112th Winter Carnival Rides Into Steamboat Springs Feb 4-9
Street Closures & Traffic Detours In Effect Over Festival Weekend
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO–January 29, 2025-The 112th Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival stampedes into the Yampa Valley between February 4-9 and the city will be utilizing the circular detour plan to serve US40 thru-traffic, enhance emergency access, and improve traffic circulation over the festive weekend.
The detour will use a circular configuration that sees US40 eastbound traffic diverted onto Yampa Street and US40 westbound traffic onto Oak Street.
“This plan has served the community well in previous events where Lincoln is closed,” said Police Chief Mark Beckett. “I want to stress it again so the community understands well in advance that motorist using the emergency lane, alleyways or disregarding traffic control will be cited.”
Starting early Saturday morning, westbound traffic will turn right on 5th St, then left onto Oak St before continuing down to 11th St and US40. In addition, motorists looking to access Howelsen Hill from Lincoln will not be able to turn left at 5th Street or access 5th St from the alley between 3rd to 5th. Individuals will need to follow the circular detour or use River Road. Eastbound traffic will turn right at 11th St, then left onto Yampa St. Traffic will travel the six-blocks down Yampa to 5th St before returning US40/Lincoln Ave.
Parking along the southside of Oak and northside of Yampa will be prohibited for the weekend and additional parking closures may be implemented at key intersections. These areas will be coned with no parking signage and violators will be subject to citations and towing. Motorists who violate a detour barricade or use the emergency lane could see a $120 fine for disregarding a traffic control device.
Individuals looking to access neighborhoods north of downtown should utilize 3rd, 4th, and 12th Streets. Residential side streets approaching Oak between 5th and 11th will not be permitted to turn left on Oak but will need to follow the circular route. The city is asking lodging shuttles to use the parking lot at 3rd & Oak for drop off and pick up during the street events closure.
The detour plan goes into effect starting Saturday, Feb 8 at 2 a.m. and runs through the conclusion of the street events. The following morning, Sunday, Feb 9, the closure/detour begins at 4 a.m. and runs through around 2 p.m. At the conclusion of the street events, crews will plow the snow to the parking lanes and SSPD will reopen Lincoln Ave. Keep in mind that on-street parking along Lincoln Avenue will not be available after the street events on Saturday due to snow storage.
Similar to Halloween, SST will take advantage of the emergency lane during the closure to keep buses rolling. Temporary bus stops for eastbound Steamboat Springs Transit (SST) routes will be on Oak at 10th, 9th, 7th & 6th. Westbound SST routes will use stops on 6th, 7th, 9th & 10th on Yampa St. Buses will return to normal operations when Lincoln Avenue/US40 reopens after the event. The revised transit flow permits passengers to exit the bus on the curb and safely away from traffic. Extra buses will be running on both ends of town to assist getting people into and out of downtown.
In addition, the city will provide free skiing at Howelsen Hill, enact closures to trails on Emerald Mountain, provide additional SST event service and a specific night extravaganza show traffic plan.
SKI FREE & Tube Discounts at Howelsen Hill – February 4-9, 2025
The ski area will be open normal operating hours during Winter Carnival. Your Winter Carnival button/buff provides access to a free lift ticket to ski at Howelsen Hill during Winter Carnival from February 4-9. Lift ticket must be obtained from the Ticket Office prior to accessing the slopes. One lift ticket per button/buff per day. Tube Howelsen is also offering $5 off all one-hour reservations from Feb. 4-9 with carnival button/buff. Enter the code WC2025 at time of online checkout to access this screaming Winter Carnival deal.
Emerald Mountain – February 8, 2025
All trails that access Emerald Mountain including Blackmer Trail will be closed for public safety from 4pm until 9pm on Saturday, Feb. 8, as crews set up and launch fireworks for the Night Extravaganza. Please respect all closures and understand that additional trail closures may be required prior to Saturday.
SST Service – February 8-9, 2025
SST will operate additional service during the street events and continuous service following the Night Extravaganza on Saturday, February 8 and during the day on Sunday, February 9. Extra unscheduled buses will run on Saturday during normal scheduled hours to transport people to and from the festivities. View buses in real-time via steamboatsprings.net/sst.
Howelsen Hill Traffic & Parking – Night Extravaganza, February 8, 2025
Howelsen Hill base area parking typically fills to capacity early for the Night Extravaganza and overflow parking will be available at the rodeo grounds/ice arena as space permits. ADA parking is limited at the Howelsen Lodge and some ADA spaces will be set up at the tennis courts. Parking is not permitted along Howelsen Parkway or River Road and illegally parked vehicles will be tickets and/or towed.
Once the Howelsen parking lots are full, Howelsen Parkway will be CLOSED to incoming traffic except for ADA access and emergency vehicles. At that time, traffic may be diverted into the Rodeo Arena featuring a drop-off area as well as additional parking. Vehicles will exit the rodeo grounds via the Ice Arena. All traffic crossing the 5th Street Bridge toward Howelsen Hill is requested to take River Road instead of returning to downtown.
The 9th Street Pedestrian Bridge will see periodic closures due to crowd volumes. Individuals will not be able to stand on the pedestrian bridge to watch the fireworks show. Even with additional snow removal and scoria, the footpath will be slick, and people should have proper winter footwear and use caution.
After the fireworks, vehicles departing Howelsen Hill will be directed down River Road to where it intersects with Mt. Werner Road. The 5th Street Bridge will have intermittent closures and Howelsen Parkway will be closed westbound between the Ice Arena and the 5th Street Bridge. Ski area venue vehicle traffic will be held until pedestrians dissipate. There will be no left turns permitted out of the Howelsen Ice Arena parking lot. Motorists are asked to follow traffic directions and signals, yield to city buses and refrain from blocking intersections or railway crossings.
Due to the high volume of spectators, please be patient, alert and follow police and traffic control directions. It’s recommended that pedestrians use a headlamp, flashlight, and glow sticks to be visible by motorists. Designated routes, which may not be your preferred way home, will be used to aid in maintaining egress from the venue during this popular event.
Additional parking is available throughout the downtown area during the night show, at the Steamboat Springs High School and the Stockbridge Transit Center. Please respect residential access and do not block driveways. It is highly recommended that people walk, take the free SST bus, or utilize drop off/pick up locations at the west end of Yampa and Oak Streets to access the venue.
