Summer & Fall

Farmer Market (Yampa & 7th Street)

From June to September each Saturday 9:00 - 2:00, local vendors set up a charming market. Fresh produce, bakery items, smoked salmon, coffee, BBQ, and many many area artisan products offer their goods for sale. A musician usually plays and it makes for a perfect day. Everyone takes their dog and it is one of our favorite events. We ride our bikes, but you can take the bus or drive. The best place to park might be the rodeo arena parking just across the river on 5th or along Lincoln or Oak Street. We love to buy a smoked salmon, fresh vegetables and a desert for that evening meal. The salmon is not cheap, but with cheese, wine and crackers, you won’t need to go out to eat or cook.

Yampa Valley Botanic Garden (1000 Pamela Lane)

This is one of the nicest little botanic gardens you will see and it is free. Go towards town and turn left on Trafalgar.
http://www.yampariverbotanicpark.org/index.php

Sunset Happy Hour

On Sunday and Thursday, the mountain has a sunset happy hour. Ride the gondola up to the Thunderhead Lodge and enjoy drinks, food and music and dancing before and after the watching the sunset over the rocky mountains.
http://www.steamboat.com/things-to-do/sunset-happy-hour-schedule.aspx

Art Walk (Lincoln Ave)

The first Friday each month (5:00-8:00 pm) you can enjoy the many Steamboat art galleries. Some offer wine and cheese while you talk to the artists. Check the paper or Chamber of Commerce website for the schedule and participating galleries throughout downtown.

Cycling

Steamboat has a wide variety of cycling opportunities. We cruise from our house to the 7 mile Core Trail path along the Yampa River and all around town and the base of the mountain. For more serious cyclists, there are professional cycling events that stop in Steamboat. Mountain bike options are endless with many trails very close to town and the mountain has trails from Thunderhead down to the base. There are many places to rent, but for town cruisers, we suggest the Ski Haus.
http://routtcountyriders.org

Tubing

Up and down Yampa St, you will find places for tubing rentals. The water is cool and it is a popular activity. Depending on the water flow it can be exciting and not just a lazy float

Swimming and Hot Springs (public recreation facility)

The Old Town Hot Springs is at the corner of 3rd and Lincoln and offers a full spectrum of recreation center activities. There is an olympic size pool as well as a relaxing hot spring. It is also offers many day camp opportunities for kids and and a full exercise facility for adults. This is also a full recreation center.

http://www.oldtownhotsprings.org

Strawberry Park Hot Springs

In Spring, Summer and Fall you can drive to the most incredible natural hot springs. This is worth the drive. Multiple pools with various temperatures all in a natural setting. You can see the water bubbling from the mountain and running down into these pools. You can also schedule a message. Bring your suite, sandals and a towel, but no food. They say after dark it becomes clothing optional, but I haven’t tried that.

http://strawberryhotsprings.com

Fishing

Fly fishing is available up and down the Yampa and Elk rivers. Near town it is catch and release only. There are three prime fly fishing outfitters in town. I recommend you buy your license at Walmart and go to the local fly fishing stores for everything else.

At any of these you can buy or rent gear, get directions, advise, lessons or hire a guide who will have multiple rods for you and provide the gear. We use Steamboat Flyfisher which is owned and operated by Nordic Olympic medalist Johnny Spillane.

Hiking

This is what we love. This a list of the hikes we have taken, but there are many more.
http://www.colorado-hiking-vacations.com/steamboat-springs-hiking.html

  • Saddle Mountain View - Just 6 miles from the Clark Store. Just 3 miles round trip. A gentle climb to 9000 feet through a beautiful Aspen forest. In 2021, there were numerous fallen trees across the trail requiring over and under maneuvers. Plan on eating at the Clark Store after your hike. This was a peaceful 2 hours with the great views. We want to go back in the fall.

  • Fishhook Lake - To get to the trailhead requires a slow, bumpy drive even with a 4x4. The hike is short and easy, but getter there is difficult. The hike takes you to a small lake that some say is good for fishing. We didn’t have any luck the day we went.

  • Devil’s Causeway - This hike is challenging and steep, but a buck list hike.

  • Fish Creek Falls (Lower) - This short hike is very gentle and only takes 30 minutes, but it a must see for the waterfall. Wheelchair access.

  • Uranium Mine Trail - This three-mile hike is easy and can be found between the two parking lots at Fish Creek. It is less traveled than the false hike and leads to an old abandoned Uranium mine. Along the way, you will see a great view of the falls and the ski area.

  • Fish Creek Falls (Upper) - This is where things get challenging, but the views are incredible. This long hike leads to yet another waterfall, but honestly the lower waterfall is more impressive.

  • Spring Creek - This is an easy and popular hike. The trail crosses the creek about 15 times and each bridge is a little different.

  • Mad Creek - This easy trail leads to an old cabin that has been restored.

  • Thunderhead - This is a pretty tough hike right up the face of the ski area. It is only 3.75 miles, but the climb is over 2000 feet. Incredible views. Hike up and they let you ride the Gondola down for free…you will deserve it.

  • Emerald Mountain Park - This is actually a city park and includes lots of hiking and bike trails. Hike to the summit where you’ll find an old sandstone quarry and a beautiful view of the Mount Werner.

  • Rabbit Ears - This iconic hike takes you to the summit where you can stand on the continental divide and touch the volcanic columns that create the ears.

  • Long Lake - If you continue past Upper Fish Creek you will eventually get to Long Lake. We cheated and drove to the Zirkel Wilderness area, then hiked to Long Lake and tried some fishing.

  • To the Base - This is not really a hike, but rather a short walk (less than a mile) from our home to the base area. From the lower parking lot, just walk one block down Walton Creek. On the right, you will see a paved path that winds through a number townhome complexes and empties on to lower Apres Ski Way and then the Steamboat Resort base area It is a quick walk and is about as quick as driving.

Kayaking

Our son took lessons at Mountain Sports and loved it some much he went back for a second day. 10 years later he took his new bride and they both loved it.

http://www.mountainsportskayak.com

Rodeo

Being from Fort Worth, Texas and having watched many rodeos, we were reluctant to attend for years, but finally attended July 4th, 2015. We were pleasantly surprised and can’t wait to bring our grandchildren. It was actually a great and enjoyable family event with a relaxed local atmosphere. There were three events where young children are invited into the arena to participate. I was impressed with the amateur PeeWee Barrel Racing event. On July 4th we had a perfect seat for the firework display at Howelsen Hill, just next door.
http://steamboatprorodeo.com