lets plan an epic trip to one of the most popular ski towns in america…
How to spend a long weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado – with the option of a 3 or 5 day trip itinerary. In an effort to use as little PTO time as possible we visited Breckenridge two times this year during ski season and still managed to use only 3 days of our precious vacation time. I’ll give you a breakdown of both trips so you have an idea of how we spent our time at our 2 long weekend getaways in Breckenridge this year. Let’s get planning!
For a lengthier version of everything you need to know about visiting Breckenridge click here.
Breckenridge 3 day long weekend itinerary.
Our first trip to the Colorado Rockies this year was in January.
We used a long weekend in January in observance of MLK day for our first trip out to Colorado. My husband and I were both given the holiday off so work so we didn’t have to use our own PTO time. Here’s a breakdown of how we spent our 3 day weekend in the snow covered mountain town.
3 days in Breckenridge
- FRIDAY – We flew into Denver, picked up our luggage + rental car and then drove to Breckenridge. We got in late so we grabbed fast food on the way to Breck. Once in Breckenridge we checked into our AirBnb, unpacked our gear/suitecases, got situated and relaxed. We worked a full day Friday and had a late flight out of Cleveland into Colorado. Basically an evening of traveling was required to get us to our weekend shenanigans. The late flight saved us both $$ and a vacation day so we thought it was totally worth it.
- SATURDAY – We woke-up, geared-up and grabbed breakfast burritos & coffee in town at Clint’s Bakery & Coffee house. Both breakfast and the ski lift at Peak 9 were within walking distance from our AirBnB. We grabbed our pre-paid snowboard passes at the pick-up window and hit the slopes at Breckenridge Ski Resort. You can pack lunch for the day or grab it in town or at the resort. We headed out at closing time around 4 pm, got ready for dinner and headed to Canteen on Main Street for dinner.
- SUNDAY – We woke-up, geared-up and grabbed breakfast in town again. We hit the lifts at opening time and snowboarded all day until close again. Again, pack a snack/lunch or grab lunch in town or on the ski resort. After snowboarding Sunday we headed back to our condo, showered and then headed into town for some shopping & dinner. We ate at Ollies Pub & Grub this night – it was about 2 blocks from our digs. Super convenient location right off main with great food and all the football games playing on the TV’s. We hit up a few local bars including the Blue Stag Saloon, RMU and Gold Pan Saloon after dinner.
- MONDAY – As I mentioned above this was a super quick weekend getaway so the holiday Monday was our last day in town. We figured we might as well end the trip with a delicious breakfast and a Bloody Mary at the Blue Moose Restaurant after we packed up and checked out of our home-away-from-home. To make the most of the scenery we decided to take the scenic route home via Loveland Pass (this adds about 30 minutes to your commute back to Denver but totally worth it in my opinion). We returned our rental car and flew home to Cleveland. Phew, SLEEPY but WORTH IT!
5 day long weekend itinerary.
Our second trip to the Colorado Rockies this year was in Febuary.
We used 3 days of PTO for our second trip to Breckenridge. Flying out of Cleveland late allowed us to work the full day Tuesday. We used PTO time for Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. We returned home from our second trip of the season on a Sunday. Sundays are a little busier travel days but we didn’t run into any significant delays. Here is the breakdown of our second long weekend in Breck.
5 days in Breckenridge
- TUESDAY – Travel day. We flew out of Cleveland into Denver, picked up our luggage and rental car and drove to Breckenridge. We stopped and grabbed food outside of Denver, checked into our Airbnb and got situated.
- WEDNESDAY – We woke-up, geared-up and grabbed breakfast & coffee in town. Breakfast and ski lift at Peak 9 were within walking distance from our AirBnB. We grabbed our pre-paid snowboard passes at the pick-up window and hit the slopes at Breckenridge Ski Resort. You can pack lunch for the day or grab it in town or at the resort. We headed out at closing time around 4 pm, got ready for dinner and headed to Blue Stag Saloon for dinner downtown. Grab a cookie (or 6) to-go for dessert at Mountain Top Cookie Shop on Main street, you will NOT be disappointed. Perfect way to end your first full day in Breckenridge.
- THURSDAY – We woke-up, geared-up and grabbed breakfast & coffee in town. Day 2 was a full day at Breckenridge Ski Resort. For lunch we fueled up with the best chicken sandwiches on the resort at the bottom of Peak 7. We headed out at closing time around 4 pm, got ready for dinner and headed to Canteen. We loved this place so much on our first trip we went back a few weeks later. If you like Mexican food, good service + good vibes you’ll love this place. If you’re still hungry after dinner hit the crepe stand on Main Street for some DELICIOUS crepes at Crepes Al La Cart. The line is usually stacked with people at all times but totally worth the wait if you like crepes. The line speaks for itself on how good they are!
- FRIDAY – We decided to try out another local ski resort Friday for a change of scenery. We grabbed breakfast in town and headed to Keystone Resort to snowboard Friday. We ate in town at Whiskey Star Smokehouse right on Main Street for dinner Friday night. You can find live music, comedy and good drinks in downtown Breckenridge so we obviously had to find some spirits after dinner!
- SATURDAY – We mixed it up on Saturday with some backcountry snowboarding right off the side of Loveland Pass. Do your research if you plan to do any backcountry sports. It can be dangerous so skill level, research and many other factors come into play for backcountry shenanigans. After working up an appetite with our downhill adventures we headed back into downtown Breck for margaritas and Mexican at Sanchos Tacos + Tequila on Main Street. Three and a half days of snowsports in the Colorado Rockies will tire you out quick so this was a chill afternoon before our final dinner in town at Breckenridge brewery.
- SUNDAY – Sunday was the last day of our snowy weekend getaway, womp womp. Breakfast was phenomenal as per usual at Blue Moose Restaurant. We drove back into Denver, returned our rental car and flew back to Cleveland. Sunday scaries kicked in immediately upon landing… when’s the next trip
Trip summary: Breckenridge, Colorado
Now you know how to spend a long weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado. This ski town has so much more to offer and this post is just a TINY snippet of your options for a long weekend getaway. For a full guide to exploring this epic Colorado town read this post: The Ultimate Weekend Getaway Guide to Breckenridge, Colorado.
Save & Pin this Breckenridge trip itinerary for later. Winter escapes await you!
