 Breckenridge’s rich history began during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush with the discovery of gold along the Blue River in 1859, a heritage that makes Breckenridge more than just a world-class ski resort but a destination that perfectly merges the heritage of the past with the modern amenities of a great resort town. As the mining operations grew in the area and prospectors speckled the surrounding mountains, Main Street became the hub of activity for the area’s mining community. Being the typical boomtown of the day, Breckenridge (named after Vice-President Breckinridge) offered miners a place to gather, purchase supplies, and enjoy the various vices and libations of the time. Although the rush to the hills these days is for the “white gold” on the slopes, Main Street still provides locals and visitors with a great “Old West” experience.
Breckenridge’s great skiing boom may not have occurred if not for the few that kept the town alive. The period between the turn of the century and World War II saw a great decline in the population of the mining town as large dredging operations chewed up much of the landscape west of Main Street. By war’s end, the local population that once topped 2000 residents was down to only 254 with much of the historic buildings having been destroyed to save on property tax, in accidental fires, or for use as firewood! From the brink of being labeled a ghost town to one of the most popular destinations in skiing, Breckenridge has come a long way.
With a population of 393 people in 1960, everything changed for the town that was hanging on by a thread. The Rounds and Porter Lumber Company of Wichita, Kansas began constructing the ski resort that officially opened on December 16, 1961 with a double chairlift and T-bar. In its first season of operation, Breckenridge hosted 17,000 skiers, even though Interstate-70 was not completed to Summit County yet! Since that first season the resort has undergone many transformations to emerge as the choice destination for millions of skiers around the world.
Over the past 45+ years Breckenridge has experienced a tremendous amount of growth while enjoying many great “firsts” for skiing. By the opening of Peak 9 in 1971, annual skier visits topped 220,000 on the ski area’s two peaks of terrain. Throughout the 80’s the resort added the intermediate and advanced terrain on Peak 10 to the vast slopes, built the world’s first high speed quad on Peak 9, and embraced snowboarding by becoming the first major resort to allow boarders on the slopes and hosting the first Snowboarding World Cup. Breckenridge rang in the 1990’s by adding the vast beginner and intermediate terrain on Peak 7 in 1993 to the already enormous ski mountain. By far the largest step forward for the resort was it’s incorporation with Keystone, Vail, and Beaver Creek in 1997 to form Vail Resorts. This ski industry powerhouse have invested over $35M into the mountain in the years since.
Today, Breckenridge is a thriving community of over 3,200 permanent residents with skier visits topping 1.4M in 2004. The ski mountain covers over 2,800 acres of ever-growing terrain; the addition of the Imperial Express SuperChair for the 2005-2006 ski season gives Breckenridge the honor of offering the highest lift in North America and the new Ski-Way with proposed gondola will add a ton of acreage, extreme terrain, and convenience to the resort. Main Street is bustling with over 200 bars, restaurants, nightclubs, retail shops, galleries, museums, novelty shops, and much more. Breckenridge is building a reputation as a historic destination with offerings that include international events, street fairs, museums, a burgeoning arts district, community theatre, and the National Repertory Orchestra. You may be planning a ski vacation to Breckenridge, but what you will get is so much more!
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