While Breck Pride was cancelled this year due to the Coronavirus, Breckeridge, Colorado is an open and welcoming community to all travelers and provides an incredible year round Rocky Mountain vacation experience. Breck shines especially bright in the fall as it is one of the first destinations in Colorado to transition to fall colors.
A great new LGBTQ-friendly property to check out is the new Gravity Haus, which opened last December. Enjoy the custom comforts of a brand new boutique hotel, located directly at the base of Breckenridge mountain. Located in the very heart of Breck, you can walk out the front door and explore Main Street in minutes. With 60 curated rooms made for ultimate relaxation, and countless amenities tailored to the modern outdoor enthusiast, Gravity Haus embodies the crafted Colorado experience. Relax in the dry sauna or soaking tubs in our mountain-side Japanese-inspired onsen, swap stories over a meal at Cabin Juice, or practice your air awareness on the supertramp. Let Breck Haus be the place you begin and end your best adventure days.
Social Distancing Through the Outdoors - Lesser Known Outdoor Experiences in Breck: The Town of Breckenridge is home to hundreds of miles of area hiking and biking trails with ample opportunities for travelers to recreate while social distancing.
Experience Art in the Outdoors:
○ There’s no need to pack into a museum to experience incredible arts and cultural offerings. The Breckenridge International Festival of the Arts (BIFA) Trail Mix series connects art and music to the town’s natural environment through concerts and art installations in Breckenridge’s outdoor landscape.
○ Isak Heartstone, the large-scale, wooden troll sculpture created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, can also be found along the specially constructed one-way Trollstigen Trail. Dambo specializes in making imaginative art pieces from recycled materials.
○ The Breckenridge Public Art Collection engages passersby from all walks of life, inciting conversation around topics that are quintessentially Breckenridge, from the picturesque mountain environment to rich local history. There are more than 30 pieces seen on a self-guided tour in the permanent collection that occupy carefully-selected public spaces throughout town.
Hiking and Mountain Biking Trails to Yourself (History Lesson Included): With hundreds of miles of area trails, it is easy to have a trail all to yourself. A few less traveled routes include:
○ The Wire Patch Trail, part of Breckenirdge’s expansive French Gulch trail system is a buffed trail with endless connectors and beautiful scenery, including views of the Breckenridge Ski Resort to the west and towering Mount Guyot to the east. *Learn a bit about Breckenridge’s mining history on the trails of French Gulch by reading interpretive signage and spotting remains of the area’s mining past.
○ The Peaks Trail is about 9 miles and runs from Breckenridge to Frisco with breathtaking views of the Ten Mile Range. The trail follows an old mining road from the 1800’s and has a section that runs alongside an aqueduct that was built by miners to funnel and sift water containing precious gold and silver.
○ The Burro Trail is so close to downtown Breckenridge but so far removed. The woods are deep and dark with the shade of large spruce trees that are a refreshing break from the summer sun. The busy creek burbles alongside the trail and beaver ponds and meadows create openings in the forest canopy.
Find Serenity at an Alpine Lake: Explore the beauty of the Crystal Lakes. Beginning on an 1880’s wagon road, climb to treeline through a spruce forest and into a vast alpine meadow to the Lower Crystal Lake surrounded by towering, craggy peaks. For those looking for more adventure, hike to the Upper Crystal Lake at 12,900 feet.
Everyone Knows 14ers - Climb a Lesser-Known Breck 12er or 13er: While peak bagging 14,000-foot peaks (14ers) has some grandeur qualities, escaping the crowds that flock to their summits is one of many reasons to seek out Breckenridge area 12ers and 13ers. Summit County is home to bountiful options when it comes to ascending peaks, and most of these options are between 12,000 and 14,000 feet. Choose from mountains such as Peak 9, Crystal Peak, Wheeler Mountain, Peak 10, Pacific Peak and the list goes on.
Fly Fish On Secluded Mountain Streams: Fly fishing has always been about peace and solitude, and Breckenridge is home to some of the best fly fishing waters in the state of Colorado. With numerous rivers, streams, alpine lakes and reservoirs carrying fresh snowmelt all within an hour of downtown, there’s a destination to match nearly all interests and skill levels.
Dog Sledding in Summer?! Rocky Mountain safari meets Arctic exploration in the midst of wildflower season with a NEW summer dog sledding experience from Good Times adventures.
Rediscover Yourself - Breckenridge is the Place to Elevate Health and Wellness in the Outdoors:
After months of quarantining, Breckenridge’s year-round outdoor offerings, active lifestyle, fresh mountain air and sunshine appeal to visitors in search of a true wellness retreat. Visitors can explore miles of interconnected trails for year-round adventures, a designated bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists, unique spa offerings, quaint yoga studios, nourishing dining options from locals’ favorite spots including Amazing Grace and LoLo Juice and more.
Meta Yoga Studios is a wonderful place to start the day with an intention. Harmony Health Massage & Wellness offers relaxing massages and spa treatments and Ambika Herbals offers ayurvedic treatments or healing energy work. With two of the highest grottos in the world, Soothe and Infinity Spas located at the base of Peak 8 and Peak 7 of the Breckenridge Ski Resort, feature a salt water hot tub with a waterfall, a eucalyptus-infused steam room and a cedar sauna ideal to let worries melt away.
Travelers who want an immersive and hands-on wellness experience can take a class or workshop on herbals at the Breckenridge Arts District with Erica Ragusa of Ambika Herbals. Using native plants found in the Breckenridge area, Ragusa creates tinctures, salves, elixirs and “mock-tails” to create healing modalities.
Those looking for a guided wellness experience can hire Colorado Adventure Guides for outdoor adventures ranging from sightseeing hikes to peak ascents and multi-day backpacking trips. Those hoping to take their adventuring to the next level can train with The Summit Endurance Academy, a local full-service endurance coaching company specializing in helping people do everything from just simply living a healthier lifestyle, to their first 5k or even a 100k.
When it comes time to rest after a day of wellness pursuits, Breckenridge has a selection of lodging offerings focused on outdoor adventure and wellness including the new Gravity Haus that offers on-site Japanese Onsen and a Dryland Fitness Center as well as the anticipated completion of the LOGE Breckenridge.
First to Fall - Experience Fall Colors in Breckenridge:
For those who are already craving cooler temps, evening sweaters and fall colors, Breckenridge is the place to book a September vacation. Located at 9,600 ft. above sea level, the charming and historic town is one of the first in Colorado to say hello to fall. The area's splendid groves of aspen trees begin their annual transformation to brilliant gold earlier given the town’s high elevation.
Search for Gold on Breckenridge’s Singletrack: Breckenridge manicures 60+ miles of interconnected trails perfect for fall. The trails of French Gulch pass through Breckenridge’s “Golden Horseshoe,” one of Colorado’s most fertile mining regions. The initial gold strikes here in 1859 gave birth to the town and, for most of the next century, Breckenridge’s fortunes were largely driven by the Golden Horseshoe’s output. Today, the French Gulch Road area offers a number of singletrack options, several that pass by old mining remains and groves of changing aspens, that make for a beautiful autumn ride or hike.
Big Snow Year Means Fall Rafting and Fishing: Breckenridge’s ski season was sadly cut short this year, which was a record snow year with 300+ inches of snowfall. The silver lining is that with all the snow, it is predicted that fall fly fishing will be amazing and the rafting season will extend into fall. In the fall, the weather and water conditions can often be more stable for fly fishing. One of Breck’s best kept secrets is that it is an amazing hub for whitewater rafting with nearby access to some of the best rivers for rafting in the state.
Be Inspired By Fall With Art: Photographers from all over the world travel to the Breckenridge area in the autumn to capture the colorful foliage of the aspen trees set against the majestic backdrop of the towering peaks. Visitors should check the BreckCreate fall schedule for visual and performing arts, heritage and museum activities, craft education, culinary and healing arts, design, film and literature for individual self-expression and cultural exploration.