Breckenridge
Overview
Breckenridge is a former gold-mining town turned ski resort, and the two histories sit close together downtown, where Victorian-era storefronts on Main Street lead directly to the base of Peak 9. Skiing arrived here on December 16, 1961, with a single Heron double chairlift on Peak 8; the operation has since passed through several owners — Aspen Skiing Company in the 1970s, a Tokyo-based firm called Victoria Ltd in the late ’80s, Ralston-Purina in the early ’90s — before Vail Resorts took over in 1996, the year that also brought the resort onto the Epic Pass network decades later.
What makes Breckenridge distinct from its Summit County neighbors is its spread: five separate peaks, numbered 6 through 10, strung along the Tenmile Range rather than one contiguous face. Peak 9, closest to town, carries much of the easy and intermediate terrain that beginners and families use, while Peaks 7 and 6 hold higher alpine bowls and steeper pitches reached by the Imperial Express SuperChair, among the highest-elevation lifts operating in North America. Across the five peaks, the resort counts 146 runs and 111.22km of terrain: 25.99km easy, 47.69km intermediate, and a combined 37.22km rated advanced, expert, or extreme.
The lift fleet reflects that five-peak footprint: 20 chairlifts do most of the work, backed by three surface-loading platters, a lone t-bar, one gondola, and 10 magic carpets clustered around the beginner zones at the base — 35 machines in total, more than Vail despite Breckenridge’s smaller overall run mileage. The vertical drop runs 992.7m from a 2,917.4m base to the 3,910.1m summit, putting Breckenridge among the highest-elevation ski towns in Colorado.
Getting to Breckenridge means a drive in from one of three regional fields — Aspen-Pitkin County (ASE) at 75.1km, Eagle County Regional (EGE) at 75.7km, or the Denver-side Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (BJC) at 93.9km — before Denver International itself, roughly 126.1km out. Both the Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass admit skiers here with no blackout restriction, a friendlier arrangement than at some other Vail Resorts mountains that limit the Local tier over holidays. Beyond winter sports, Breckenridge built a reputation through the Winter Dew Tour, which it hosted annually from 2008 until the event moved on in 2020. Front Range cities sit within striking distance for a day trip: Boulder (population 106,803) is roughly 90.2km out, Arvada (115,368) is about 90.8km, and Lakewood (152,597) is the closest of the three at 87.6km, all nearer to Breckenridge than to some of the other Summit County resorts covered in this guide. In imperial terms, that’s roughly 3,257 feet of vertical over about 69.1 miles of marked trail. OpenStreetMap-based mapping of the resort finds 198 runs across its 35 lifts, a higher count than Breckenridge’s own 146-run tally, a gap that reflects how community-mapped data segments the mountain’s many interconnecting trails.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| t-bar | 1 |
| gondola | 1 |
| platter | 3 |
| chair lift | 20 |
| magic carpet | 10 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 25.99 km |
| other | 0.32 km |
| expert | 1.3 km |
| extreme | 0.68 km |
| advanced | 35.24 km |
| intermediate | 47.69 km |
Maps
View official Breckenridge trail map (PDF) →
Run & lift overview
Breckenridge: 198 runs, 35 lifts. A schematic built from OpenStreetMap/OpenSkiMap data — this is not Breckenridge's official trail map. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Breckenridge is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Epic Pass — Unlimited, no blackout dates
- Epic Local Pass — Unlimited, no blackout dates
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field) (ASE) — 75.1 km straight-line
- Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) — 75.7 km straight-line
- Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC) — 93.9 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Lakewood, Colorado — 87.6 km straight-line
- Boulder, Colorado — 90.2 km straight-line
- Arvada, Colorado — 90.8 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Breckenridge is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Copper Mountain — 8 km straight-line, 796.9 m vertical
- Keystone — 16 km straight-line, 912.9 m vertical
- Arapahoe Basin — 23 km straight-line, 512.7 m vertical
- Ski Cooper — 24 km straight-line, 353.2 m vertical
- Loveland Basin Ski Area — 26 km straight-line, 548 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Breckenridge Ski Resort?
- Breckenridge climbs from a 2,917.4m base to a 3,910.1m summit, a vertical drop of 992.7m, across 146 runs totaling 111.22km. It's served by 35 lifts, including a gondola, 20 chairlifts, and 10 magic carpets for the learning terrain.
- Is Breckenridge good for beginners?
- Yes — 25.99km of Breckenridge's terrain is rated easy, and the resort runs 10 magic carpets, more than any other lift type on the mountain besides chairlifts. Peak 9, the original base area, is where most of that beginner terrain sits, away from the steeper bowls further along the ridge.
- Is Breckenridge good for experts?
- There's real expert terrain here even though it's a smaller share of the map: 35.24km is rated advanced plus another 1.3km expert and 0.68km extreme, much of it in the high alpine bowls accessed from the upper lifts. The Imperial Express SuperChair reaches some of the highest lift-served terrain in North America.
- Which pass covers Breckenridge?
- Breckenridge is covered by both the Epic Pass and the Epic Local Pass, and unlike some Vail Resorts properties, both tiers carry unlimited access here with no blackout dates. It has been a Vail Resorts mountain since 1996.
- What's the nearest airport to Breckenridge?
- Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE), about 75.1km away, and Eagle County Regional (EGE), roughly 75.7km away, are the two closest regional options, both requiring a mountain drive. Denver International Airport (DEN), the main gateway, is about 126.1km to the east.
- How old is Breckenridge Ski Resort?
- The resort opened December 16, 1961, with a single Peak 8 double chairlift, and celebrated its 50th season in 2011-2012. The town of Breckenridge itself predates the ski area by a century as a Colorado gold-mining settlement.
- How many peaks does Breckenridge ski?
- Breckenridge spreads across five numbered peaks — 6 through 10 — of the Tenmile Range, each with its own character from beginner-friendly Peak 9 to the high alpine bowls further out. That five-peak layout is part of why the resort carries 35 lifts despite a comparatively modest overall vertical.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.