Our 2nd annual ski trip destination was Steamboat Springs, CO and it did not disappoint! From the amount of snow, to the yummy food, to the great skiing conditions - it was one for the books.
Where to stay
Unless you're down to spend extra money for a ski-in ski-out hotel right on the mountain, I highly suggest going the AirBnB route. We had a cozy 3 bedroom condo pretty close to the mountain with a great view. The bus route also picked us up right outside the condo, so it was very easy to get around.
Where to eat
Salt + Lime - It is hard to find decent Mexican food outside of Texas, but this place did not disappoint. Highly recommend the Caliente drink, queso to start and trying 3 different tacos - I got the Al Pastor, Camerones, and the Carne Asada.
Besame - Tapas style dining at its finest. Everything we ordered was a 10/10 - especially the grilled octopus, chicken tinga flautas, and the banana bread pudding!
Winona's - Our friend recommended this place to us, so we stopped in to this breakfast & lunch place for a quick lunch after working up an appetite shopping around town. Honestly, such a good recommendation!
T Bar - Great spot for lunch on the mountain or Apres Ski drinks. It does get super busy around lunch time, so be prepared to wait in line for drinks and a bit longer for food.
Brick - A good wood fire pizza place! We just got it to go in the assumption they would be very busy for dinner. Be aware - they automatically put a 20% tip on all to go orders.
Things to do
Ski and snowboard - I loved skiing on this mountain. For the amount of snow they got, it was surprisingly not crowded. If you don't have a season pass, lift tickets will run you a hefty $225+ plus rentals, which we typically get from Christy Sports.
Check out the Hot Springs - We originally had afternoon reservations for Strawberry Park Hot Springs on our last day, but we decided to check out Old Town Hot Springs in town since we knew the drive home was going to be long with traffic. Strawberry Park would have been a better experience than Old Town, but we truly just wanted to go and say we did it.
Note: Strawberry Park requires reservations in advance, which opens about a month before booking, and they only take cash to pay for entrance. Strawberry Park costs $20 per person for a 2 hour window and Old Town is $29 for the whole day and reservations are not required.
Walk around town - Unlike Breckenridge, you have to take a bus from the mountain to downtown, but it is only 2 miles away. There are a lot of cute stores right on the main street!
Go snowshoeing - There are lots of trails around Steamboat, but due to the amount of snow they got, there were many that were not groomed. We ended up going to Fish Creek Falls and spent almost an hour hiking around.
Things to know before you go
The buses are free for riders and pretty easy to navigate! Google and Apple maps both have features to track buses and figure out which lines you need to take.
If you're driving in from Denver, give yourself extra time since you never know how the Pass will be in the winter time.
Drink lots of water - the elevation will get to you!
If you are renting a car in the winter, make sure it has good snow tires!
