Research Outline

Steamboat Springs

Goals

To understand the visitor perspectives on Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Ski Resort, Strawberry Park Hot Springs, and Yampa River Botanic Park by looking at the positive and negative reviews on each of the four attractions.

Early Findings

Here are some reviews on each of the four attractions:

Fish Creek Falls

  • "Not for the faint of heart but worth it. Immediately after the falls begins a really steep climb. The views of the valley are incredible. The path follows the creek meadow as it meanders through the hills. The lake would be a great lunch stop and a cool-off swim. We hiked in September and it wasn’t quite swimming weather."
  • "Beautiful hike on a sunny February day. Despite a recent storm dumping over a foot of snow, the trail was well packed (and traversable in normal shoes) about halfway to the second falls. After that the trail outline was visible but snowshoes were mandatory."
  • "The path to the first bridge was a little muddy, but going up the hill was extremely icy. I would highly recommend wearing spikes. Once I got through the Aspen grove, it got windy and started to rain so I only made it to the upper bridge. Great views all the way up!"
  • "The fresh snow made for beautiful scenery during our short hike. We had yak tracks and one pole each. No problem with finding or staying on the trail. The lower falls are partly frozen and were incredible to see. "

Steamboat Ski Resort

  • "Steamboat is a terrible mountain. It is exorbitantly expensive. A price only a Texan oil tycoon could afford."
  • "This is a beautiful ski area, with wonderful staff who are always helpful. The snow is amazing, and a challenging mountain."
  • "More waiting in line than skiing. Hour-long lines for every lift."
  • "I have been taking my family to Steamboat since 2005. It used to be cheaper than other resorts in Colorado. These days it has become as expensive as other bigger mountains. It is losing its magic. It is sad because I have so many good memories of my son in Steamboat and I think this is our last year going."
  • "I’ve skied most of the resorts in Colorado, some in Utah and California. Steamboat is my favorite resort in all of them. The town retains its cowboy past and the ski area is just fantastic. That being said, this year will probably be my last time to Steamboat as it is just too damn expensive. Lift tickets, even with multi-day and discounts is over $100/day!"

Strawberry Park Hot Springs

  • "Great place for relaxing in the natural outdoor hot springs. We went at 10 am to avoid a big crowd. Changing rooms were nice and had heated floors which were a big plus. It would have been nice if the step were cleared of sand & rocks when going in."
  • "This place was amazing! A definite must-do if you're in the area. It was very relaxing Loved all the different pools with different temperatures."
  • "Staff Attitude: not nice . Water temperature: mild 〜hot (around 120F) . Water Quality: muddy, not clean . Room for changing clothes: yes . Restroom: yes . Shower: no shower rooms. You cannot take shower after the muddy and nasty water from Hot Springs. They should have shower rooms."
  • "First off, let me say that the staff here really needs to take a class on how to be polite to customers because my entire group of 6 people was treated so poorly. The management team needs to really get this figured out because it was so embarrassing how they were acting."

Yampa River Botanic Park

  • "We loved this park. It had so many different varieties of gardens, from red rock crevice gardens to the foliage gardens, to a serene pond surround by trees and lush perennials and annuals. So different than the usual rose garden, tulips, and perennials."
  • "Even though it wasn't prime time, it was still very enjoyable seeing the imaginative gardens built from a former pasture."
  • "This is a lovely garden that emphasizes horticultural plantings for the most part but an excellent place to discover plants you'd like to have in your own yard. There are also native plantings and herb plantings, and a nice little pond. Great afternoon stroll and very informative."
  • "A little bit hard to find. Street signs led to a large parking lot and athletic field. I drove the circumference of the lot and found signs and a path that led down the side of the field and to the gardens. The park is free and run by volunteers, sponsors, and donors."
  • "It was smaller than we expected but very pretty and a great place for a picnic, a nap, reading and even yoga. The wide variety of plants and treed makes for an interesting stroll discovering new plants, and taking pictures."