to. Locals will point you to whatever’s on special.
Down on Yampa Street, Mountain Tap Brewery at 910 Yampa St. pours its own beer and bakes Neapolitan-style pizzas in a huge wood-fired oven. The fun part is outside. Each winter the brewery sets three refurbished gondola cabins on the patio, originally from the K1 lift at Killington in Vermont, each heated and fitted with its own Bluetooth speaker. A cabin seats up to six adults. Reservations open Nov. 17, and the brewery is closed Mondays.
Where to Stay
At the top end, One Steamboat Place sits slopeside at 2250 Après Ski Way. It’s a Timbers Resorts private residence club, and its residences are rented through several vacation rental companies. Guests get a ski valet steps from the lifts, a continental breakfast and après spread, a heated outdoor pool and hot tubs, and that day spa. The larger residences sleep a big family with room to spare.
In the middle, The Steamboat Grand at 2300 Mt. Werner Circle is a short walk from the gondola. It has a year-round outdoor pool and hot tubs, a spa, ski rentals and a free shuttle into downtown. Rooms run from standard hotel rooms to condos with kitchens, which helps a family stretch a budget.
On the budget end, The Nordic Lodge at 1036 Lincoln Ave. is a straightforward motel-style stay in the middle of downtown. You can walk to dinner and to Howelsen Hill, park free and soak in the hot tub after a ski day. The outdoor pool is open only in summer. Dogs are welcome.
For something different, Strawberry Park Hot Springs also rents rustic lodging on its property, which means your soak is a short walk instead of a winter drive.
Southwest’s first Love Field flight to Hayden this season is scheduled for Dec. 18.
