Breckenridge, Colorado. A cute and serene town. It’s about 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours away from Colorado Springs. Whether you are ready to escape the Springs’ heat in the summer time or are looking for an early taste of winter, Breck (as the locals call it) is the perfect place.
There is a Main Street with lots of shops or window shopping and a pedestrian zone with more shopping opportunities - the town has a great flair.
This past weekend our family of five just spend a day in Breck to have fun in the snow. It was a comfortable day. We didn’t leave too early in the morning – around 10am. On Highway 24 we headed west toward Woodland Park and over Wilkerson Pass. If this is your first trip heading towards the ski areas of Breck, Keystone and Copper – get out and enjoy the view for a few minutes. It is absolutely breath-taking and as you head down Wilkerson Pass you will be able to see to the next snow covered mountain ridge!
Next turn: Fairplay and Southpark. Yes! It is Southpark that inspired the TV show. Worth a short stop but maybe not all on your first trip, otherwise you’ll never get to Breckenridge. Once you have climbed Hoosier pass you are almost there. Did I mention that 4WD is pretty much a must in the winter?
I wanted to surprise the kids with a ride on the Gold Runner Coaster which was opened last year on the base of Peak 8. As we came into town we headed straight for the gondola parking lot. You see, there is no skier parking on peak 7 or 8, unless you have accommodations in one of the resorts. Everyone else parks at the bottom and takes the free gondola up to either peaks. The coaster is gondola stop number three, you’ll see it from the gondola. Buy your tickets at the ski school center and walk up to the coaster. The coaster will take you up the ride in 6 minutes and you will race down in one. This was the priciest event of the day: $15 for everyone over 7 years. The kids loved it and it was well worth it for us.
Afterward, we headed down the mountain for snack time. Of course, you can go into any of the restaurants there and eat, but next to the north parking lot is City Market grocery store. Fill up on warm soups and sandwiches there, for less.
Sledding isn’t permitted on the ski slopes, but there is Carter (sledding)Park on High Street next to the Breck Elementary School in town. It is a great park with shelter and a large dog run. After an hour of sledding we left the park blissfully exhausted. It was time to head home when it started to get dark around 4pm. It had also started snowing giving the town a pre-christmas feel.
Once in Alma we indulged in a cup of coffee to keep us going until we hit home turf. Ahhh, a perfect day!
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