steamboat
What can I say, the large mountain to explore, the natural hot springs to soak in with a view, the night skiing, the friendly people in town, the scenic drive from NOCO with no other cars on the road, I love Steamboat! Steamboat also has the run that I chose for my “Mountain Name” - Tornado. I’m from “Tornado Alley,” and like a tornado, my life can be a little hectic at times- a whirlwind if you will, I’m fascinating, and amazing to look at from a distance, but if you get in my way I’m gonna f*ck you up!
P.S. If you’re skiing/riding, they usually have a corner off sectioned for professional family portraits at Thunderhead Lodge (top of the gondola ride), and if you’re lucky you may catch them doing action shots on one of the trails!
Apres Ski
Strawberry Park Hot Springs are about 15 mins from downtown steamboat and they are a must! Not only does soaking in the natural hot water soothe your soar muscles from skiing/riding, but the scenery is beautiful! If you don’t intend to ride til the lifts stop, 4pm I think is the best time to go as you can see the sunset. FYI, after dark children under 18 are not allowed as it becomes clothing optional. Also major note- you need a reservation (<-click)!!!! If all the time slots you want to go are booked, you can book your ticket through the hot springs shuttles. They include a ride up there as well as pool entrance. The shuttle may also be a better route if you don’t have AWD/4WD/chains or don’t want to drive up that icy winding road to get to the springs.
As far as food goes, everything was pretty good. Salt and Lime had good tacos that are half off for happy hour. They also sell margaritas by the pitcher. Backdoor is a pretty good burger place with a chill hipster vibe. O’neils is a poppin’ Irish bar if that’s more your scene, and the food is more complex than your typical bar menu. If you’re feeling fancy you can try Harwigs, HOWEVER, I did not think they were that great, mediocre at best. The Tartare I had at Element47 in Aspen blew this out of the water, the escargot I had in Nice France was a million times better, the only good thing here was the lamb sliders. I could list more places, but no matter where you go whether its the little strip mall area downtown or the slopeside restaurants, everything will be decently good. Also Gnarly Charly’s Pizza in the ski village is so good! So grab a slice if you get hungry carving the slopes. One weird thing though was over New Year’s weekend, the entire mountain was out of hot chocolate bc of “supply chain issues.” Oh well, that just meant hot toddies instead if I wanted to keep warm while maintaining my buzz.
