Communities

Howelsen Park User Engagement

City of Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Howelsen Park sign with a sun icon, surrounded by snowy trees.

SE Group partnered with the City of Steamboat Springs to lead a comprehensive user engagement process for Howelsen Park, the city’s most historic and beloved recreation hub. The goal was to understand how park users interact with facilities today, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop a foundation for future planning decisions. The process captured the voices of local residents, user groups, and visitors to ensure that the park continues to serve as a welcoming, inclusive, and sustainable destination for all.

Howelsen Park is home to the oldest continuously operating ski area in North America and sits at the heart of Steamboat Springs’ identity as “Ski Town, USA.” Beyond skiing, it serves as a vibrant community center with rodeo grounds, an ice arena, athletic fields, a playground, and access to the Emerald Mountain trail network. Generations of locals have learned to ski, skate, and play here, and its history and location along the Yampa River make it both a local treasure and a regional destination.

Snowy mountain with ski slopes, trees, and buildings below under a clear blue sky.

The Challenge

With over 400,000 annual visits and overlapping user needs, Howelsen Park faced challenges balancing growth, preservation, and access. The City needed a clearer picture of how the park was being used and how proposed facility expansions—like a second ice sheet, indoor training spaces, and rodeo improvements—could fit into the community’s long-term vision. SE Group’s work helped uncover tensions between high demand and limited capacity, guiding conversations about what growth would look like while maintaining affordability and public access.

SE Group’s Role

SE Group designed and implemented a robust engagement process that combined data analysis, user group interviews, public surveys, and event-based outreach. The team hosted workshops with park stakeholders, gathered input from over 1,800 public survey responses, and analyzed visitation data through Placer.ai to understand seasonal and regional trends.
Findings revealed that Howelsen Park serves both as a local gathering place and a statewide attraction. SE Group synthesized this information into actionable insights and development considerations for the City, helping prioritize future investments in facilities, circulation, parking, and programming.

Outdoor event booth with a man standing behind a table under a cloudy sky.

The Impact

The Howelsen Park User Engagement project gave the City of Steamboat Springs a clear and community-supported foundation for managing one of its most cherished assets. The findings directly inform future decision-making, ensuring that Howelsen Park continues to balance heritage, recreation, and sustainability. By grounding planning in data and public input, SE Group helped the City chart a path toward thoughtful, equitable park improvements that preserve the park’s character while enhancing access for generations to come.