PARTY TIME

Rooftop Margaritas

Salt & Lime: From the rooftop of Salt & Lime you can see the white snow still lingering on Mt. Werner over the white salt rimming your glass. Margaritas top the menu, and you might find yourself inviting up friends who you see walking or driving along Lincoln Avenue with the lesser mortals down below. Hint: bring a jacket—you’ll likely be there until well after the sun, and your third margarita, goes down.

Vaqueros: Steamboat’s newest rooftop revelry belongs to Vaqueros on Lincoln Avenue, giving the Mexican joint three floors of tequila-toting service. Appreciate the buffed arms of your servers who carry it up if you order a trayful of the Large marg, whose “Millionaire,” made from 1942 Don Julio Anejo, is worth every peso.

On (and Toward) the Mountain

Paramount: Paramount offers cheap drinks and food grounded in familiar flavors for the whole family (the kids can unleash energy within yelling distance in the adjacent yard). Mouth-watering options include S@#^ on a shingle, chilaquiles and the chicken fried steak and eggs. For cocktails give the paloma, greyhound punch and tequila sunrise the college try.

Los Locos: If a sunny afternoon puts you in the mood for big-pour, easydrinking margaritas, bomb-ass tacos and lip-tingling, green chili-smothered burritos, Los Locos has your seat on its outside patio, with heaters to keep you happy-houring well into the evening. A no-frills joint, the barkeeps remember how you like your marg.

Slopeside Grill: There’s nothing fancy about Slopeside, which boasts the mountain’s largest outside patio and yard. But that’s part of its charm. It’s all about pitchers of your favorite draft beer and wood-fired pizzas (try the yard sale, valley view, four points, or chutes). And your kids can run around on the grass while you keep the refills comin’.

Truffle Pig: Sniff around (like its namesake swine) for a seat at the Truffle Pig patio and you’ll find one of the nicest wining and dining spots around. Sample the whole menu, with sweeping views and warm fireplaces. “It’s easily the crowd favorite come summer,” says owner Scott Engelman. “Our patio tables are always the first to fill up.”

Ore House at the Pine Grove: Flanked with flowers and soft grass, the Ore House back patio is as verdant a setting as you’ll find for slurping drinks and sampling hors de oeuvres. With an increased outside seating capacity of 100, you’re almost guaranteed a spot anytime in summer. Bonus: walls filled with memorabilia from town’s ranching past.

Timber & Torch: The new base area officially opens up this summer, with Timber & Torch anchoring it with one of the biggest and most terraced patios in town. Enjoy cocktails on its multiple tiers, listen to Burgess Creek babbling by and take in a free summer concert. Fun fact: Inside, look to the ceiling for the engraved names of Steamboat’s Olympians.