Colorado's Oldest Continuously Operating Ski Area Is An Affordable, Underrated Gem Beloved By Olympians

Hitting the slopes can also hit your wallet. Some of the bigger-name ski resorts and mountains can charge upward of $300 for a single-day lift ticket. Unless you live in one of the most affordable ski resort towns in the country, ripping runs can become a costly hobby. But some ski resorts have fortunately kept prices within reach of mere mortals. Colorado's Howelsen Hill mixes affordability with sporting heritage. Powder chasers can find the resort in Steamboat Springs, a ski town with the most winter Olympic athletes. As the state's oldest continuously operating ski destination, it offers an underrated gem that's also beloved by Olympians.

Opened by (then named after) the Norwegian competitive skier Carl Howelsen in 1915, the hill has been a veritable factory of Winter Olympic athletes. The long legacy has produced over 179 Olympic appearances, with 13 members finishing in the National Ski Hall of Fame. That legacy of greatness makes it a "Pioneer Ski Resort," according to the International Skiing History Association. It's also in the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame. And yet, somehow, it remains affordable. So much so that Sunday skiing is gratis.

The City of Steamboat Springs now operates the resort, helping keep prices down. Lift tickets cost, at most, $52 per day, dropping to $38 for seniors and younger skiers. If you're strapped for cash but would like at least one adrenaline rush, you can purchase a one-way lift ticket, which gives you a single run down the mountain, for $14. Compare that with the Steamboat Ski Resort, a mere six minutes away by car, where a single-day ticket costs as much as $329. If that's too steep, you won't regret visiting one of the oldest ski resorts in America, dripping with nostalgic charm.

Every ski destination has its "thing." Vail Mountain has its vast Back Bowls (and locals loving to hate the iconic resort town). Jackson Hole Mountain Resort draws skiers to its steep expert terrain and legendary Corbet's Couloir. While Howelsen Hill historically specializes in jumps, it's the geological equivalent of a Swiss Army knife. The gem of a mountain offers alpine racing, Nordic trails, freestyle mogul, and aerial complexes, a terrain park, and beginner terrain. This wide variety of training grounds and slopes makes it a natural cauldron for world-class athletes.

Howelsen Hills may have been open for over a century, but that doesn't mean it's long in the tooth. When Howelsen arrived, ski jumping was relatively unknown in the area. Since then, the same slopes have produced over 100 Olympians, with 1,200 athletes training on its slopes each year. At the heart of it all is the largest natural ski jumping complex on the continent. The complex helped create the likes of four-time Olympian Johnny Spillane, who earned a medal in Nordic combined at the Winter Olympic Games and World Championships for the United States. Using the same grounds won't cost you too much.

That accessibility goes beyond the financial. Unlike ski resorts that require a substantial drive and overnight lodging on the premises, Howelsen Hill sits in the heart of Steamboat Springs itself. A mere five-minute drive separates the ski slopes from the local high school (it's only about 20 minutes if you want to hoof it by foot). It's no wonder nine athletes at the 2026 Winter Games have some sort of ties to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, which calls Howelsen Hills home. Fortunately, you don't need to have Olympic aspirations to hit the slopes yourself.