COME TO LIFE | Steamboat Springs, Walden/North Park SIDETRIPS To Steamboat’s west, stop into the quiet ranching town of Hayden , popular with hunters and anglers as an easy home base. Hayden is near the Medicine Bow and Routt national forests and the Mount Zirkel and Sarvis Creek wilderness areas. Backpacking, hiking and biking ops are nearly everywhere in these protected spaces, and rafters and campers enjoy a handful of state parks. Get to know cowboys and cowgirls, homesteaders and coal miners at Hayden Heritage Center in the historical 1918 Moffat Railroad Depot. South of Steamboat, stop in the tiny town of Yampa for a bite at the Antlers Cafe & Bar. From there, you can hop on the Flat Tops scenic byway for amazing scenery, hunting, fishing and horseback riding, as well as snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Strawberry Park Hot Springs Winter Fun Steamboat’s famed Champagne Powder ® is light, dry and smooth, which makes for great skiing and riding, as well as snowmobiling, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Steamboat and the public lands that surround it. New lifts, terrain, restaurants, lodging, a ski beach and ice rink at the resort make it the state’s second largest. Whiskey Company, the only craft distillery in the area. Delicious dining is found in the historical downtown. On summer weekends, cross the Yampa River to the Romick Rodeo Arena and cheer on the cowboys of the Pro Rodeo Series, preceded by barbecue and country music. Or, since Steamboat is a Certified Colorado Creative District, stroll through galleries or pick up the First Friday Artwalk. Get a taste of Rocky Mountain hospitality at one of the area’s dude ranches, where you can fill your days with cattle drives, fly-fishing, horseback riding, cowboy cuisine and more. Step back in time at Walden’s North Park Pioneer Museum, housed in an 1883 cabin packed to the rafters with Old West relics, plan a leaf-peeping excursion in the fall or hit the area’s gravel-riding trails. Elusive and enchanting birds like the greater sage-grouse, boreal owls and fox sparrows frequent the Colorado Birding Trail, Walden Lake and Cowdrey Lake State Wildlife Area. Make more feathered friends at Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Other popular sights include Teller City and Coalmont ghost towns, wildlife refuges, rodeos, OHV trails in North Sand Hills’ sand dunes and the Cache la Poudre – North Park scenic byway. Around 65 percent of North Park is public land, so you’ll find uncrowded lakes, rivers, mountains, prairies and the other towns of Rand, Gould and Cowdrey. FROM LEFT: NOAH WETZEL; STEAMBOAT CHAMBER/NOAH WETZEL. Days 3 & 4 Northeast of Steamboat is an area called North Park, known as the Moose Capital of Colorado, where sightings are common. The Moose Visitor Center at State Forest State Park is an excellent first stop, or pop into the River Rock Cafe on Main Street in Walden for tips. 128 1-800-COLORADO
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2023: Page 128
