The month of July in Steamboat Springs, Routt County (and beyond) as documented by Hallie Myhre.
July, the heat of summer is packed with fun events and outdoor adventures. Makes sense why this month’s video is so long.
Every weekend the Steamboat Springs ProRodeo hosts professional athletes as a part of the Mountain State Circuit, some cowboys and cowgirls in the running to make it to the National Finals Rodeo in December. It is a fun mix of locals and top rodeo athletes competing each week. Although the mainstream rodeo events are exciting to watch, many spectators’ favorite events may be the calf and lamb scramble. Kids the age of 12 and under line up in the arena, then a calf or lamb with a ribbon on its tail is released, and the first kid to grab a piece of the ribbon wins a belt bucket. It is absolute chaos and always a site seeing kids take off after the animals, no matter how muddy it is or how poor of footwear they may be wearing. Farmers’ markets are a popular event in Routt County. Local producers of all types bring their products to town. The Steamboat farmers market, each Saturday from 9-2 has over 100 booths. The Hayden farmers market is on Thursday afternoons from 5 to 8 pm and for this first time, Oak Creek has a farmers market each Sunday all summer from 10 am to 3 pm.
Each Tuesday, The Corner Slice, a New York-style pizza place hosts open mic night. Local music enthusiasts sign up to play a couple of songs for the crowd. I attend occasionally with one of my friends who, like many, go every week.
Depending on the weather, the haying season usually begins in July. Typically a hotter month with less rain, the tall grass is ready to be cut, raked, and baled. The yampa valley is known to produce some of the best hay in the country. Hay is shipped far and wide to provide feed for animals all over the county, but much of it is kept here to fuel local agricultural operations.
Cheyenne Frontier Days takes place at the end of July each year. The rodeo event, known as “The Daddy of ’em All” is one of the most well-known events in the rodeo world. Along with the rodeo, there is a carnival, wild horse races, a mustang sale, and big concerts. Names like Garth Brooks, Nickelback, Post Malone, Luke Bryan, and more have played there. This year I went up to see Parker McCollum and Ian Musick and spend some time with my Wyoming friends.
This July I spent some time at Williams Fork Reservoir as I had some land listed in the area. The 33 miles of river provides prime fly-fishing opportunities for catching brown, cutthroat, and rainbow trout, and the Williams Fork Reservoir offers anglers the chance to hook into northern pike, Mackinaw, and kokanee salmon. The reservoir is open to motorized boats, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, and camping. A quiet part of the rocky mountain west, the nearest town, Parshall doesn’t have much more than a post office and one bar and grill.
I personally spent some of my July free time in the high county. The Zirkel Wildnerness, in north Routt County is a natural environments that has not been significantly modified by human activity. The “Zirkel Circle” is a popular trail that goes to Gilpin and Gold lake. We decided to take our horses on the trail, we did get caught in a heavy downpour, but it was still a beautiful ride. I also took a ride to Manzanares lake with some friends and swam in the cold high mountain lake. A great way to spend July!
