Mountain Review: Steamboat, Colorado 

Steamboat is an incredible resort. I feel it is better than many other resorts ranked higher.

I just visited Steamboat for the first time in January, and I gotta say, the review nails exactly what the deal is here. However, I absolutely loved it, and would definitely go back long before several others ranked higher. Not that my reasoning is quantifiable, but the vibe of the whole place is just so much better than the fancy ski towns. The town is amazing and way more affordable than the other big destinations, and the snow is like nothing I've seen before. It's so light and so dry, they are really not overselling it with their "champagne powder" slogan. And the tree skiing really is unparalleled. I agree with why the ranking was what it was, but if there was a category for "that extra something that makes a place special" it would be in the top 3 lol. Full disclosure, I got 3 good surprise powder days on my trip, but honestly the town itself is a huge selling point as a destination vs the upscale and bougie towns in the rest of Colorado

I’m an Utah local. But when visiting Colorado this is where I’m going. It’s the best mountain for green and blue skiing. You need an IKON pass because tickets are so expensive but unless you’re after the extreme skiing this it. Skiing/boarding, town, trees, facilities are great.

The resort has some blemishes but the tree riding/skiing and town more than make up for it. It’s THAT good. I thought I would walk away unimpressed by spending 5 days there but it became my favorite resort. They also got tubing, night skiing and free skiing on sundays at howellsen hill.

The boat is a lot better than a lot of what you ranked higher. I ski winterpark a lot and I’d say the boat is a lot better. One of my favorites. The snow is not overrated, the trees are endless, and it’s run very professionally.

Most conifer (evergreen) trees on Colorado slopes seem to be spruce, not pine ;) I agree with this review. Steamboat kinda feels like an East Coast skiing set up with West Coast snow and elevation. It's really only worthwhile if you love tree skiing and nothing else.

I skied Steamboat mainly back in the 2000s during off peak times and loved it. One year, on my first day there I was able to ski 54,000 vertical feet. It was a matter of knowing when certain lifts would be busy and using the singles lines. My six day total, including one deep powder day, was around 280,000 vertical feet. The nice thing about the resort being fairly remote is it didn't get ultra busy on a powder day. Unfortunately, age has slowed me down and the prices have driven me away from skiing.

Very informative review! Heading to Steamboat in a couple of weeks so I appreciate you guys giving me a good sense of what to expect. Keep up the good work!

My first day at Steamboat in April of 2023. Me and my son skied about 35% of the terrain that day and stayed on the trails as the snow was crusty and melty as typical spring conditions. The views are amazing, I loved this experience and now I want to move there!

This review isn’t wrong but ranking it 13th seems off. I was there early January and had no trouble getting around the mountain. It’s true that getting to and lapping East Face and Christmas Tree bowl isn’t easy, but it’s not like it’s terrible to ski the other areas to get back to them. I’m not a big bowl skier and love glades so maybe that’s why Steamboat remains one of my favorite mountains. I think I’d rank the aesthetic higher too. I think it’s beautiful from the top looking out over the valley but it gets extra points for looking like a ski mountain rather than a real estate opportunity.

Just found your channel and really loving it! Perfect timing on this video for me as I'm trying to decide between Copper and Steamboat and was wondering how far along Steamboats lift upgrades are. Since I'm taking my son who just became an intermediate skier, I really appreciate your comment on the occasional lack of grooming. Looks like a hold off on Steamboat and head to Copper this year!

You nailed it again!! Your reviews are freaking accurate!! We’ve stayed ski in/ski out, fancy Airbnb and motels that are on the bus stops…it was best using bus that gets you dropped off and it’s free. You walk less to gondola than close by paid parking.

Excellent and realistic review

Really loved the video!! Hoping to get some video reviews of the Canadian rocky resorts soon 🇨🇦

I gotta say you're very good at this. Concise, honest and as objective as possible. Some of the resorts that are ranked on your site have no corresponding video. Is there videos coming down the line or you didn't film on those trips?

This is where I learned to ski with my dad. Spent 5 days there and had such a blast with the tree runs. So many good memories

I skied Steamboat over Christmas/New Years 2022-23 … they had nearly 100 more inches than almost all other Colorado mountains. During light snow years Steamboat is still good.

I agree with this assessment. I just visited Steamboat for the first time this year and was disappointed in the “back bowl” and morning-side lift. It was a joke! Other than that I enjoyed the long groomed and off-piste tree runs. Suffice to say I would never pay $275 to ski a day here. Ikon brought me here. The village, town, amenities and apres-ski are very nice.

Very accurate review.

This channel rocks

Your reviews are excellent and much appreciated! Keep up the good work. 👍🏼 Of course, it’s important to review the major resorts, but now that you’ve done most of them, reviews of some of the smaller places (Wolf Creek, Ski Cooper, Sunlight, for example in Colorado), and Canadian areas, would be sweet for those of us hoping to avoid the $275 lift tickets.

These reviews are excellent, but missed a few things. The resilience score of 8 was too high. Not only is Steamboat low elevation, but very few runs face North, so it gets beat up by the sun very quickly, even in months like January and February. When it snows, it can’t be beat, especially when it comes to trees, but if it’s not snowing, it’s resilience is less than any other major Colorado resort I can think of. There’s more challenging terrain that the review let on. There’s quite a lot of challenging terrain, with steep trees. The busses in town run every ten minutes, not twenty, if you consider you don’t care which line you’re on (which you don’t) but just want something that gets you to the resort (or back downtown). The high day ticket price is actually good, because it keeps the number of skiers down. The reviewer was really out of line here. Because it’s further away from Denver, it gets far less Denver traffic, in conjunction with the high ticket prices, which means less skiers on the mountain, a very good thing. Also the review understated the snow it gets. It’s not just equal to, but better snow, in terms of both quality and quantity, than the I70 resorts, but it’s worse than these when not snowing. A big thumbs up if you have the Ikon pass, and you know it’s snowing there. Otherwise there are better choices. The light is flat when it’s cloudy. To sum up: It’s less resilient than stated, very dependent upon snow, has better terrain than stated (when it has snowed-it really can’t be beat, unless you specifically want bowls or cliffs/chutes), has wonderful bus service if you’re in town, and the light can be flat.

Honest and well said. Steamboat has its ups and 🛸 downs and it's a great place to love ❤😊 2003- 2015 9:15

Yeah, this review is spot on. I live in Denver and spent 2 days skiing in Steamboat earlier this season. Fun stay and cool town, but I don’t have a desire to go back. It’s a good mountain for intermediates but gets boring after a few days. Also, there are a ton of cat tracks that annoyingly cut up the runs.

Just went there for 4 days early/mid Jan. Overall, I liked the mountain and the town. Has a great overall vibe. Couple points, in no random order - On mountain food, like most places not cheap but WAY above average. Not crowded, and we skied 3 days out of 4 as legit POW days. It was Monday-Thursday but still, anymore if it's a pow day, it's crowded at most mountains. Snow quality - excellent. Tree skiing, excellent with great variety all over the mountain. Some very nice long runs if you know how to pick your way through the trail system (and in between it). Backside to me was a waste of time. Pretty, a couple nice turns then that was it. We spent a lot of time in the Pony Express lift area and the last day we skied with a LOT of fresh light snow the skiing was amazing lap after lap. Also a lot of laps on BarUE lift which is a slow two seater but a) never a line and b) the terrain is excellent with a nice long mid-mountain "lap". Great tree skiing all around this lift. Compared to my favorites in Utah (Alta/Snowbird) it's not the same kind of mountain and terrain not nearly as challenging but overall, a great place with some of the most and best tree skiing I've seen as an overall % of the mountain. Service on mountain was I would say above average as well. Great staff everywhere we went.

Steamboat is such a good resort and has the longest and fastest gondola in North America

i just went, i prefer mammoth as a snowboarder. steamboat is a little too tamed for me, excellent for intermediate skiers. definitely noticed the lack of grooming since it snowed the day before, do not bomb unless you are advanced. & the tree runs were truly magnificent

found a peak rankings sticker in the sunpies (super divey bar) bathroom this weekend and got stoked

I love Steamboat. Especially Morningside. Keep dissing it. It'll moderate the crowds😎

steamboat should be above winterpark by far place is awesome

Just did 4 days there. 21 lifts over 200 trails on the ikon was fantastic. Direct flight on jet blue from Boston. Snowmobiling with bison nearby also. I've done 5 other mts in Colorado this was top notch. 300" ytd endless powder off Trail,great grooming and black steeps on lower mt. Glades and moguls were plentiful and doable. New lift is being built to expert terrain

Love these videos. Hope you get a chance to head to Canada this winter or next. My wife and I are taking our 4 and 6 year old daughters for their first ski holiday overseas in the next few days. We live in Queensland in Australia. Going to Big White. I would love to head back to Colorado or Utah like we used to before we had kids, but with how bad the Aussie Dollar is versus the USD at the moment, it’s wayyyyy too expensive at the moment especially with the lift prices as they are now. Maybe Vail or Snowbird next winter if I can tie in a tax deductible work meeting🤞😂

Steamboat generally gets more snow with better quality than most other Colorado resorts, especially those in Summit County.

I went at Christmas for the first time and loved it. Definitely agree about the lack of expert terrain but their growth plan will address that issue and while lapping that terrain is currently an annoying process, I think you definitely need some barrier to entry for extreme terrain. I have skied Keystone a lot and think Steamboat is a considerably better mountain, but thats just me. Prices are ridiculous for day passes but its worth it on the Ikon

It’s time to update this review for 2023-24 due to the new Wild Blue gondola which has completely solved the crowd flow issue. And the addition of the new Magnolia high speed quad which added new terrain including 2 of the longest black runs in Colorado. And being a real western ranch town, it’s My favorite ski town in the USA.

Brought a 3 day lift pass for $200 4 years ago. Was lucky to go before it got mainstream, it’s sad when good resorts go mainstream and price people out. I’ll probably never go back

Forgot to mention chutes 1-3 when regarding your expert terrain. To sum up what was missed, those trails maintain a fair pitch for the whole slope although each chute isnt very lengthy. Chute 1 this year has maintained a consistent cover while 2-3 can be a little rocky.

Do you guys plan on reviewing any European resorts? Would love to get an insight into the deferences between the two regions. Keep up the great vids!

Big fan of the reviews you guys do. Do you plan on doing a review of Keystone?

Steamboat is unlimited with the full Ikon pass. Only way to go, I think even locals would do well to go with the Ikon rather than the season pass (if that even exists). Don't forget the downtown area, Howelsin Hill ski area downtown. It is FREE on Sundays.

Thank you for listening to me😃

My first ever trip out west was to Steamboat - January, 1977, and it boasted the most snow in all of the Rockies that year - 22 inches! My first trip and it was a drought year, but I had a blast anyway. Went w/a college group out of NJ, and the whole trip minus spending money was $325.00. Yup, airfare, lodging, transport from Denver and back, and lifts. How these places justify current lift prices is beyond me other than it's probably due to f'king lawyers! Stayed at some condos at the base and on the last day of skiing, taking the catwalk back to the condos, I skied over a rock and ripped the base away from the edge. Peeled it back just like opening a can of sardines. Well, thankfully I was working in a shop at that time and used the pro program to get a new set of boards. Great memories of that trip, and made up for the lack of snow in other ways and the next year, '78, Sun Valley had more snow than I'd ever seen before so I got a taste of what western skiing was all about. Loved both Steamboat and Sun Valley.

I'm surprised you don't mention Steamboat's sidecountry, where one can find miles of fresh turns all season long

Vertical drop of 3,668 feet. More than Vail, Keystone, Winter Park, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Crested Butte, Beaver Creek. Yet you say it doesn't have a "Big Mountain Feel". Current second in Colorado in terms of skiable acreage (Fifth at the time of this video) yet you said that they don't offer the "size" of the best Colorado Mountains. Just a couple of statements you were really out there on.

Thanks for the video. I've been a few times and its always busy. I would only go on a mon-wed in the future. Can't imaging holiday weekends, max price lift tickets, expensive hotel, long lift lines, hard to get into restaurants. I wonder if the expensive lift tickets is to discourage people from coming for overcrowding reasons. I hate to say it but IKON and EPIC passes are too affordable (not cheap but...) for most people and add to the overcrowding. Most people never ski the majority of the terrain out there so If you're a beginner-intermediate skier I'd do research on some smaller less popular hills and you can still get a great experience at a fraction of the price.

I’d put steamboat in top 7 in Colorado but great review!

can you do bogus basin ski resort in idaho next please

Ive never been to steamboat!

went to steamboat during “texas week” (aka when they have a country music festival) on a 18 inch powder day and it was magical. i think a lot of people either didn’t go or went elsewhere because of the festival. enjoyed endless powder all day due to the fact the majority of the people the were not advanced enough to make it into the threes. although the base was filled with texans. LOL 😂

I am just wondering how many people are actually paying full price for lift tickets? I only ski my home mountain and Ikon resorts. The prices for lift tickets for a single day are insane. I do feel bad for those that only want to ski a few days a year or don’t have the money for season passes. Ticket prices have gone right off the rails. Maybe that’s why backcountry skiing has gotten so popular. I am an east coast skier who loves the trees but loves the steeps even more so this is good for a couple of days then it’s time to move on to the steeps. That is what I love about the Ikon pass.

This score REALLY makes me want to see a video re-reviewing Loveland. I know it deserves higher resiliency, crowd flow, and navigation scores (you can get to ANY lift from the top of any other, there are never lift lines, and it is open in June). The best place to ski for an hour or two anywhere in the state on any day. I would just love to see it score above Steamboat. There is a reason that >30 of my 50+ days per season are at Loveland. It is President's Day weekend and we lapped what we wanted all day and never waited in a line (no exaggeration).

I’m going to mammoth soon but this place looks cool. Thanks. But the price though.

I did my ski week three years in a row at Steamboat, ending before the Wuhan virus. I think your evaluation is pretty accurate. But really, the day ticket price criticism is valid at any IKON or Epic mountain, right?

Holiday valley a virtual hill charges 97 dollars for a day ticket out here in the east so rough but hey ya gotta eat

Sorry but you’re wrong on a lot of this. Putting steamboat behind keystone, breck, WP etc. is a joke

Steamboat's awesome snow is wild snow ..... it's wild ... it does not groom until the second or third day 🥰😍😐

Among all epic and ikon resorts in CO, steamboat is probably the best for snowboarders seeking powders and trees.

spot on. Steamboat is awful. Steer clear That’s why it’s been my mountain of choice for over 15+ years. the powder, by far the worst among mountains named steamboat. Lift lines are atrocious - sometimes even 10 minutes! The trees, ehh, what’s another perfectly spaced tree in super deep powder. Yeah y’all, stay away. Stay tuned tho, I’ll update you guys on any changes after I pick this mountain over all others another year in a row:)

😮swift🤟🏾

Hey peak rankings!!! Was trying to plan a trip to Colorado, was wondering what the least crowded time would be? For instance if I went to steamboat in February and skiied on weekdays, would the lift lines be too bad?

Is Schweitzer Idaho video coming soon

Crowd flow just SUCKS ass in Steamboat, especially on holidays or weekends. My advice is to stay as close as you can to the gondola so you don't have to ski all the way back down and deal with the base crowds.

I try to get to steamboat at least once a year. Moving to IKON and covid has really changed the place. Its gotten extremely crowded, never used to have lines.

Steamboaut go many peek frankings resort of kings. Many many calloors and calors, colorado regular here

I would sum up steamboat as if you are there during the week with one of many storms, it is probably the best mountain in Colorado for any ability, if you are there on Saturday it is the worst mountain in Colorado and unskiable due to the insane lines. If you are traveling with non-skiers the hot springs and town are far and away the best in Colorado.

Come for the trees, stay for the trees, come back for the trees. Until they run a lift from West Buttermilk to the top of Long Shot...

Yes avoid steamboat please !!! We don’t need more people here

Thus the appropriate appellation, "Flatboat"

Ello

I prefer smooth bowls not trees/moguls so thanks for steering me away.

So in other words: Steamboat sucks 🤣 Just want to say though, really appreciate the focused and detailed reviews of these mountains. These are extremely helpful in figuring out which places I should be targeting in my future travels.

8:32 she wasn't having it

No it isn't. Everyone should stay on i-70 and in denver

First

Who the hell is buying those lift tickets? Always go IKON and buy early.

Lol steamboat gets an 8 for snow… okay 😂

I don't really like tree skiing, as its not my thing, and that lift pass price is just extortionate, and the crowd control system is ridiculous, Steamboat with its set up comes across as some quaint little backwater resort compared to major resorts in Europe and especially France , so I won't ever be going there.

This is such a bad take on steamboat

I’ve been to steamboat twice. Each time was less than mediocre. The snow may be alright, but the food is terrible compared to Aspen or vail, and the locals are so rude. Lift operators are glorified stoners who couldn’t care less about service or safety, and I got scammed by some dude at a local bar at ring toss (pretty pathetic).

Its way cheaper to ski in Europe & japan 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

Worst resort ever

GOOD VIDEO BUT YOUR SCORES FOR STEAMBOAT ARE WAY OFF. THIS IS NOWHERE NEAR BEING 12TH OUT OF 15 RESORTS IN COLORADO. YOU HAVE TOO MANY FAULTS FOR US TO LIST , BUT WE SCORED STEAMBOAT AS # 7 . BEAVER CREEK, COPPER AND WINTER PARK ARE ALL WAY TO HIGH . BEAVER CREEK IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE RESORT IN COLORADO. LIFT TICKET, FOOD, LODGING, PARKING, NIGHTLIFE . A DAY LIFT TICKET IS $ 285 . PARKING IS $ 45-50 . A CHEESEBURGER FRIES AND 12 OZ BEER IS $ 48 . YOU REALLY NEED TO DO FAR MORE RESEARCH ,YOUR CONCLUSIONS FOR FINAL RANKINGS ARE WAY OFF. I HAVE BEEN SKING 47 YEARS NOW BEEN TO OVER 66 DIFFERENT SKI RESORTS IN BOTH USA AND CANADA. YOUR VIDEOS ARE GOOD QUALITY 8.5 OUT OF 10. YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS 4 OUT 10 😂.

Most overrated mountain town and ski area ever.