Oak Creek

This quite community outside of Steamboat Springs in Colorado's northwest corner is well worth a stop. A few stores, restaurants and a motel dot the quaint downtown, while treelined neighborhoods and a big park open up off Main Street. A lively modern-day Mexican eatery just off the main thoroughfare is a town favorite. You won't find fast-food here — just down-home cooking and good-old Western hospitality.

Stagecoach State Park is one of Oak Creek's most popular recreational facilities. The park's highlight is a 780-acre reservoir with a full-service marina. Here visitors can boat, watch the wildlife or fish for plump northern pike and rainbow trout. Hiking is available along the The Elk Run Trail (on the south shore) and the Wetlands Trail (at the inlet).

The rolling country roads between Oak Creek are also very popular with the bike-touring crowd. Additional outdoor adventures take place in the adjacent Routt National Forest and at the ski and snowboard areas in Steamboat Springs.