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Steamboat, United States

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Howelsen Hill Ski Area
Howelsen Hill Ski Area. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Steamboat

Village 2,053 m. Facts: verified.

A ski resort with its village at 2,053 m and its top at 3,219 m. It has 122 km of runs and 20 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 1,118 m, from 3,219 m to 2,101 m. For beginners and families: 55% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 54 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: an ice rink, a ski school and childcare. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in March, about 1.1 m at the top (3,219 m). For skiers the best month is usually March, with about 4 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Steamboat Springs.

Steamboat Springs is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Routt County, Colorado, United States. The population was 13,224 at the 2020 census. Steamboat Springs is the principal city of the Steamboat Springs Micropolitan Statistical Area, and it is the largest city in northwestern Colorado.

The city is a winter ski resort destination, including the Steamboat Ski Resort on Mount Werner in the Park Range just east of the town and the much smaller Howelsen Hill Ski Area. Steamboat Springs has produced more athletes for the Winter Olympics than any other town in North America.

From the Wikipedia article Steamboat Springs, Colorado, shortened. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

The ski area

Runs from 2,101 m to 3,219 m: 1,118 m of vertical. 122 km of runs and 20 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Steamboat Ski Resort.

Runs
Easy27 km
Intermediate40 km
Advanced50 km
Expert3.9 km
Not graded0.7 km
Lifts
Gondolas and cable cars4
Chairlifts15
Magic carpets1

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area data © OpenSkiMap.org and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

For families

55% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).

Within 5 km of the village:

  • an ice rink: Howelsen Ice Arena, 0.4 km
  • a ski school: Steamboat Ski Touring Center, 2.9 km
  • childcare: Holy Name Preschool, 0.1 km

The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 5 h 50 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to HDN, direct.

    See flights ORD → HDN · Skyscanner from about £155 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 1 h 05 from the airport to Steamboat.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Steamboat SpringsAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay in Steamboat Springs (ad) on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire, lessons and lift passes.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Live webcam

Yampa River at Steamboat Springs

Webcams belong to their owners.

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

Forecast

The score, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoor

Forecast and score for each day at Steamboat
DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Sun 18Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m0°Cwind, 6 knots
Mon 19Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-1°Cwind, 8 knots
Tue 20Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m0°Cwind, 7 knots
Wed 21Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m1°Cwind, 7 knots
Thu 22Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m4°Cwind, 8 knots
Fri 23Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m3°Cwind, 3 knots
Sat 24Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m4°Cwind, 6 knots
Sun 25Oct0, poor4 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-3°Cwind, 8 knots

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to.

Snow by month

Typical snow on the ground and coldest daytime temperature by month
MonthBase2,053 mMid2,636 mTop3,219 mColdestat the top
Nov0.1 m0.1 m0.2 m-12°C
Dec0.3 m0.5 m0.4 m-16°C
Jan0.8 m0.9 m0.9 m-16°C
Feb0.9 m1.0 m1.0 m-15°C
Mar0.9 m1.1 m1.1 m-12°C
Apr0.6 m1.0 m1.0 m-6°C
Maynone0.3 m0.7 m-1°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to HDN, then 1h 05 by road. About 5h 50 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to HDN, then 1h 05 by road. About 5h 50 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,900–£2,975 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to HDN, estimated from distance and season, 3 airlines on the route, with a hold bag£155–£325
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Transfershared airport transfer, return£70–£120
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£215–£360
Food7 days eating out£260–£480
Lift pass5 days£1,000–£1,350
Ski hire5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£165–£275
Total£1,900–£2,975

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near Steamboat Springs

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

Book the trip

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