Steamboat is a large, family friendly ski resort that gets over 350 inches of light, dry snow. The resort coined the phrase Champagne Powder to describe the snow they get because it’s dry like champagne.
Offering nearly 3,000 skiable acres, Steamboat has terrain for everyone. And at 3 hours from Denver, Steamboat’s just far enough to keep the lift lines low.
Terrain
You’ll find easy learning trails, fast groomers, rollers, moguls, steeps, chutes, cliffs, glades, and terrain parks. The only feature you won’t see at Steamboat is big open bowl skiing. With a summit elevation of 10,568 ft, Steamboat never reaches above the treeline. This generally means more hospitable temperatures than at higher altitude resorts.
Beginners will find a learning area near the base and plenty of greens from mid mountain down.
Intermediates will have a blast on the whole mountain. From the top of all the chairlifts, you’ll always be able to find an intermediate (blue) trail back down. Steamboat grooms a lot of beginner/intermediate terrain every morning, smoothing out the bumps and providing fresh corduroy.
Experts will find most of the advanced terrain above mid-mountain. From the top of either Sunshine or Storm Peak you can head down the backside of the mountain to Morningside. Take this lift to access Steamboat’s legendary chutes, or hike 5 minutes further to the top of Mount Werner.
The tree skiing is notorious at Steamboat. Almost all of the trees between the trails are open to skiing, and usually hold powder stashes for days. The mountain is a stunning blend of evergreens and aspen. The premiere skiing is Shadows and Closets. Often overlooked are trees off Sunshine Peak between High Noon and Three O’Clock.
There are three terrain parks, varying in size. Maverick’s is the largest and features a Superpipe. There is a beginner park near the Gondola.
Village
Steamboat has both a mountain village and historic downtown. At the base of the mountain is Ski Time Square. This is the heart of Steamboat’s mountain village with lots of nice places to shop, eat and stay. Slopeside Grill and a few other restaurants host live music most afternoons.
Downtown Steamboat is located five minutes from the mountain. The main street is wide and lined with nice restaurants, bars, shops, spas and lodging. There is a hot springs pool right downtown, the Old Town Hot Springs and a ski area, Howelsen Hill. For a more primitive after ski soak, visit Strawberry Park Hot Springs, fifteen minutes from town.
Details
Address: 2305 Mt. Werner Circle, Steamboat Springs
Phone: 800-379-7425
Season: mid November-mid April
Lift Hours: 8:30am-4pm
Mountain Stats:
- Elevation: 6,900 ft (2103 m) – 10,568 ft (3224 m)
- Vertical – 3,668 ft (1118 m)
- Ski Area: 2,965 acres (1200 hectares)
- Average Snowfall: 349″ (886 cm)
Trails: 165;
- 14% Beginner
- 42% Intermediate
- 44% Advanced
- Longest Run – 3 miles (4.8 km) – Why Not
Trail Maps: (jpg)
Website: steamboat.com
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Thanksgiving Day Skiing in Sunny Steamboat
November 24, 2011 – Steamboat Ski Resort opened for the season yesterday! Today they had 4 lifts accessing 32 trails. There was enough terrain open, spread over enough of the mountain, that it felt like a lot more.
No matter what time of year, it’s always pleasure to get out and carve a few turns. Even if it’s only few open trails. Generally, Steamboat Ski Resort opens around the third weekend in November, in time of the Thanksgiving holiday. You can usually access at least to the top of the Christy Lift, and if the snow gods have been kind, you’ll reach the top of the Gondola or even Mount Werner.
Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving ski day in the Yampa Valley:
A Few Days Snowboarding in Steamboat
February 7, 2012 – Steamboat Ski Resort is always a good time. There wasn’t any fresh snow but there were blue skies, groomed runs and not a single lift line.
Pony Express was the only lift not operating, but it opened for the season right after we left town. Two other winter activities in Steamboat include snow tubing and dog sledding.
Easter Weekend Skiing at Steamboat
April 8, 2012 – Warm spring skiing and a free Keller William concert made for another great weekend in Steamboat Springs. Despite not being able to ski the lower mountain, conditions were still alright with plenty of long runs open on Storm Peak. Slushies for everyone!
December Skiing in Steamboat Springs
December 14, 2012 – Early season riding at Steamboat Springs was excellent as usual. Enough of the mountains and lifts were running, that it was great skiing.
I took advantage of Steamboat’s Boat Launch Pass, which was 3 days for $99, to be used by Dec. 14th. Anytime Steamboat offers discounted lift tickets, it’s a good thing. They rarely lower their prices.
Day One: Sunshine and Four Points Lift open.
Day Two: Another sunny day.
Day Three: A big storm rolled into town today and produced many feet of snow.
Weekend Freshies at Steamboat!
February 10, 2013 – Steamboat is known for it’s deep powder stashes and expansive tree skiing. This weekend Steamboat got around 15 inches, adding to an already deep base thanks to the previous weekend. It was fun skiing and snowboarding all around, with nothing but smiles.
This video is only from a few runs in late afternoon. There’s not much going on, but the views are OK. Anders Osborne is playing at the beginning.
