Aprés and Beyond
After a day of cat skiing you will probably be to exhausted to go out dancing or raging in the Steamboat Springs bar scene. But, for those diehards, or on your non-snowcat days, we hope you’ll get after it and enjoy your vacation with a bit of aprés or late night partying.
Fortunately for us here at Steamboat Powdercats we are located a stumble away from the base of the ski area where a number of ideal aprés opportunities exist.
There are really no great late night bars on the mountain, but if it’s a post powder day beverage you are looking for, the Steamboat base zone is a fine place to hang out.
One of our favorite apres spots is The Paramount. The food is delicious and comes in super large portions. Their heated picnic tables and lounge chairs are a social place to meet friends and compare your lapse off Christmas Tree bowl. Owned and operated by long time locals, this place is solid.
The Slopeside Grill is one of Steamboat’s mountain classics and just uphill from The Paramount. Slopeside has a monster “snow beach” where post skiing groups hang out and consume massive amounts of beverages. They have typical bar food, and their brick oven pizzas are a specialty. It’s a good place to catch a sporting event as they have tv’s all over the bar and restaurant tuning into every game. In March, the crew at Slopeside annually erect a fantastic ice bar where they make it even easier for us all to enjoy some cold beverages under the amazing bluebird and long days of March and April.
Even higher up on the mountain above both the Paramount and Slopeside exists a little slice a heaven at the T-Bar. This place is a throwback to non-corporate days, long past at most ski areas. It’s a tiny place owned by another long time local family and its a must for everyone to goto. You’ll typically see owner and chef Tres Holloway serving up some fantastic food during the day after he’s skied The Canyon multiple times. The noodle bowls and especially the Rosti will set you straight. At times, the T-Bar is a bro brah sausage fest and you’ll have to wait for a drink but if you are lucky to hit this place during the annual Cougar Day, waiting for cold brews won’t matter. Oh, and also, you’ve got to check out the signed, vintage Lange poster of the hottest skier ever just inside the main door.
The Steamboat Springs late night party scene isn’t that of Aspen or Vail and you shouldn’t come here thinking you are going to get your rage on. If you are expecting the crazy party scene of Whistler you’ve somehow been falsely advertised. What we lack in wild raging and diverse options, we definitely make up for it in powder skiing, hence why you are coming to Steamboat Springs right?
Downtown Steamboat Springs definitely has the most options for partiers looking for nightly music and options for bars. The Old Town Pub is a Steamboat classic. This place has been around forever and you should all go their for at least 1 drink and food before moving forward in your bar crawl. The OTP has live music all year long and the food is also top notch bar eats. Sitting here at the long wooden bar will bring back memories of our long lost Tugboat and probably have you listening to a forever local who will chat your ear off about the good ole days.
As with most other cities in the world, Steamboat Springs now has several breweries and distilleries where you can grab a locally brewed beer or spirt. Some of our favorites are: Storm Peak Brewery, Mountain Tap Brewery, and the Mythology Distillery Company.
Also our friends at The Barely Tap and Tavern has a ton of beers on tap to wet your whistle.
Schmiggity’s is a welcome addition to Steamboat’s nightlife. This music venue opened in 2013 and hosts more bands than any other location in Steamboat Springs. You can find almost nightly live music here to shake it down. They really don’t serve food so it’s all about music, dancing, drinking and more music.
Similar to Schmiggity’s, The Press also has live music and is a great spot to kick back, have a brew and watch some local and out of town music while you are in town visiting.
One block away on Yampa Avenue there lays Steamboat Springs’ version of party central. Multiple restaurants and bars line the Yampa street taking in the views of Howelson Hill and the glorious Yampa River. This place rocks it during the summer when the sunshine spills across from the west, filling up all these venues with great sunsets lasting late into the evening.
Cypruss is a the new but old Carl’s Tavern. The 4 sided bar has plenty of room to belly up and eat some super fine food, drink some suds and carry on with your party. It’s a casual place with loads of tv’s for sports.
Across the street from Carl’s is the classic Sunpie’s Bistro. It’s a true dive bar, right out of the New Orleans culture that it aspires to represent. This place serves typical cajon/creole food but it’s really only a filler after you’ve consumed multiple drinks and then tried to tackle their famous Hurricane drink. Look out, Sunpie’s can ruin tomorrow’s powder day if you are not careful. During the winter, this place is kinda small as it’s their grassy lawn on the Yampa during the summer that is the real charm. But, it’s always worth one or two at Sunpie’s.
Some other downtown options for you are The Old Town Pub, Brick, and the Back Door Grill.
If you are looking for some upscale bars, The Laundry, on 13th street just off Lincoln will get you going. This is a fine dinning restaurant and with a big city feel of a bar. It’s home to some of the longest standing bartenders in Steamboat who have mastered the art of infusing vodka or tequila with all sorts of fruits and yummy concoctions. Aurum is also a higher end restaurant with a good bar. It’s on the river around 10th Street and Yampa. Also, you can’t go wrong with stopping at Harwigs The bar is only 6 or 7 seats long but you’ll more than likely get to hang out with owner/chef JJ and sommelier Mike Lang who are both long time locals and serve up some mean drinks. The Thai food at Harwigs is a classic as well. Other higher ended restaurants you should consider are Primrose, Besame, and E3 Chophouse.
There’s lots of other places to party down in Steamboat Springs, these are just a few. No disrespect to those we didn’t include in this write up. For a more dailed in list, check out this one from Yelp.
Remember that if you are partying the night before your Steamboat Powdercats visit, the 7:30am van pick up will come early and hangovers don’t work well in our bumpy cat rides. Good luck with that.