Colorado's snow-strapped Summit County sees significant drop in tourism and traffic; "What's going on?"

A few new restaurants in the Colorado mountain town of Frisco were counting on winter crowds to carry them through their first slow season, once the ski resorts close up. But many are finding themselves waiting right now for customers who are not showing up -- during one of the months they can almost always count on.

After a holiday bump, business dropped sharply across parts of the high country. Businesses at the Prospector Market in Frisco said the lack of snow is a major reason why. The market in Frisco -- which opened just this last August, housing several restaurants -- opened with the expectation that winter crowds would help them gain traction before spring. Businesses said that has not happened.

"It just makes you wonder 'What's going on?'" said Kenny Howalt, who runs the Lazo Empanadas branch there.

Howalt expected steady traffic from Christmas through early March, but this season has looked very different. He described days with almost no foot traffic, even during hours that are usually busy.

It's the same story for his neighbors.

"Yesterday, I had only one customer with an online order," Howalt said. "Then I didn't see another person until about 10 minutes before closing."

It's much the same for the other restaurants in the new food hall, who did not go on camera with CBS Colorado but told Your Reporter Spencer Wilson they'd seen an almost "cliff-like" drop in foot traffic. 

The slowdown is showing up not just inside restaurants, but on the roads leading into the mountains themselves.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, traffic through the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnels dropped this winter from last. In December 2024, more than 1.1 million vehicles traveled eastbound and westbound through the tunnel. This past December, that number fell to just over 1 million vehicles. That represents a 9% year-over-year decrease.

For additional context, December 2023 traffic counts at the tunnel were slightly higher than this year, with just over 1.06 million vehicles recorded. CDOT said there could be a few factors like when holidays are during the week each year and if the Broncos are playing well, but that the warm winter with little snow to speak of would absolutely be one of those factors. 

Even when storms do move through, Howalt said perception plays a role in whether visitors decide to come.

"We got snow recently, thinking, 'Great, here we go," Howalt said excitedly. "But it wasted snow. No one really enjoyed it because they didn't expect to see it."

"People come here as a destination to enjoy snow and winter activities," he said. "If tourism is not coming because the snow is not coming, we're all affected. Not just the marketplace. Every community."

More snow is in the forecast for the high country, but after that early forecasts into next week are shaping up to remain dry. That of course, can change, and for mountain businesses, the question is not just how much snow falls, but whether it comes soon enough to bring people back through the doors.