Steamboat Springs Attractions

The parking area for the trailhead to Fish Creek Falls is just three miles from town, so it's a popular attraction, especially for families, since it's a short, quarter-mile hike on a wide path to view the 238-foot falls. Older kids might enjoy hiking up past the falls about another two miles to the Upper Fish Creek Falls -- it is steep, so prepare them for a climb. Contact the local Forest Service office (phone number above) for a trail map.

In the winter, this city-owned recreation site is Colorado's longest continually operated ski area, albeit a small (cheap!) one with just 15 trails. In the late afternoon, the tubing hill opens with a magic carpet ride that whisks you and your tube to the top; the trails are open several evenings a week until 8 p.m. for night skiing. In the summer, take the chairlift to the top of the hill, and ride the Howler Alpine Slide down a twisting 2,400-foot track. The mountain is also filled with hiking trails that are well-used in the summer months.

The outdoor swimming and soaking pools at Old Town Hot Springs have soothed sore muscles and provided entertainment for locals and visitors for more than 100 years. Today, guests splash and soak in hot mineral pools, twist and turn down two 230-foot watersides and exercise in the eight lap lanes. The waterslides are open seasonally in winter and summer; the toddler pool is open only in the summertime. Water temperatures range from 80 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit.

This multi-season outfitter offers snowmobile tours and dinner sleigh rides in the winter. The ranch also has its own tubing hill with a tow-lift system (no schlepping your innertube to the top of Yee-Haw Hill). Summer brings half-day horseback rides that involve actually driving cattle on the ranch (ages 10 and older) or a two-hour ride that's ideal for photographers and younger kids (ages 6 and older). Evening horseback rides or wagon rides to Double Dollar Lodge are available, too.

More than $30 million has been poured into this world-class ski resort since 2006, and the improvements aren't over yet. While visitors can expect to see some construction in the base area through 2012, one large project near the gondola is complete -- One Steamboat Place has all new retail space, restaurants and resort services, such as a convenient Ski & Snowboard School ticket office. Also new is the expanded Kids' Vacation Center, with a Western-themed play area and age-appropriate rooms for care of children, ages 6 months to 6 years. This slopeside center is also where children meet for ski and boarding lessons; kids as young as 30 months (and potty trained) can strap on skis for an hour-long introduction to the sport. Preschoolers through teenagers can choose from half-, full- and multi-day learning programs for all ability levels -- including race camps and terrain-park training. Brand-new skiers and boarders start on one of Steamboat's five kids-only lifts and two special beginner teaching areas with dedicated Magic Carpet lifts. (Of course, lessons and rentals are offered for grown-ups, too!) Kids can get excited about their Steamboat ski vacation by visiting the Steamboat Snow Monsters Web site.

The mountain is open in the summer months, as well, with gondola rides to the top of 9,000-foot Thunderhead Peak and access to a myriad of hiking and mountain-biking trails. Coca-Cola Adventure Zone, next to the gondola at the base, features a climbing wall, bungee trampoline, mechanical bull, ropes course and other activities for hours of family fun.

These hot springs are definitely more off the beaten path than Old Town Hot Springs in the middle of town. In the winter, you'll need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach the Strawberry Park Hot Springs, located at the end of a steep and winding dirt road. (Shuttle services can take you there if you don't have a proper car.) Facilities -- restroom, changing room and picnic areas -- are rustic, but the natural hot-springs experience is one you'll remember from your Colorado vacation, for sure. Note that guests under age 18 are not allowed after dark; clothing is optional after the sun goes down!