Colorado Trip: Day 3 Steamboat Springs

January 05, 2026

Colorado Trip: Day 3 Steamboat Springs

We woke up fairly early on Day 3 and headed out to Steamboat Springs. This was a quick stop with only a one night stay. There are two options for getting there. You can go through the RMNP on Trail Ridge Road or head back through Loveland and take 70 up and around. We did the latter. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive, we did hit some traffic which was unfortunate, but it was all fine.

On our way out, we stopped back by Feel Love Coffee for a drink for the road. We stayed at The Lodges at Oak Creek. As we drove down a dirt road that ran along some tracks, we wondered what kind of place it would be. It was charming. Another one of those places that was probably once a roadside motel, turned into a cute spot to stay. The rooms were well done, and comfortable. There were also several tiny homes that could be rented as well. The owner was so kind. She mentioned that she gets a lot of repeat hunters that come and stay. There is also apparently a resident bear that comes to visit the garbage bin. Located in Oak Creek, Colorado it is only about 26-30 minutes from Steamboat Springs. We were able to check in a little early and then headed right to Steamboat Springs.

Where we ate:/Coffee Shops:

Off The Beaten Path: This is an awesome bookstore/coffee shop so of course I got a coffee here and then browsed the store a bit. They also had some light food offerings. I loved their motto: Books, Coffee, Friends! Definitely worth stopping and browsing.

8th Street Steakhouse: What a fun place. I can't remember if we looked it up or if someone recommended it but it was worth it. The thing that set it apart is that you choose your meat from a meat counter (the butcher on site will give recommendations), then you take your meat and head over to their large indoor grill to cook it yourself (the butcher on site will tell you how to cook it and what seasonings to use). This meat choice comes with family style bottomless bowl of salad and Texas Toast and then you can add sides or appetizers. We both chose steaks since this isn't something we normally buy at home. We also tried their stuffed mushrooms and their artichoke dip and I think we tried pork belly, that's what happens when you don't write everything down and post about it right away. Everything was so good!

We stopped at Wild Plum grocery store located in the ski area of Steamboat Springs to grab a few snacks. This is a cute store, with groceries, other locally made products and the items in the deli area looked great, but we were going to dinner later otherwise I think we would have tried it.

What we did:

Shops on Lincoln Avenue. There are several awesome shops and galleries worth visiting. We especially like the Wild Horse Gallery.

Hiked to Fish Creek Falls taking Outlook Trail and Lower Trail. There is also a longer hike you can take, but we didn't have time to do it and I was nursing an achilles tendonitis issue and didn't want to push it. The outlook trail and lower trail are well worth it taking. We spent a lot of time in the car so it was nice to get out and walk for awhile when we could.

Highlights in the area:

We didn't spend a lot of time here but we discovered there is always so much to do in these areas so I definitely recommend going online and doing a search and of course, ask the locals.