Fish Creek Falls Want to stretch your legs, without skis or snowshoes? Just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you have to hang up your hiking shoes. For a great, close family stroll, head to 283-foot Fish Creek Falls, located just a 3-mile drive from downtown. From Lincoln Avenue, head one block north on Third Street and turn right on Fish Creek Falls Road. From the parking lot, it’s an easy 1/4mile walk up the rest of the road to the trailhead, and then another 1/4-mile to the bridge at the base of the falls or to an overlook above. For more of a thrill, consider ice climbing it with an experienced guide. It’s far easier than you think, with top ropes ensuring safety as you live out your Spiderman fantasy. Rocky Mountain Ventures (970-870-8440, www.steamboatclimbing. com) offers half-day trips December through March, and provides all equipment and transportation.
FLY-FISHINg Photo courtesy of Steamboat Flyfisher
If Steamboat’s myriad outdoor activities aren’t enough to get your blood flowing, try any one of several fitness centers that can help get you in shape for the slopes. Steamboat offers an array of gyms and fitness centers to fit your needs. The Old Town Hot Springs ((970)-879-1828; www. steamboathotsprings.org), located in downtown Steamboat, is equipped with a full fitness center that offers more than 30 fitness classes a week to pick up your heart rate. It also has a complete weight room and cardiovascular area, as well as customized fitness programs put together by personal trainers to whip you into skiing shape. Other ways to add some muscle for the mountain include lung- and leg-busting Crossfit classes at Fusion Fit (www.steamboatcrossfit.com); Anytime Fitness’s 24-hour gym (anytimefitness.com); and personal trainers at Peak Fitness ( www.peakfitnesssteamboat.com). — Emma Wilson
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access gate through Stagecoach State Park remains closed until April 1, you can access the area via skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles on Routt County Road 18, off Colorado Highway 131. Bonus: the limited accessibility keeps angler pressure down.
If tumbling down the slopes hasn’t fulfilled your kids’ need to flip, try Excel Gymnastics off Shield Drive at the west end of town. Offering gymnastics classes from pre-school to middle school, Excel also hosts Open Gyms for the public (oftentimes at night, making it double as a great baby-sitter) where anyone can flip, tumble, jump and spin to their heart’s content. The gym is equipped with uneven bars, rings, balance beams, trampolines and the ever-popular foam pit. Info: 970-879-3467; www.879-egos.com.
Howelsen Hill That little ski area you see at the base of Emerald Mountain downtown is the oldest continually operating ski area in Colorado. Named in honor of Carl Howelsen, a Norwegian who settled in Steamboat and introduced its residents to skiing and ski jumping, cityowned Howelsen Hill offers a chairlift, poma and magic carpet for the kids; a winter tubing operation; a complete array of sanctioned Nordic jumps (the largest, most complete natural exploresteamboat.com
ski-jumping complex in North America); and miles and miles of groomed cross-country skiing trails. It’s also home to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, a nonprofit program that trains hundreds of children and teens each year in competitive skiing and snowboarding. To date, the club has helped 88 athletes make 129 Winter Olympics appearances, more than any other town in North America. Info: 970-879-4300.
Photo by Joel Reichenberger
Trade your ski poles for a fishing pole. Some local anglers say winter fishing is one of their favorite times of the year to cast a line. “A lot of people have more fun during winter then they do going on summer trips,” says Mike Morton, of Steamboat Flyfisher. High on the list are snowmobile trips to the tailwaters of Stagecoach Reservoir. “When the town stretch is frozen, there are still about 5 miles of fishable water nearby,” adds Morton, advocating nymphs and blue wing olives when it’s sunny. “There’s nothing like catching a nice brown and watching fresh snowflakes dissolve on it as release it back into the water.” For fly fisherman, finding open, moving water is the main challenge. Luckily, the Yampa tailwaters yield open water and bug life throughout the winter. While the vehicle
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