Master Plan

The 2019 City of Steamboat Springs Parks, Recreation, Open Space, Trails, and River (PROSTR) Comprehensive Master Plan planning effort began in 2017 with the hiring of Logan Simpson, an Environmental Consulting, Cultural Resources, Community Planning, and Landscape Architecture Design Firm and completed with a detailed internal City review and a citizen and staff guided Review and Implementation Committee. This project was made possible by a 50% ($75,000) grant contribution from Great Outdoor Colorado (GOCO).

The first chapter of the PROSTR Comprehensive Master Plan provides an overview of the plan and summarizes the plans findings. The plans next five chapters reviews the plans purpose and process, provides a department overview, evaluates the City of Steamboat Springs and Routt County demographics and evaluates existing conditions of the City’s park land and services. The final two chapters outline recommendations and a strategy for funding and implementation of the plan.

Key findings of the plan include:

• The highest priority recommendations of this plan, as identified by the statistically valid community survey and independent evaluation and prioritization by the Review and Implementation Committee include: Maintaining what we have prior to expanding the current parks and recreation system and implement deferred projects list for existing park improvements (restroom and playground replacements, irrigation systems, shelters, bridge repairs, skate park equipment replacement etc.) and; Extend the Core Trail west along river corridor with multi-modal connections, north to Slate Creek, connecting Steamboat proper to Steamboat II areas.
• Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation system is essential to Steamboat Springs’ economic health because they attract visitors, especially during the summer, who spend money in the community. As such, the Parks and Recreation Department provides critical services that should warrant substantial investment. Therefore, fiscal sustainability goals are to increase funding that is allocated to maintain existing assets, and do not add elements to the PROSTR system without funding to maintain them and further explore community support for a sales tax increase to fund high priority projects and their operations and maintenance.

The City of Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation Department looks forward to maintaining and improving Steamboat Springs’ parks and recreation system through the recommendations of this plan, and would like to thank the community for their engagement throughout the process, the Review and Implementation Committee and numerous City employees for their thoughtful guidance and attention to detail, and the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council for their support and input.