Steamboat

Seven thousand feet (2,134 m) up in the Colorado Rockies, nestled at the foot of Rabbit Ears Pass below one of the largest ski mountains in North America, is a small ranching community that sits happily side by side with a thriving ski resort. Never far from its ranching roots—cattle are still reared in this genuine cow town—Steamboat remains firmly linked to a Western tradition that sets it apart from other ski resorts.

Steamboat Springs lies three miles (5 km) from the purpose-built ski base area, and has both the look and feel of an old Western town: its long main street (dominated now by Dodges and S.U.V.s rather than horses and stagecoaches) is lined with frontier and Victorian architecture. It’s a small, bustling town that 9,000 people call home. In fact, long before people strapped on skis for fun, Steamboat residents in the late 1800s were using skis and snowshoes in their daily lives.

The base area “Mountain Village” is a typically purpose-built development, dominated by the Steamboat Grand Resort & Conference Center and also the site for condo-style lodgings, the ski school meeting area, ski rental and sports accessories stores, and the Bear River Bar & Grill and Gondola base complex.