Steamboat Springs, Colorado

About Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs is the Routt County seat, on the Yampa River in the northwest corner of Colorado. The 2020 census counted 13,224 residents. It is known as Ski Town USA and has sent more athletes to the Winter Olympics than any other town in North America, but summer is when the gravel riders show up.

Downtown runs along Lincoln Avenue (U.S. 40) and Yampa Street, a block over on the river. Yampa Street has been rebuilt as a riverside promenade with restaurants, bike lanes and an amphitheater, and it is where SBT GRVL starts and finishes. The ski resort at Mount Werner is a few miles south, with its own base-area lodging.

The town's economy still leans on ranching, which is why SBT GRVL's stated mission includes giving back to the Routt County ranching community whose roads the race uses.

Riding in Steamboat Springs

Steamboat earned a Gold Level Bicycle Friendly Community rating from the League of American Bicyclists in 2013. The Yampa River Core Trail is a flat, paved path through town for easy spinning. Road riders use the country roads through the Yampa Valley, and the SBT GRVL courses show the gravel: smooth county roads, chunky Cow Creek and climbs over 7,000 feet. The Steamboat Bike Park and downhill trails on Mount Werner cover the mountain side.

Summer is warm, dry and mostly clear. June averages a high near 75°F and a low near 42°F and is the month with the fewest wet days. Altitude is the main adjustment for riders coming from sea level; arrive a couple of days early if you can.

Getting to Steamboat Springs

Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) in Hayden is 22 miles west of town with seasonal and year-round commercial service. Denver International is about 160 miles east; the drive from Denver is about 157 miles and 2 hours 45 minutes over Rabbit Ears Pass, and GO Alpine runs shared shuttles from DIA. A car is useful but not required for SBT GRVL if you stay downtown; the start is on Yampa Street.