Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

Winter Warmer: Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge

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Usually, my family takes our vacation together in mid-summer, mostly due to the fact that we always had to travel around my dad’s schedule as a CPA, which meant nothing from late December through April, nor could we be gone from mid-August through mid-October. Ski trips, thus, were always off the table—so now that Dad’s not working anymore, Mom got her dream winter trip: a ski vacation in Breckenridge.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

Mom was a big skier living in Europe and California throughout her 20s, and I really got into skiing while I was a San Francisco resident myself. I love living back in Tennessee, and while I wouldn’t trade it for anything—OK, maybe a beach house on the Florida Gulf Coast, but that would be about it—the one big downfall is that there are no legit ski mountains within a half-day’s drive of us. We pretty much have to fly if we want to take a proper ski vacation.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

Where to Go in Breckenridge
Where to Go in Breckenridge

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

And I’m not going to lie, this trip was a beast to plan, as Mom was set on going the week between Christmas and New Year’s because my sister and her husband, both accountants, would be coming, and unlike my dad, they still do work for the family firm. And do you know how ungodly expensive it is to book a vacation rental on Airbnb in Breckenridge during Christmas? Pretty much only a reality if you travel with deep, deep pockets. When I was searching last spring, a good eight months before the trip, the average price was already upward of $1500 (a night!), i.e. way out of our budget. Not to mention, the vacation rental owners often use their homes for that one week of the year: from Christmas through New Year’s. Add in the fact that we were looking for a three-bedroom, and it was even harder. More on our lodging in a second.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

There was no way around getting cheap flights either; we booked way back in the summer, and prices on Southwest were already $525 round-trip from Nashville, a whopping $325 more than we normally pay to fly to Denver in January or February. Still, I looked around, and that was far cheaper than flying to Park City or Tahoe during Christmas.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

What I’m saying is if you want to go do Breckenridge affordably, the holidays is not your time. I highly recommend the period between MLK Day and Presidents’ Day (aka right now!)—or anytime before Spring Break, really—when crowds are fewer and rentals not so hard to come by.

Skiing on Christmas Day, however, was a BLAST.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

But this was Mom’s Christmas gift to all of us—mainly because it was a trip she really wanted to go on and one she clearly wouldn’t do solo—and when she handed over the keys to choosing the resort, there was only one clear choice in my mind.

Why We Love Breckenridge

I always thought I’d move to Colorado when I was in my 20s; then, I met (and later married) SVV and was swept away to California instead. I’ve always loved everything about Colorado: the fact that everyone seems to live their lives outside despite the oft-frigid temps, the reality that you can live in a major metro area and still be within 90 minutes of the slopes, the abundance of sunny days and bluebird skies, the revelation that there are so many mountains and/or national parks everywhere you look. Colorado, to me, is one of our most majestic states.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

And I’ve been to quite a few Colorado ski towns at this point, but few have taken up permanent residence in my heart the way Breckenridge has. I love that the slopes are accessible directly from town (via gondola, lift or car) and that there is even a town to begin with (many ski resort communities are just that: the ski resort). This is the place to go if you dabble in snow sports but want to spend just as much time off the slopes as on, as there’s plenty to do off-piste from fat biking to art classes, fine dining to brewery- and distillery-hopping.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

It’s also a great place to ski for expert skiers and snowboarders with its varied terrain and 187 runs. I guess what I’m saying is that Breck fits that one-size-fits-all model when it comes to travelers. There is definitely something for everybody.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

Pro tip: Get yourself to an oxygen bar as soon as you arrive to help acclimate to the altitude. Locals told us we were crazy for landing in Denver and immediately heading up the mountain, but oxygen seemed to help all of us cope!

Oxygen Bar in Breckenridge, Colorado

How to Ski Breckenridge

Breckenridge is absolutely massive with five peaks and, as noted above, 187 trails(!). SVV was skiing for the first time in 26 years—you may recall, he’s a pretty savvy snowboarder—and Josh was on a board while Mom and me were both on skis. While we were there, most of the black runs were closed due to a lack of snow (it was early in the season), so that kind of made our decision easier: We’d stick to the blues.

Still, even with more limited runs available, it’s wise to plot your plan of attack in advance. We were staying right next to the gondola, so it made sense that we’d stay close to Peak 7 and Peak 8. (Peaks 6 and 10 were closed due to conditions.) Plus, Peaks 7 and 8 lay claim to some of my favorite runs: loooong, wide-open groomers perfect for intermediates. I could ski Columbia, Wanderlust, Pioneer and Monte Cristo all day long.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

We saved Peak 9 for the final day, which turned out to be a good move—it was a whiteout day, so crowds were slim—then skied down to where our rental equipment return was.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

My hotshot brother-in-law also just had to try the pair of terrain parks off of Peak 8. I got some epic footage, but I promised not to post it here in case his mom and sisters were reading (ha!).

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

Is that Lindsey Vonn? Why no, it’s just my wee mom!

Where to Eat on Breckenridge Mountain

You know how when you travel, hotel food is often just an afterthought? The same is often true for slope-side dining—but not in this foodie town. I remember loving everything I ate the first time we visited Breckenridge three winters ago, and it was even better on this visit as there were a couple new spots that had been added to the dining scene.

Where to Eat at Breckenridge
Where to Eat at Breckenridge

We ate at Pioneer Crossing at the top of Peak 7 two lunches in a row, it was that good. Think lobster mac and cheese, gourmet burgers, a chili and grilled cheese bar. The temps were also so cold while we were there, topping out at 10 degrees most days, that we needed a warm whiskey drink every couple runs, so Broken Spoke became our spot. I was pleased to find out they even had one of my favorite Tennessee liqueurs on the menu, Whisper Creek sipping cream!

Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort

On the final day, we skied the opposite side of the mountain around Beaver Run, so we ended our afternoon just off the QuickSilver SuperChair at TenMile Station, where there’s a brand new Candy Corner. That’s right: an old-school candy shop right in the middle of the mountain! Needless to say, we stocked up on treats and filled SVV’s CamelBak (he never goes skiing without it!) before cruising back down the mountain and turning in our skis for the trip.

Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort
Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort

Where to Stay in Breckenridge

On our last trip to Breckenridge, we stayed at Peak 7 in one of the many condo buildings. That was a great spot, and I loved the ski-in, ski-out access. This time, however, we were traveling with both my dad (a stroke victim with more limited capabilities) and my sister (31 weeks pregnant, also with limitations), plus only skiing three out of the seven days, so we wanted to stay closer to Main Street, where there were off-piste adventures to be had (mostly, eating and drinking and shopping).

Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort
Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort

I almost canceled this trip multiple times—particularly after Book Breck canceled our booking after I finally had found what I thought was the perfect one for my family, both in our price and size range—but then I turned to a local friend who lives in nearby Dillon, and she suggested looking into the bookings with a local company VisitBreck, which has an office toward the entrance to the town, rather than pulling my hair out trying to find something on VRBO or HomeAway.

Where to Stay in Breckenridge

In the end, we paid a bit more than we were hoping to (again, holiday surge pricing), but I highly endorse the company and our entire process from check-in to check-out was seamless. I’ll be going to them first on my next trip to Breck before even bothering to deal with Airbnb, HomeAway or VRBO.

Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort
Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort

Where to Rent Your Gear

Other than my boots and helmet and all our clothing, we came with relatively no gear. We needed to rent skis and poles for everyone, in addition to boots and helmets for my Mom, SVV and Josh. I did some Googling for ski rental gear and came across Breeze Ski Rentals, which was located at the base of the Beaver Run lift and featured deals that averaged around $25 cheaper a day than the other ski shops I found. I paid $115 for three days of the demo ski packages (skis and poles) while SVV paid around $147 for the performance ski package with boots and a helmet. Breeze had plenty of other gear available if you need more than just the basics, and we saw ski masks, hats, gloves, hand warmers (which you can also buy in bulk via Amazon), the whole nine yards available at all the shops and kiosks within the ski resort.

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado

Explore Beyond the Slopes

We had two rental cars, so SVV and I spent one morning driving up to Hoosier Pass for a bit of snow hiking. We also wanted to hit up Boreas Pass and these other highly Instagrammable spots in Breck, but somehow though there for seven days, we just ran out of time!

Hoosier Pass in Breckenridge, Colorado

Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort
Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort

Hoosier Pass in Breckenridge, Colorado

If you don’t have time to go too far—or the road conditions aren’t in your favor—we found some nice vistas by driving up Wellington and back down Reiling Road. You can also head up the sledding hill of Carter Park for a shot of the town from up high.

Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort
Dining at Breckenridge Ski Resort

Shop My Ski Wardrobe

 

I’m hoping to head back to Summit County in the next year or two to see it in summer. But in the meantime, anything you want to know about planning a winter vacation to Breckenridge leave a note in the comments!

Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado


 

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Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado
Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado
Planning a Ski Vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado
COMMENTS
  • February 7, 2018
    Mister Sister

    And for anyone who cares.. I had just as much fun as the skiers/snowboarders!!!

  • February 7, 2018

    Haha, love seeing Santa on the slopes! I haven’t been on a ski vacation with my family since I was in middle school, but this looks like a great one! I especially love that Breckenridge is an actual town, so it seems like there’s plenty to do if you don’t want to spend all your time on the slopes!

    • February 7, 2018

      Exactly! The Main Street is SO cute, and even there for seven days, we barely made a dent in the restaurant and bar list I created pre-trip.

  • February 7, 2018

    Skiing or any kind of winter sports don’t appeal to me, but I love the mountains on a sunny day!

    I haven’t been to any of the ski resorts in Europe, but I’m sure I will one day if only to bask in the sunshine and enjoy a nice glass of wine on a terrace 🙂

    • February 7, 2018

      You could be a lodge bunny like my sister was! We planned the trip before she was pregnant, so I’m doubly glad I had picked the one Colorado ski town that had a lot more to do other than snow sports =)

  • February 7, 2018

    Colorado is still on my list! This trip looks perfect. I don’t have a ton of experience skiing but I still want to go just to check out the beer scene.

    • February 9, 2018

      It’s a great place to dip your toes into the (frozen) pond of skiing as with 187 trails, there’s SO much diversity. Plenty of gentle greens and blue groomers for the beginner or intermediate skier =)

  • February 7, 2018

    My son moved to Denver four years ago – for basically all the reasons that you’ve mentioned – and we’ve done an every-other-year Christmas visit to him ( and obviously he comes home every-other-year) We did Breckenridge two years ago – and after as much turmoil planning it as you had, we still really enjoyed it. The condo we rented caught fire and our reservation was cancelled three (!) weeks before our arrival – Christmas Eve to New Years – but we luckily found something else. A bit less than ideal but at least we had a place to stay. We enjoyed the oxygen bar – my first time- and the Irish Pub downtown.Still didn’t have enough time to do everything we wanted – but there’s always next time!

    • February 9, 2018

      We still really enjoyed it, too, Jill! But man, I almost canceled this trip on numerous occasions—I’ve never had more difficulty planning a vacation before. (Well, OK, our trip to Turkey two years ago that we canceled due to the airport bombing may have been slightly more stressful.)

      Lucky you having an excuse to go to Colorado, though! Maybe you can amend it to MLK or Presidents’ Day Weekend one of these years to make it an easier trip to plan 😉

  • February 9, 2018
    Kally

    Thanks for this! Good info and gorgeous photos. I was just wishing that some of my fav bloggers would have content on Breckenridge. Just booked a trip there and I still needed to find rentals and some restaurants. Breeze is right by our front door and they were easy to book with. Now to find some good beer spots to hit and I’ll be set!

    • February 9, 2018

      Oooh! I have dining recs for you, for sure.

      My very favorite restaurant from this trip was Breckenridge Distillery, funny enough—we had a four-course Christmas dinner there, and it was phenomenal. We went back a separate day to try all the cocktails we couldn’t fit into our stomach on the first night. Go for dinner, stay for the drinks.

      We found ourselves going to Breckenridge Tap House for dinner on two separate nights as we hadn’t made reservations and a lot of places were an hour wait. We got a table at the tap house right away both times, and the food (mainly tacos and other small bites) and drink selection were both on point. As one beer lover to another, DEFINITELY go here.

      The most unexpectedly delicious dinner was pizza from Downstairs at Eric’s. We carried out, but it’s also got a large dining room. Definitely go there!

      On our last visit, we went to Modis and weren’t impressed with the food, but the cocktails were good. So I’d reserve it for a drink spot.

      Broken Compass is a really fun brewery with out-of-the-box beers. It gets busy around 4/5 when people are exiting the slopes, so get there before then. Breck Brewery was a bit underwhelming.

      People RAVED about Blue River Bistro; we had lunch there and completely agree that it lives up to the hype. You can also make reservations there, I believe, and I’d recommend it.

      Park & Main gets excellent reviews on Yelp (and from other friends), but we had brunch there on our last visit and thought it was just “meh.” Maybe it’s better for lunch or dinner.

      We had lunch at Cuppa Joe three years ago and again on this visit, and it’s divine. Great breakfast/lunch burritos and excellent coffee drinks.

      Rocky Mountain Underground (RMU) is a new bar/ski shop. Fun place to have a round or two.

      And obviously, you have to go to the crepe truck at least once, duh (I won’t judge if you go daily!). There’s another new food truck, Gnarly Shawarma, that Scott and I both endorse.

      Hope that helps! =)

      • February 9, 2018
        Kally

        This made my day, thanks! 🙂 I’ve only been once with a big group of friends and other than Broken Compass (fun and now I want an old lift chair on my porch) and a forgettable sports bar, we mostly stayed in. Definitely going to try some of these!

        • February 11, 2018

          Have an excellent trip, Kally!

  • February 11, 2018
    Elise

    We love Breck and have a floating timeshare on Peak 7, best spot in Breck! We’re going to try Steamboat Springs this year..Can’t wait and it’s about 2000 ft. lower in elevation than Breck so hopefully I won’t need the extra oxygen but I just might try it anyway since you endorsed it! Loved your pics!

    • February 11, 2018

      NICE. The last time we were there, we stayed at Crystal Peak Lodge and you get so spoiled with that ski-in, ski-out access! Have a blast in Steamboat. We tried to go there when we were in Fort Collins a little over a year ago but they hadn’t gotten any snow yet.

  • February 15, 2018

    I really should have learned to ski back in the day when my mom and stepdad had a shop at Snowshoe, but at 4 I learned that falling down and refusing to get back up resulted in a warming tent and hot chocolate, which seemed infinitely better than ski lessons.

    ALSO, THAT FOX, OMG, I WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH IT.

    • February 15, 2018

      It’s never too late to learn! I do recommend getting lessons, though; I was a very timid skier up until about 25 because I clearly did not grow up near any slopes, but then took a lesson with an awesome instructor on three or four different trips and it made ALL the difference. I’m no longer very timid on the slopes, and I didn’t fall once in Breck 😉

  • October 10, 2019
    Marci

    Thank you for sharing you adventure to Breck! I am planning a Trip there just after New Year’s (Jan 1-4. I will be flying into Denver and was wondering the best way to get to Breck. Should I rent a car (seems expensive) or rely on public transit (train or bus)?

    Thanks for your input!

    • October 11, 2019

      I would definitely rent a car if you feel comfortable driving in the snow. I haven’t taken public transportation, but that’s quite the drive from the airport and I doubt it’s reliable! Besides, while Breck is walkable, depending on where you’re staying, you may want to drive to other parts of town if you’re staying up on the mountain. Pro tip: I sometimes will stay a night in Denver on one end and rent from a city rental car location to avoid the airport tax on rental cars! But don’t tell them you’re doing that, as it’s a bit of a don’t-ask, don’t-tell kind of policy 😉

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