[Travel Advice] Steamboat Springs with Family

Great long weekend at Steamboat Springs

Random Observation/Comment #892: I could see myself retiring here. I do tend to say this a lot about places.

//A photogenic couple while I was just tubing down the Yampa River

Things Steamboat Springs Does Well

• Relaxation. What’s the rush? Take your time. Lazing by the pool and hot tub is a fine afternoon activity.

• Pretty little downtown. There’s no shortage of really cute shops that sell funny signs and shirts.

• Free shuttlebus. Even if it takes a bit longer, this is a really fun way to travel.

• Outdoor activities. There’s rentals for bikes, tubes, kayaks, and everything you could want. Copious amount of active participation. I really want to try the hot air balloon next time.

• Decent restaurants. There are some tourist traps, but if you follow the reviews you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

• Family friendly. I feel like this is a great vacation space to just unwind.

Things to be Aware of

• Steamboat Springs is about 3.5-4 hour drive from Denver. Take the i70 to Silverthorne and up via us9 and then us40. Beautiful drive. It’s a crapshoot single lane if you get stuck behind a slow car.

  • Frisco for Outer Range Brewing (ORB) fried chicken and beer is a great stop half way

• Most mountain places don't have air conditioning, so if you're booking make sure to filter in Airbnb by AC

• Make sure the Airbnb also has a washer/dryer because you’ll probably be reusing your swimsuit every day.

• Strawberry Hot springs only takes cash ($20 per person) and it's probably a good idea to take a shuttle in the winter. It's a standard switchback up the mountain. Leave your food in the car.

  • Towels are not provided. Definitely need sandals.

Itinerary

Friday

Lunch stop at Outer Range Brewing Company - Try the pork fried rice at Bird Craft

Slow drive towards Steamboat on US40. This is a really pretty drive with mostly one lane, so hopefully you’re not behind a truck pulling a trailer.

Stayed in an Airbnb in Steamboat Springs near the base of the mountain with AC and a beautiful living room.

Blue Sage Pizza - Drove over to get some a few pies for a get together. I liked the hand rolled crust, but I think it’d been nice to get a more crispy bottom.

Walk around at night - Since we showed up at night, I didn’t get a chance to wander around. To be honest, we were looking for a club, but not with that much determination. It was just nice to be outside.

Saturday

Breakfast at Wild Plum - Little did I know that Wild Plum is going to be my morning breakfast every day. There was this brochure at the Airbnb check-in counter that had coupons which gave a buy one get one free for the breakfast burrito. I wish I knew this earlier. The Acai bowl is also excellent.

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Strawberry Park Natural Hot Springs - Make a free pool reservation ahead of time on their website. If it’s winter, I’d consider getting a shuttle, but during the summer a regular AWD is fine. Just some regular switchbacks up the mountain and some narrow unpaved roads. Remember to bring sandals and towels. Remember to bring $20 cash per person as there’s no ATM there. No food allowed. If you arrive at night, note that clothing is optional.

Lunch at Wild Plum - Like I said, this place is great and conveniently across the street. I had another burrito.

Pools and hot tubs - Most of the lodges have pools and hot tubs. This was a nice way to spend an early afternoon with some beers. I love listening to the aspen trees. It’s like the ocean wave sounds of the mountains.

Head downtown - There are free shuttle buses that come pretty frequently. I just used Google Maps to find the pink shuttle path to get the schedules and location for stops.

F M Lights & Sons - So many fun knickknacks and cowboy boots. There were all these hand-painted signs on US40, so I was brainwashed into going here.

Wandering Downtown - There aren’t any particular shops to point out, but we somehow bought a bunch of random things we didn’t need.

Mythology by the base of the mountain - It was mostly for whisky, but the sign also said soup dumplings, so that was a guaranteed win. The mountainside is really pretty seeing people mountain bike ride down.

Sunday

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Disc golf morning at Silver Spur DGC - As a new-ish disc golfer (coming up on my 1 year!), I’ll bring my discs to random places with the hopes of sneaking out. Left at 6AM and really enjoyed this spot in the backyard of “Steamboat II”. There was an unsettling sound of 8AM gunshots, but other than that it was a pretty 18.

Tubing as a family renting from Tube Shack Blue Sky West - $25/person with single and double tubes. We were able to wear our Crocs in sports mode, but any regular sandal needed an additional $5 water shoe rental. It was about 1.5 hours floating down the river. Kiddo needs to be at least 8 years old.

Lunch at the Commons Food Hall and Bar - There was a sandwich place inside that was really delicious.

Exploring downtown - We can probably walk downtown for a few more hours.

Off the Beaten Path book store and coffee shop - What a fun book store with coffee that can be spiked with alcohol.

Bud Werner Memorial Library and Playground - Gorgeous multi-story library with a peaceful mood. I did wind up taking a mini nap while Evie found out there was a keyboard and mouse Minecraft on the computer. I secretly loved watching her get used to using a keyboard and mouse since she’s in the iPad generation.

Date night to Café Diva - I would seek this place out. I really enjoyed the wine pairings and Vinessa said the Creme Brulé was the best she had in her memory. The market catch halibut was delicious. Our move was to order a bunch of starters and split the entree.

Monday

Fish Creek Falls hike - This place gets pretty crowded in the morning, but we were able to get a spot around 10:15AM. There’s an upper and lower parking lot. Short 0.3 miles on a paved path to the waterfall. An additional 5 mile walk up the mountain if you’d like to go further.

Slow drive back out - This is just a pretty drive going the other way too.

Lunch in Frisco at Bread + Salt - Frisco is just a pretty place to wander. If we had more time we’d also just drive around Lake Dillon to Breckenridge Distillery. We were all a bit tired, so we headed home.

Definitely coming back. I think the botanic gardens and art galleries would have been great additions. I didn’t know tubing could be so much fun.

~See Lemons Love Steamboat Springs

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