We have a free place to stay so we're planning a short notice trip to Steamboat Springs in a couple of weeks.

Other than a trip to Estes and RMNP a couple years back we generally have only done southern CO as a family so we don't know anything about the area.

We're interested in hiking, seeing wildlife, ATV/jeep trails, rafting, and maybe a little fishing. And some good restaurants.

Any info is appreciated. We'll be there 5-6 days.

I think Trappers Lake is well worth the drive and hike. You can also fish in the lake from the bank or wade out. It is a great place to get away from the crowds around SS. Pagoda Peak is another beautiful hike away from crowds. Good chance you will see bear, elk or moose.

I live in Meeker, so not sure about rafting and places to eat, but the drive from SS to Trappers is amazing and well worth it.

Slavonia Trailhead in Clark is my favorite hike. I'm biased though as our place is in Clark.

Gore Canyon in Kremmling (about an hour away) is one of the better white water rafting trips in Colorado. They don't start running until around 8/4, so not sure if that will fit your timeline or not. It's not as extreme as what they make it out to be, but it is the only one that makes sure you can swim before they will let you do it.

https://coloradorafting.com/river-trips/colorado-river-rafting/gore-canyon/

Be sure to call about rafting. We are in a drought this year so water levels and speed may be a factor. The Yampa River is closed to commercial fishing and a voluntary recreation closure currently. If you want fishing, I can recommend some hikes to alpine lakes that hold lots of fish.

Hoyt Ag said:

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Be sure to call about rafting. We are in a drought this year so water levels and speed may be a factor. The Yampa River is closed to commercial fishing and a voluntary recreation closure currently. If you want fishing, I can recommend some hikes to alpine lakes that hold lots of fish.

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Please do! A hike, Alpine lake and fishing combo sounds pretty good to me.

It might be more driving than you want to do, but I only know these areas. I do not venture to SS much.

Trappers Lake looks to be 2-2.5 hours from SS. But in my opinion, it is worth it. There are incredible views and Trappers is a full day of fun in itself. On the Trappers Lake road, you have half a dozen hikes from 1-5 miles one way to alpine lakes that hold fish.

Big Fish Lake - around 6 miles roundtrip. Big lake, hard to find the fish, but a beautiful hike. Not that steep, more gradual.
Skinny Fish - Steep at parts. Lake has a ton of fish and can be fished with fly rod or spinner. The hike isnt all that pretty. Elk Lake just below Skinny Fish is a good one for brookies.
Anderson Resovoir - 1 mile or so, kinda steep but a short hike. Has decent fish, more for a fly rod than spinner fish.
Mirror Lake/Shamrock Lake- steep at parts, around 6 miles round trip. Mirror Lake is incredible and super fun to swim in. A fun day would be stop at Shamrock and fish a bit, go the next mile to Mirror and hike around, swim, eat lunch. Head back to Shamrock for a few more fish then head home.

Let me know if you need more clarity or help.

A few recommendations:

Breakfast:
Winonas - located on Main Street. Great breakfast (can be a wait)

Brunch/Lunch: Yampa Valley Kitchen - located in 9th street. Indoor and Outdoor seating. Great food and cocktails

Dinner:
Laundry - located on 11th street. Great shareable plates. Surprisingly had the best fried chicken I've ever eaten there.

Primrose - located downtown across from Yampa River. Great steaks and seafood.

Besame' - located on Main Street. Great place for Spanish Tapas.

Brick - really great brick oven pizzas, pastas and other

Backdoor Grill - Oak Street - great place for burgers

Activities -
Pearl Lake State Park - rent paddle boards, etc

Gondola Ride at the Ski Mountain - can pay to take the gondola to the top of the mountain. Some evenings they have live music. Great views.

Hiking - many many options. Even just in town along the Yampa Core Trail. Hawns Peak (a tough hike but cool views at the top), Flat Tops Wilderness area, Zirkle Wilderness area.

Floating - can rent tubes and float the Yampa River through town.

Fishing - Steamboat Flyfisher is a great flyshop located downtown on the river. They can set up fishing trips both on public and private water

Fish Creek Falls is in town and a good hike. There's a small little trail at the base, but it's 2 or 2 and a half miles with 1200 or 1300 feet climb in elevation to the top of the falls. Great views and you can pack a lunch to eat up on the rocks at the top of the falls.

Agree on breakfast at Winonas & dinner and Primrose.

For rafting, I'm assuming by then it'll only be the Colorado that's available from an outfitter right out of Steamboat. It'll be a slow/easy trip but I've done that one and it's pretty scenery for sure.

If you're into golf, I like Haymaker. Rollingstone Ranch is nice too but Haymaker is a more fun course to play imo. If you drive just out of town on Hwy 131 to County Road 18 you'll see Windwalker Ranch, a course owned by a bunch of billionaires/members of Augusta National as their own personal playground in Steamboat.

Spend a half or full day just walking around town.

Find a good spot for sunset views...they're spectacular as the light glows on the mountains.

Hoyt Ag said:

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Be sure to call about rafting. We are in a drought this year so water levels and speed may be a factor. The Yampa River is closed to commercial fishing and a voluntary recreation closure currently. If you want fishing, I can recommend some hikes to alpine lakes that hold lots of fish.

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Gore Canyon is one of the less drought sensitive trips as it is fed from a reservoir and there is a window when the flow rates are in the correct range. The window shifts a little based on water levels, but it isn't like most of the other trips. Also, August is usually a bit too late for any decent trips, except this one, which is always a late season trip.

It's an awesome town. Enjoy it.

Mr President Elect said:

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Gore Canyon in Kremmling (about an hour away) is one of the better white water rafting trips in Colorado. They don't start running until around 8/4, so not sure if that will fit your timeline or not. It's not as extreme as what they make it out to be, but it is the only one that makes sure you can swim before they will let you do it.

https://coloradorafting.com/river-trips/colorado-river-rafting/gore-canyon/

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Thanks for the suggestion and link. After sending my wife that link I'm going to need some more ammo on the "not as extreme as they make it out to be" front to talk her into it. Sounds great to my boys and me. Are you saying some of the class 5's aren't legit or what do you mean exactly?

Just a word of caution, there is a 5000 acre fire 6 miles east of Meeker and a 3000 acre fire 15 miles west of Meeker. The smoke is blowing to SS daily with 0 containment on both fires. So expect less than ideal air quality until the fires clear up.

DTP02 said:

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Mr President Elect said:

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Gore Canyon in Kremmling (about an hour away) is one of the better white water rafting trips in Colorado. They don't start running until around 8/4, so not sure if that will fit your timeline or not. It's not as extreme as what they make it out to be, but it is the only one that makes sure you can swim before they will let you do it.

https://coloradorafting.com/river-trips/colorado-river-rafting/gore-canyon/

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Thanks for the suggestion and link. After sending my wife that link I'm going to need some more ammo on the "not as extreme as they make it out to be" front to talk her into it. Sounds great to my boys and me. Are you saying some of the class 5's aren't legit or what do you mean exactly?

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The reason for the swim test and stuff is that there is a small waterfall at the end of a class 5 and from my experience there is about a 50% chance of getting tossed / flipped out there. It being the end of a class 5, you are really getting tossed into a mild class 3 and swimming it to shore. The water levels are pretty regulated that time of year, so the rapids are pretty well known and the guides do a good job on them. If you tried to do it on your own or people not familiar with the system, you'd be screwed, but the guides take some of the "fun" out of it. That being said, there is a 16yr age requirement, not sure how old your boys are.

The class 5's are legit, but again, they are well known and the guides navigate them well. Scariest rafting I have ever done was actually on 4's when the water was really high, as in barely open, and all the other trips of that caliber were closed due to the high water. The crux stretch, it felt like the raft was under water the entire time and the guides were kind of just winging it.

Also, most of the other advanced rafting trips will ask you about your experience level and even at times not let you book if you don't have at least some experience. This one will let you without experience because there is quite a lot of paddling at the beginning in calm waters to get to the primary rafting, which lets everyone get up to speed on the commands, cadence, etc.