Steamboat, A Community Before a Ski Town
My wife and I, the owners of Ski Butlers Steamboat, have had the awesome opportunity to live in different ski towns. We met in Park City then moved to Breckenridge for a winter, then finally settled in Steamboat Springs. We get the question a lot, “What makes Steamboat different to other ski towns?”. Well that easy, we truly are a community before a ski town. The people in Steamboat are friendly, welcoming and are generally always happy to give a smile and a “Hello” to someone they don’t even know.
How did this become? I think it’s due to the history of the Yampa Valley, where Steamboat Springs is located in the Northwest corner of Colorado. Unlike many other ski towns, Steamboat has a ranching background, which is how Steamboat Springs really became populated. Did you know that Steamboat was at one point the largest producer of cattle in the country? Many other ski town were created by the mining industry or the ski industry, the ski area in Steamboat was created well after the town was truly established.
The ranching culture and community is still seen strong here in Steamboat. People wear cowboy boots with spurs on at a local restaurant for lunch, the rodeo lights shine bright during the summer weekends late into the night so that the horses and bulls are ready for the shows they will put on for locals and visitors alike. If you live here, it’s a must to have a cowboy hat, most likely purchased at F.M. Light and Sons (Look for the yellow signs when pulling into town…). We as locals of Steamboat, live the culture of a work life balance that our community offers which creates a friendly attitude by everyone you will encounter in our little town. Steamboat is special, we truly are a community before a ski town. You can feel it when you walk down the street or are in line for the gondola to get your share of our famous Champaign Powder. Remember when you come and visit, say hello to the people you don’t know you pass on the street, I gent they will smile and say “hi” right back.
The ranching culture and community is still seen strong here in Steamboat. People wear cowboy boots with spurs on at a local restaurant for lunch, the rodeo lights shine bright during the summer weekends late into the night so that the horses and bulls are ready for the shows they will put on for locals and visitors alike. If you live here, it’s a must to have a cowboy hat, most likely purchased at F.M. Light and Sons (Look for the yellow signs when pulling into town…). We as locals of Steamboat, live the culture of a work life balance that our community offers which creates a friendly attitude by everyone you will encounter in our little town. Steamboat is special, we truly are a community before a ski town. You can feel it when you walk down the street or are in line for the gondola to get your share of our famous Champaign Powder. Remember when you come and visit, say hello to the people you don’t know you pass on the street, I gent they will smile and say “hi” right back.
