Quick Facts

• Named by French Fur trappers in the 1860s for a hot spring near the Yampa River that sounded like a steamboat
  
• There are more than 150 mineral springs in the area
  
• James Crawford staked the first homestead in 1875
  
• City of Steamboat Springs was incorporated in 1900
  
• Hometown of 54 Winter Olympic athletes, more than any other town in the US
  
• Home to Howelsen Hill, Colorado's oldest ski area in continuous use (opened 1915)
  
• In the early 1900s Steamboat Springs was the largest exporter of cattle in the western United States
  
• Lincoln Avenue (US Highway 40), Steamboat Springs' main street was built wide to accommodate cattle drives
  
• Rodeo History dates back over 100 years
  
• Steamboat Springs weekly summer rodeo was named the "Small Town Outdoor Rodeo of the Year" by the ProRodeo Cowboys Association in 2002
  
• Holds oldest annual winter carnival west of the Mississippi River
  
• Home to Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp (opened 1913) attended by such performing artists as Dustin Hoffman, Julie Harris and Agnes de Mille
  
• One of the first 8 US cities to receive the Preserve America Community designation from the White House