Breckenridge is our favorite town in the Rocky Mountains, and it’s home to some of the most fun and memorable activities you could have on a vacation.
The ski resort is world-class and is perfect for a winter getaway, or the mountains turn into a summer paradise that’s perfect for an escape from your day-to-day life. Whether you’re into outdoor adventures or relaxing indoor pastimes, there’s something for everyone in this small mountain town.
Whether you already have a vacation planned and are looking for things to do or are exploring options for a potential vacation location, we hope our list will show you that there are tons of incredibly fun things to do in Breckenridge.
Most of the activities on this list are geared towards a winter vacation, but we’ll also include a “summer alternative” for those seasonal options, that way you’ll be able to get the most out of your vacation no matter the time of year.
Things to Do in Breckenridge, Colorado
Hit the Slopes
Breckenridge is known as one of the best ski resorts in the United States, so the most obvious thing you must-do when visiting is to go snowboarding or skiing.
Whether you’re a beginner who needs some lessons, a novice who wants to cruise some blue runs, or an expert who wants to try their hand at hike-in terrain, Breckenridge Ski Resort has it all.
The resort is naturally separated into five separate peaks that are numbered 6-10. For beginners, start with the Quicksilver Superchair on Peak 9 or Rip’s Ride on Peak 8.
If you’re intermediate, we love the rolling hills of Peak 7 on both Independence and Freedom Superchairs. If you’re advanced, make your way up to 6-chair and Imperial Superchair (Peak 8), Falcon Superchair (Peak 10), or Kensho Superchair (Peak 6) for an experience you’ll never forget.
If you don’t want to ski or snowboard but still want to see the mountain, you can ride the free scenic gondola from town to the base of Peak 8. This base area is home to restaurants and shops, and it boasts a great view of the ski resort so you can watch people fly down the mountain, all from the comfort of a lawn chair.
Summer Alternative: In the summer months, Breckenridge Ski Resort turns into sunny paradise with high alpine meadows full of wildflowers and hiking trails. Their Peak 8 base area is an adventure destination called Epic Discovery, a place where you can speed down the mountain on an alpine slide, take a scenic chair lift ride to the top, go mountain biking, or even pan for gold.
We highly recommend at least taking the scenic chair lift, which gives you a whole new perspective of the surrounding mountains without having to hike up to high elevation.
Go Snowshoeing or Cross Country Skiing
If snowboarding or skiing isn’t your thing, you should consider renting some snowshoes or cross country skis!
For snowshoes, there’s lots of hiking trails around that you can pick your own adventure, just make sure to get some recommendations from the local sports outfitter so you can avoid venturing into avalanche terrain unknowingly. Or you can cross country ski on the groomed trails at the Breckenridge Nordic Center, which take you through the beautiful Cucumber Gulch Wildlife Preserve.
Summer Alternative: Go hiking! Summer hiking in the mountains is a favorite of ours, and we couldn’t recommend it more. On our website, KnowNothingNomads.com, we have a complete guide to summer hiking in Breckenridge – check it out for more details!
For a family friendly walk in the woods, go find Isak Heartstone, Breckenridge’s local forest troll. If you want to get some steps in, try Black Powder Pass or the Peaks Trail.
If you are in shape and ready to go hiking, our favorite trail is Mohawk Lakes and Continental Falls, the tallest waterfall near Breckenridge. For a real physical achievement, conquer a 14er (a peak over 14,000 feet) like Quandary Peak or Decalibron Loop.
Taste the Local Spirits
Breckenridge is home to several different kinds of breweries, wineries, and even a distillery, so there’s something for everyone’s preferences.
Perhaps the most popular is Breckenridge Brewery, an awesome brewery and pub that’s located on Main Street. Even though they distribute their beers nationwide nowadays, they have small batch brews that you can only get here at their original location. Other beer suggestions include Broken Compass, Highside Brewing, and the Breckenridge Tap House.
For wineries, we love Carboy Winery, which is located inside a historic saloon on Main Street. Two other great recommendations are Continental Divide Winery and Ridge Street Wine.
The Breckenridge Distillery is the place to go for spirits – they have a tasting room on Main Street or a restaurant and bar outside of town. Their drinks are amazing and they make several different kinds of whiskey, bourbon, vodka, gin, spiced rum, and bitter.
Pro-tip: They have a free shuttle if you want a free DD for the night, just make dining reservations beforehand.
Explore Main Street
No matter the time of year you visit, an easy must-see is Breckenridge’s historic Main Street. It’s lined with colorful buildings that date back to the Gold Rush, and there’s something for everyone to discover.
From fashion boutiques and outdoor gear shops to specialty desserts and art galleries, there’s an endless amount of shops to explore. Make sure you stop by Crepes A La Cart, a specialty Crepe joint that will blow away your taste buds. Limber Grove is one of the best places for a Breckenridge shirt, and the Global Candle Store is the perfect place for a gift for someone special.
Go Snow Tubing
There’s several nearby places to go snow tubing, but the two main ones are the Frisco Adventure Park and Keystone Ski Resort. Wear some snow gear, rent a tube, and fly down the hillside before taking the magic carpet back up.
For a fun sledding experience, you can go to Breckenridge’s Carter Park or the Runway Sledding Hill on Airport Road. Both of these are a smaller hill and require more effort since you have to hike back up each time, but they still make for a great day outside, especially if your vacation rental has some sleds laying around.
Summer Alternative: Copper Mountain’s alpine coaster, The Rocky Mountain Coaster, is the second longest alpine coaster in North America. It’s actually open year-round (weather dependent) but this is a great summer alternative if you want to fly down a hill like you would if you were tubing.
Explore Other Local Towns
Breckenridge makes for an incredible base camp for exploring Summit County and the surrounding towns, each of which have their own fun activities and adventures.
Frisco is only a few minutes away and offers great food, a cute Main Street, and the popular Dillon Marina, which is perfect for renting boats or paddleboards in the summertime.
Keystone is a nearby ski resort, and you can pay to ride the gondola up to their peak area, which has amazing 360 degree views of the mountains. They also have snow tubing, ice skating, and more fun things to do.
Copper Mountain is another nearby ski resort, and they have an incredibly fun alpine coaster that’s open year round. This town is also home to the Woodward Copper Barn, an indoor action sports playground for people of all ages.
Silverthorne and Dillon are home to some more urban amenities, like an outlet mall, movie theater, and the Bluebird Market.
Vail is a little farther away (about 45 minutes), but it could be worth the drive if you wanted to spend the day over there. The base area of Vail Ski Resort is like a miniature Switzerland, and they have awesome shopping and restaurants.
Good Times Adventure Tours
Good Times Adventures is one of the best places for winter adventure, and they offer daily snowmobile tours and dog sledding tours. We’ve done both and loved every minute of each!
The snowmobile tours are two hours long and take you to the top of Georgia Pass for an amazing view. The dog sledding tours are a really special adventure where you take turns guiding a whole team of huskies through miles of snowy forest.
Summer Alternative: Good Times Adventure Tours offer summer dog sledding tours, but they look a little different. You’ll start with a tour of their kennel, which houses over 100 purebred Siberian Huskies. You’ll learn about day to day operations, and join your guide on the daily workout so you can see what they do to keep the Huskies in shape year around.
Head Indoors
When the weather doesn’t cooperate in the form of liquid or solid precipitation (rain or snow), there’s a few indoor activities that can help keep you busy.
Try your hand at axe throwing at MTN AXE Breck, or escape from a themed room at Mountain Time Escape Rooms or Escape Room Breckenridge.
Whether you have kids or not, the arcade at Downstairs at Eric’s is a great place to stay indoors for hours on end.
Check the schedule at the local Eclipse Theater, a recently renovated movie theater that plays both new releases and specialty screenings. It was constructed in 1909 and the space was once a historic indoor swimming pool.
For the artsy people in your life, Breck Create has frequent classes for both kids, families, and adults. Some examples include beginner drawing, beginner glass blowing, creative crafts for kids, toddler art, and more.
The Riverwalk Center hosts all kinds of shows and musical events, so check their schedule to see if there’s something that catches your eye.
For a glimpse into Breckenridge’s rich history as a mining town, visit Country Boy Mine for a tour, as well as the Breckenridge Visitor’s Center on Main Street for a mini-museum on the town’s role in the Gold Rush. For more history, consider visiting one of the several museums by the Breckenridge Historical Society.
Visit the Breckenridge Recreation Center
If the weather is bad or if you’re just looking for a break, the Breck Rec Center is a great place to go. You can work out in their gym facilities, play racquetball or basketball in their gymnasium, or take the family swimming at the indoor water park.
There are hot tubs, a lap pool, a slide, and a miniature lazy river that’s perfect for families looking to go swimming year-round.
Go Ice Skating
The Stephen C. West Ice Arena is open year-round and offers public skate several times throughout the week. They have both an indoor and outdoor ice skating rink, so there’s something to do all year long.
In the winter months, this ice arena is home to the Breckenridge Vipers, a semi-professional hockey team. The tickets are cheap and you’ll truly feel like a local if you go to one of their Saturday night games!
Activities You Can Only Do in Summer
Rent e-bikes or take the Vail Pass Bike Ride
Summit County is home to a huge network of paved trails that offer some of the most summer fun we’ve ever had. You can rent regular bikes and pedal your way around, or rent e-bikes and fly down the paths with pedal assist.
A personal favorite of ours is to rent e-bikes and ride the 18-mile loop around Dillon Reservoir – it’s simply beautiful!
If you enjoy biking but don’t want to put in the effort, one of the most fun activities in the whole area is the Vail Pass Bike Ride. Book with a company in the nearby town of Frisco (like Rebel Sports), and take their shuttle up to the top of Vail Pass. From there, you bike downhill 14 miles back to town, passing through the beautiful 10 Mile Canyon the whole way.
Paddleboarding on Dillon Reservoir
Dillon Reservoir (aka Lake Dillon) is one of the most beautiful lakes in the country and it’s a personal favorite of ours when it comes to summer activities. The marina in Frisco offers rentals for paddleboards, which launch from the sandy beach on the shores of the lake.
If you want to get further out into the water, we highly recommend a pontoon boat rental. Know that swimming in Lake Dillon is limited to areas where you can touch the bottom, and you are not allowed to jump off the boat to swim because the water is too cold.
Other Suggestions
It’s practically impossible to fit all the best Breckenridge activities into one single article, so we’ve included a short list of some other things you should consider looking into for your visit.
- White Water Rafting in nearby Buena Vista (summer only)
- Horseback Riding in nearby Park County (summer only)
- Guided Fly Fishing from a local outfitter in Breckenridge (year round but only recommended for summer time)
- Winter Sleigh Rides by Two Below Zero
- Mountain biking (summer only)
- Historic Walking Tour or Ghost Tour
Author Bio:
Hi there! I’m Ashley Vitiello, Editor-in-Chief at Know Nothing Nomads. I am an avid hiker, and I love sharing my knowledge to help inspire others to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. We lived in Breckenridge for several years, so we know all the best spots – I hope you’ll find value in my suggestions so you can have an amazing vacation to this beautiful mountain town.
