Three hours from the major city, 331 inches of average annual snow fall, 59 annual average frost free days, and less than 11,000 people...those will be the first reasons why Steamboat Springs, CO is the ideal spot to live, now let me provide you with a few more. I'll try to be brief, but remember, there's more where this is coming from! First of all, the community is in fact, a residential area first, and a world-class ski resort second. Ask anyone who lives here and they're going to be happy to tell you that in Steamboat Springs you have friends and neighbors who care about you and watch out for you. There is a moose in your drive-way? Be confident, among your neighbors will call and let you know. Ask any second house owner or visitor about Steamboat Springs, and one of the initial things they'll say is that individuals in our town are so friendly. This fact alone would make Steamboat Springs, CO the perfect spot to call home and without a doubt the ideal spot to raise a family - let me say it one final time before moving on, "individuals are nice and individuals here care about you."

OK so everyone's nice, but I get asked, "What now ? when you're 3+ hours from a major city, and it's really cold and snowy so a number of days of the year?" Well let's focus on summer when it's not cold and snowy and people come to this ski resort town and without a trace of champagne powder on the ground they spend weekly here and decide to stay. Summertime in Steamboat Springs , CO brings the free concerts at the bottom of Howelsen Hill, fly-fishing in the Yampa and Elk Rivers, hiking and biking on trails for each and every level and surrounded by Rocky Mountain beauty, golfing at public or private courses, the weekend rodeo that thrills both locals and visitors, not to mention tubing down the Yampa River for those who like to beat the heat in chilly, fresh mountain water. Summertime also means the annual July 4th parade, Art-in-the-Park, Hot Air balloon festival, Steamboat Running & Bike Series races...and after all this activity, a margarita on the Rio deck, a brick oven pizza sitting on Rex's back patio, or an ice cream cone from Johnny B. Epic Lake Adventures 's take-out window hit the location. Locals in Steamboat Springs make best use of the short, but very sweet summer months - we know winter is right around the corner.

And now for winter...just how do we Steamboat locals co-exist with the a large number of skiers and snowboarders who come year-after-year for the champagne powder and western hospitality? Well to begin with, you might see mostly locals in the gondola line at 7:45am because we've listened to the 5:00am snow report and know there's 14 inches of powder on Storm Peak that require to be skied before heading into work just a little later than normal, but totally refreshed and energized for your day! But we don't just ski here in Ski Town USA, when you live here and it's really wintertime, you take your children to Winter Sports Club, you have a dip in the Old Town Hot Springs pools, you snowshoe in the moonlight to an ideal spot for sitting and drinking some wine that has been in your backpack all night, and you hit the early bird special at the Orr House where a sizzling steak and huge salad bar await. Local winter events that even us locals await every year are the Winter Carnival where the senior high school band "marches" down Lincoln Avenue on skis, you can find races where (if you're brave) you're pulled by a horse while sitting on a shovel, and you trek to Howelsen Hill to spend an evening watching fireworks where in fact the lighted man skis down the hill, shooting fireworks from multiple body locations...some things you just have to see to believe.