Breckenridge Tips from the Locals
At 12 my family started vacationing to Colorado. We spent every Spring Break until I was 21 skiing and soaking in the snow. We looked forward to it every year.
For years now I’ve wanted to start this tradition with my own children, this year we finally made it happen. We actually didn't wait for Spring Break…I can work my job from anywhere, so we’re able to take off whenever we’d like. We checked the kids out of school Monday night and flew out! We didn’t arrive in Denver until 9:30 PM, so we’ll skip over that day! I do want to take a minute and thank Jarrett Horton and Katherine Fitzsimmons for opening up their apartment and letting us stay….and also picking us up from the airport!
Now let’s get started with the good stuff….
Things To Do In Breckenridge (Besides Ski)
Day 1:
We started our day by renting a car….it’s my favorite way to drop $400 (sarcassmmm). Also, a little tip, I would go ahead and reserve the car before the day you actually need it…as to avoid paying multiple Uber drivers to get you back and forth to different car rental locations in hopes that maybe they’ll have a vehicle available.
Local Tip (from our Uber driver): There is an app called “Fluid Truck”. It’s similar to Turo, but without as many luxury vehicles. Both apps are peer-to-peer car sharing companies. They allow you to privately rent vehicles instead of going through a rental car agency. If Hertz hadn’t panned out, we would’ve gone with one of these apps. We honestly should have gone with them first…..but whatever. Live and learn.
Up until this point, our kids had never seen snow…in East Texas we sometimes get sleet….which we call snow. So to say their minds were blown would be an understatement. If you’re driving to Breck from Denver, make sure to take a moment and catch the frozen waterfall in Idaho Springs. It will be on your left! It was always a favorite of mine as a kid…and ours were amazed as well.
First stop: BoLD Breck, this place did not disappoint…you can expect to only be served cage free eggs, 100% pure organic maple syrup and their signature biscuits are freshly baked every morning. They also have a kids’ play-area stocked with books, toys, buckets of lego duplo, and a dedicated tv. Oh, and their Happy Hour is badass. I had the Falafel Bowl, wow, amazing…and a Bloody Mary. Everything ordered was delicious. The locals say it has the best breakfast in Breck, so we’ll for sure be going back to try the French Toast and Peanut Butter Cup Pancakes.
Local Tip: The shelves are full of books which can be purchased for $5 each. So if you see one you have to have, it can be yours!
The next 30-45 minutes were spent just exploring this cookie cutter town.
Second stop: Breckenridge Distillery Tasting Room. I’m all about tasting different vodkas, so when we found out Breck had a distellery I knew I wanted to try a few things. The Tasting Room is open from 11 AM to 9 PM and offer two shots for free. They’re $1 each after two. The Espresso Vodka is phenomenal with the best coffee aftertaste. Aaron loved the Spiced Whiskey. He kept waiting for the bite and it never happened, he said it was “Smooth AF” when I asked him to describe it. So there’s that. Clearly, he should definitely add “Whiskey Connoisseur” to his resume.
Third and final stop of the day: Target. I know. #basic….but we needed groceries. One way we keep cost down when we travel somewhere that isn’t “All-Inclusive” is by eating breakfast and sometimes lunch in our room/condo. So, we picked up the things we would need so we wouldn’t constantly need to eat out. I had to mention this stop because Texas needs to step their Target game up…come on, look how cute this is.
Now we’re back at the condo and resting up. We have a big day full of of activities tomorrow. When traveling with kids it’s important to not pack too much into one day. They get tired, then they get fussy, then everyone has a miserable time. Sometimes it’s good just to let them free play that first day and then schedule your fun activities for the next day.
Day 2:
First Stop: BreckConnect Gondola
A fun little 10 minute ride, this gondola will take you from Breckenridge up to the ski resort…and the best part, it’s free to ride. We stopped off at the TBar for chili-cheese fries, a Bloody Mary and hot chocolate while we watched the skiers and snowboarders. The kids are 100% certain they want to come back and give it a try!
Second Stop: Carter Park for sledding
Local Tip-Sledding is free at Carter Park
We were told by a local that while there isn’t a sledding or tubing park in Breck, you can buy a sled pretty cheap and spend hours at the park for free. We stopped by a little ski rental store and rented two sleds for $10 total. You can also buy them at the City Market for $9.99 each…but we’re flying home, so it’s pointless to buy. We spent the next three hours sledding our hearts away! We even got to see a Moose! Memories the kids will never forget! That’s what it’s about after all, right?!
Third Stop: Crepes A La Cart
Aka: Heaven on Earth. Oh. My. Gosh. Literally would fly to Breck just for these crepes. They were the perfect snack after hours of sledding! We will be going back here again before we leave! This time we ordered the Butter & Sugar Crepe (Aaron and Kai’s favorite) and the Vermont Crepe (mine and Paislee’s fav). The next time we go the Monte Cristo Crepe is on my list!
Local Tip: The cart is almost always packed! There is a sister location behind the post office! Many don’t know about it, and it’s rarely full!
Day 3:
First Stop: Frisco Adventure Park
Since we decided this would be a trip in which we didn’t ski or snowboard, we knew we wanted to take the kiddos tubing! This tubing park was amazing!!! It’s pay by the hour, and 1 hour was plentyyyy. A tip I wish we had known, wear goggles, a face mask, and thick head covering. Even though it was warm at the base of the tubing hill, at the top the wind blows the snow up into your face and it’s painful!
Second Stop: Bangkok Happy Bowl Thai Bistro
I never like to give terrible reviews…and all in all it wasn’t the worst place we’ve ever eaten…However, this will definitely be one we don’t go back to. This place popped up on both mine and Aaron’s Facebook as an ad. The reviews looked great…so we checked it out. Ehhh. I would give it a 3 out of 10. The sushi boat did look great though, that Vagablonde t-shirt looks even better…and you can’t ever go wrong with cold Sake.
Third Stop: Crepes A la Kitchen
I told you we’d be back to this yummy little place! This time the line at the original cart was all the way down the street! So, we went to that secret little second location!
Local Tip: Google says it’s closed, it’s not. For some reason they can’t get their hours to list on google, but the kitchen is open for business!
Fourth Stop: Isak Heartstone (The Breckenridge Troll)
Seriously the best local tip we received was this guy!
This 15-foot tall wooden troll sculpture is located on the Trollstigen Trail in Breckenridge, Colorado. He is tucked away where you can’t see him from the road, so we would have missed him completely if not for the locals! He was breathtaking! This is a must see if you’re visiting Breck!
Follow this link for directions to find him: Isak the Troll
Fifth Stop: Ice Castles
To put the crown on this magical trip, our last stop was to the award winning frozen attraction in Dillon, Colorado. The Ice Castles. This is an entire Ice Experience! It’s built using hundreds of thousands of icicles hand-placed by professional ice artists. The castles include LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, ice-carved tunnels, slides, fountains and much more.
Local Tip: Get there around 5:30, this way you get to see the bright blue castles shimmering in the sun and, after the sun goes down, you get to see them as they change colors with the LED-lights!
We had a blast on this trip with our little ones! Vacationing with kids is a lot of work…when you add in freezing temperatures and snow, it gets even harder. However, these are the moments they will remember forever. They will never remember the things we buy for them…but memories never fade. Breckenridge will always hold a special place in our hearts because this is where their first memory with snow was ever made.
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