Best Breckenridge Summer Activities

Mountain Biking

The mountain and surrounding trails turn into a mountain biker’s paradise during the summer months, with hundreds of named trails within a short drive. Whether you’re a beginner looking to try a new sport or a hardcore enthusiast, there’s endless amounts of trails for you.

For an easy, scenic mountain biking route, you can bike along Boreas Pass Road, which is a summer-only dirt road that used to be a railroad. It offers lots of scenic views, and access to hikes.

If you’re looking for a ride uphill to make it easier, you can get a lift pass and ride the Colorado Superchair from the base of Peak 8. From the top of the lift, ride your bike down on one of their many awesome downhill trails.

Road Biking & E-Bikes

The county is home to the Summit County Paved Recreational Pathways System, which connects all the towns via a paved bike path. The path circles Dillon Reservoir for 18 miles, then forks off to Breckenridge (6 miles one way), Keystone (4 miles one way), Vail Pass and Copper Mountain (13 miles one way), and Silverthorne (4 miles one way).

We especially love the route around the lake, as it offers our favorite views of the reservoir. Since we aren’t avid bikers, we like to rent e-bikes from one of the many local business and power ourselves through the miles.

Our other favorite biking activity is the Vail Pass bike ride, which consists of hitching a ride from a local bike business, which drops you off at the top of Vail Pass. From there, you get to ride a path bike for 14 miles downhill. All the joys of the scenery without having to pedal so hard!

Fly Fishing

Breckenridge is a world-class fly fishing destination, and anglers come from all over the world to catch Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, and Brown Trout. There’s several gold medal waters within driving distance, as well as opportunities for lake fishing and alpine lake fishing. If you aren’t familiar with the area, we recommend talking to one of the two local fly fishing shops (Mountain Angler or Breckenridge Outfitters) for tips or even for a guided trip. Keep in mind that you do need a fishing license, and most waters have special regulations about keeping fish, so you should always research before you go.

White Water Rafting

While you can’t technically white water raft in Breckenridge, it’s a great base for nearby rafting destinations that are an easy day trip. Our personal favorite is the nearby town of Buena Vista and rafting through Brown’s Canyon. For a particularly adventurous endeavor, request the rafting trip through Numbers, which is a technical rafting section that’s known throughout the state for being the best Class IV rapids. After your rafting trip, take a soak in one of the local hot springs before heading back to Breckenridge.

Pro tip: most rafting companies should offer you a wetsuit for you rafting adventure. Take it! While the sun is warm, the water is straight from snow melt and will leave you shivering after the first rapid.

Breckenridge Epic Discovery Park

In the summertime, Breckenridge mountain resort turns into an outdoor adventure park, complete with zip lining, an alpine slide, a tree top obstacle course, scenic chairlift ride, the Gold Runner mountain coaster, climbing wall, mini golf and more! You can book these items separately, or buy pass that accesses several or all of them. If you want some epic mountain views, consider taking the chairlift up on the scenic ride. Hang out there, or continue the hike up to the top of Peak 8 for a truly epic adventure.

Ride the Scenic Gondola

The Breck Connect Gondola is a free gondola that travels from in town to the base of Peak 8 where all the summer activities for the Breckenridge Epic Discovery Park are. It traverses over Cucumber Gulch, which is a wildlife preserve on the outskirts of town. I’ve seen several moose during my gondola rides, which is a cool bonus. If you’re looking for a short adventure, riding the gondola is a good option (takes about 10 minutes to get from top to bottom).

Rock Climbing

Whether you’re trying to find an easy rock climbing wall for the kids, or are an avid climber interested in sport climbing, there’s plenty of opportunities in Summit County to get your hands dirty. Here’s a post about the best rock climbing in Breckenridge.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP), Boating & Kayaking

Located right in the heart of town is Maggie Pond, a small dammed pond that offers sweeping views of the mountain. Right on the water you can rent SUPs or even an inflatable walk-on-water ball. Nearby Charter Sports at Main Street Station does walk-up paddle board rentals by the hour. For a little twist on SUP, you can take your yoga practice to the water by booking a yoga SUP class with Meta Yoga Studios, Bhava Yoga, or even the Breckenridge Recreation Center.

For bigger water, the nearby towns of Frisco and Dillon both offer full-service marinas, complete with boat rentals and SUP rentals. You can use water craft on Dillon Reservoir, but note that you can’t swim in the water unless it’s shallow enough for you to touch the bottom.

Horseback Riding

The Breckenridge Stables offer local scenic horseback rides near peaks 9 and 10 of the mountain resort. They have tons of horses and experienced guides so this adventure is great for most age groups. Another nearby option is Rusty Spur Ranch, which offers longer tours and smaller group sizes so it’s a more personal experience.

Book an Adventure Guide

Colorado Adventure Guides is a local guide company that offers a wide range of guided trips such as peak ascents, guided rock climbing, guided hikes, guided mountain biking, SUP rentals, and even rafting trips.

Golf

The 27-hole Breckenridge Golf Course offers some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever seen golfing. You’ll be surrounded by mountain peaks during your entire round, and it’s not uncommon to see wildlife such as beaver, elk, deer, moose and even bears. The course has three championship nines: the Bear, the Beaver, and the Elk, all of which are Jack Nicklaus Signature courses. Plus, sitting at 9,324 feet in elevation, the ball flies straighter and farther due to less air resistance.

Summer Dog Sledding

Dog sledding at Good Times Adventures is a quintessential winter activity, but did you know they offer summer tours as well? How else would they keep their 150 Siberian Huskies in shape for the winter season? You’ll receive a tour of the dog yard, as well as a trail ride with a speedy dog sledding team. They just use golf carts instead of sleds! On the ride, you’ll get to enjoy endless mountain views and wildflowers in the scenic Swan River Valley.

Rent ATV’s

There’s two local retailers who offer ATV rentals, Fun For You Rentals and Adventure Time Rentals. Both provide a truck and trailer with the vehicles ready to go, so you can take your adventure wherever you like. They can give you route suggestions, or you can pick your own adventure. There’s tons to pick from in the area and the views are sure to be incredible.

For Rainy Days

While Breckenridge boasts that it enjoys 300 days of sunshine each year, the weather may not always fall in your favor. On those days, there’s plenty of Breckenridge indoor activities to enjoy, such as crafting classes by Breck Create or indoor ice skating! Read here for a complete list of Breckenridge indoor activities for a rainy day.