My husband and I will be meeting my parents at a friend's home in Breckenridge for vacation and we are looking for suggestions for activities. We will be there 5 days & my parents 7 days. 3 of us are really active, my mother is much less so. So, we are looking for ideas that are both active (good hikes, good bike routes & rental places, white water rafting suggestions) and not.

We are from Virginia and are also interested in the "wild west" side of things too. We are definitely willing to drive a distance if required.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

Hi Mary. First no need to drive far. Summit County has lots to offer for 5 days. My favorite bike shop is Great Adventure Sports. You will see it as you enter Breck in the shopping center with the City Market. They tend to serve lots of locals not just folks that want to tool around on the bike paths. www.greatadventuresports.com.

Pick up the free bike path booklet. It will give trails for both mtn bike and bike paths.

For hiking pick up the book "Summit County Hiking” Great directions.

Rent kayaks or canoes at the Dillon Marina. We like Dillon Vs Frisco because of the Tiki Bar. Only place that serves food and drink on the water. The reservoir is low but still magnificent!

Not sure about rafting as the flow is low this year. Check out summitnet.com they will have listings.

For Mom take any of the resorts lifts up. They are all free. She will be able to get the views without having to hike up. Another SHORT hike for Mom is saffaire (sp) point off of Swan Mtn Rd. Very short and flat but great view of the lake.

Hi - we were just in Breckenridge last week. Our favorite "active" things were horseback riding and doing the Alpine Slide. The horseback riding was on a mountainside, up into the national forest. It was located close to Beaver Run Resort. The Alpine Slide is tremendously fun -- you ride the chair lift up, and slide on a sled down something that looks like a luge run. It's safe, though -- you can totally control how fast you are going.
Have fun!

Should be pretty easy to find when you get ther. Breckenridge is a cool town. I would also go up Mt Evans while your there. There are several hikes along the drive up.

Some old gold mines that might be of interest to you.

Try a four-wheel tour, the alpine slide, fly fishing (lessons available from Mountain Anglers), visit Copper Mountain and Keystone, shop the outlets in Silverthorne, drive north of
Silverthorne and check out Green Mountain Reservoir, drive to Leadville and go up and over Independence Pass to Aspen and loop back through Glenwood Springs to Frisco to Breck, drive to Fairplay for some "old west" stuff, ride the bike path to Frisco and back, or even to Dillon and back vis a vis the dam road. Go over Swan Mountain road and talk the walk out on Crown Point, at the top. Drink lots of water and bring a light rain jacket for nights and afternoon showers. Watch out for afternoon thunderstorms if you are on a high peak. Buena suerte!