Accommodations

Breckenridge offers an nature oriented outdoor getaway with a variety of cabins, vacation homes, hotels, and resorts. Choose an accommodation near any of Breckenridge's local attractions that offers comfort while making the most of the beautiful mountains and attractions at affordably priced rates.

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Activities

Boreas Pass is an excellent road for a novice mountain biker, for it is wide and the views are incredible. The ride passes beautiful aspen groves and the view gets even better when the leaves begin to change. Near Breckenridge on I-70 is the Georgetown Loop Historic Railroad, one of Colorado's great narrow gauge railroads. An engineering marvel originally built in 1884, ride the railroad and be astounded by the Devil's Gate High Bridge, the beautiful Rocky Mountain views and the Georgetown Loop. Get your hands dirty at the Country Boy Mine while taking a guided mine tour, complete with a hard hat, and learn about what it might have been like to be a Colorado miner in the late 1800s.

Events

Each January, blank canvases of snow become works of art, a whimsical bouquet of enormous flowers, to thought provoking abstract shapes. These masterpieces are sculpted before thousands of spectators over the course of five days in the heart of town. Artists from all over the world present intricate, awe-inspiring snow sculptures. At the Annual Breckenridge Film Festival in June, audiences have enjoyed meeting actors and directors. In addition to the celebrities, the festival offers a first look at Hollywood’s newest releases. Breckenridge’s Annual Oktoberfest returns to Main Street to commemorate a time-honored tradition of German heritage. The festival offers Oompah music, Bavarian foods and kids’ activities. Join Breckenridge and Paulaner Bier for the best Oktoberfest in the mountains.

Mountain Activities

The slopes and ski runs that surround Breckenridge offer some of the finest winter sports in the world, but they do not have to be covered in snow to enjoy. While well known for the skiing and snowboarding, Breckenridge in the summer and fall offers spectacular backgrounds for hiking, bicycling, camping, and fishing.

Golfing

The Town of Breckenridge boasts that it is the only municipality in the world to own a Jack Nicklaus designed, 27-hole golf course. The first 18 holes opened for play in 1985 and the Town opened another nine holes also designed by Nicklaus in 2001. The new Elk nine as it is named, offers more elevation change than the Bear and Beaver nines.

History

Prospectors entered what is now Summitt County in 1859, soon after the gold discoveries farther east at Idaho Springs. Breckinridge was founded as a base for miners working rich placer gold deposits discovered along Georgia Gulch. Placer gold mining was soon joined by hard rock mining and hydraulic mining. Gold production decreased in the late 1800s, but revived in 1908 by gold dredging operations along the Blue River and Swan River. The Breckenridge mining district is credited with production of about one million troy ounces of gold. While the gold mines around Breckenridge are no longer worked, some are open to tourist visits. Gravel ridges left by the gold dredges can still be seen along the Blue River and Snake River, and remains of a dredge are still in a pond off the Swan River.

General George E. Spencer is credited with founding the new mining town, naming it after John Cabell Breckinridge, then Vice President of the U.S. General Spencer was hoping to be awarded a post office for the town, which succeeded. However, when the Civil War broke out, the Vice President became a Confederate General and was convicted of treason by the Senate. The town quietly changed an "I" to an "E" and became Breckenridge ever since.