Breckenridge Ski Resort

Breckenridge At A Glance
2,908 acres
187 trails, 35 lifts including a Gondola
3,398′ vertical, 12,840′ summit elevation

NEW for 2021/22: The Freedom Super Chair on Peak 7 will offer a slick new way to return to Peaks 8, 9 & 10 from Peak 6!

Breckenridge in Colorado truly offers something for every skier and rider, it’s a sprawling mountain with several peaks, numbered Peaks 10, 9, 8, 7,and 6 with Peak 8’s Imperial Express offering the highest lift served elevation in North America at 12,840′. Breck opened in 1961 and was the first resort to install a high-speed quad in 1981 and first ski resort to allow snowboarders in 1984.

Breckenridge is the busiest ski resort in the US, it has expanded to 2,908 acres, busier than Vail’s 5,400 acres or Whistler Blackcomb – both sister properties as Breck is a Vail owned resort also, and part of the Vail Epic Pass.

Families love the ego pleasing terrain at Breck, so many easy long blue intermediate boulevards dominate the lower mountain, well groomed with gorgeous views of the Rockies. Breck has a big learn to ski and ride school, with designated learning areas, family ski zones and kid adventure parks – the kids will love skiing through Breck’s animated western Camp Ripperoo and Haunted Forest.

Park skiers love Breck, their terrain parks and 22’ Superpipe score top marks from the best free riders as their training ground. Breck hosts the Mountain Dew Tour among other cool free skier and snowboard events throughout the year.

Expert skiers can find plenty of challenge on Breck’s upper mountain Peaks 8, 10 and 6 that offer wide open high alpine bowl skiing. Breck gets windy, and the snow loads up in certain aspects like Imperial Bowl and Whale’s Tail (a personal favorite) from the 12,840’ summit, and Serenity Bowl on Peak 6. We hiked to 13,000’ into the double black diamond Lake Chutes, the hike was more extreme (breathtaking) than the skiing, but the entire adventure was worth it… not your average ski day!

Modern lifts include six pack Super Chairs, quads and the gondola that connects Breck’s ski slopes to the newly developed Peak 7 and 8 ski villages and the old frontier downtown – its a true family ski destination.

Downtown Breck, once a cute cowboy stylish Main Street with a few shops and bars, has grown good size western mountain village with a pedestrian square, River Walk, with malls, and many hotels, shops and restaurants, all interconnected to the ski mountain by a transportation gondola.

Breckenridge’s best ski hotels are Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. We enjoyed staying slopeside at Valdoro Mountain Lodge and Beaver Run.  The five star ski in ski out lodging properties at Peak 8 – Rock Resorts One Ski Place or the Grand Coloradan look amazing. See our favorite places for après ski, happy hour and dining around Breck.

With its proximity to Denver Breck gets more skier visits than sister Vail up the road and the vibrant bustling resort shows its volume handling skills. Its festive and fun with cool events like Ullr and a Snow Sculpture event in January. Breckenridge does get very busy on weekends. Breck has ski and stay packages, great skiers services for families, shopping, spas, and events galore for the non skiing Breck girl. Breckenridge is on our Top Colorado Ski Resorts for a Family Ski Trip.

Breckenridge is part of Vail Resorts so skiing here is included with Epic Pass privileges at Vail, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Beaver Creek, among 20+ others. The Epic Pass is a great value for anyone who plans on skiing more than 6 days – at about $800 for the pass, versus $160+ a day for lift tickets. Epic Pass sales end in November and the earlier you purchase your pass the less you will pay. The Epic Pass even includes 6 days of skiing in The Alps – Val D’Isere and 3 Vallees in France, Switzerland’s Verbier, Austria’s Lech and others as a bonus!

See more on Colorado’s best skiing
Top Western Ski Destinations