Breckenridge Two-Day, Year-Round History and Mining-Focused Itinerary

Total Number of Days/Nights: Two

Itinerary Summary: Way before Breckenridge was a ski resort, it was a town. And over the past 150 years, the spirit of the town hasn’t shifted much – equal parts outcast, visionary, frontier and fine living. With Breckenridge’s 150th anniversary in 2009, it is important to reflect on the history, heritage and especially the characters that made this Victorian mining town what it is today.

Full of gold finds and mining, exploration and adventure, brothels and saloons, booms and busts, the town’s history set the stage for the modern-day adventures Breckenridge is known and loved for. Founded in 1859 by a small group prospectors, the town’s gold rush brought settlers in droves seeking their fortune. While some found gold, each adventurer discovered the glory of the Ten Mile Range and the bounty of its beautiful landscape.

From the enhancement of existing events and the addition of new history-focused events to encouraging visitors and locals to explore the town’s history on the hiking, biking and Nordic ski trails and capital improvements being made to various historic sites and museums, the town’s history can be experienced and celebrated by families, adventure seekers and history buffs alike.

Designers of the Welcome Center never anticipated the surprise that immerses visitors in Breckenridge’s history. During demolition, crews discovered a well-preserved log cabin hidden between two newer additions. The plans for the Welcome Center changed dramatically. The 1880s cabin, which was likely someone’s home, was fully exposed and renovated so the public can walk along the same floorboards and run their hands along the same hand-hewn beams that miners touched more than a century ago.

11am: From the Welcome Center, depart on a historic walking tour of Breckenridge

Led by a Victorian-costumed tour guide from the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance, tour goers will travel back in time to the mining days of Breckenridge.

In the 1880s, the town was home to 10 hotels, two dancehalls and 18 saloons. The walking tour goes through Breckenridge’s nationally recognized Historic District and by several museums as well as buildings that housed the barbershop, restaurants, offices, bank and theater. View the earliest homes in town, from log cabins to stately residents.

2:30pm: Take a tour of the historic Country Boy Mine on French Gulch Road. The authentic gold mine lets you explore the original workings of the mine as you feel, hear and smell what it was like to be a Breckenridge hard-rock gold miner more than 100 years ago. Walk more than 1,000 feet in to the century-old, authentic gold mine. Wear a hard hat, hear the drills and learn about Colorado's mining history. Visitors can examine original mining equipment, old photos and fun exhibits. They can also pan for gold. Breckenridge’s history began with gold and silver mining, and signs of its rich mining history are all over the town.

6pm: Indulge in a classy dinner at the Hearthstone restaurant in Breckenridge. The Hearthstone was the home of Christ and Ida Kaiser. Christ was the town butcher, and the couple’s home has been transformed into one of Breckenridge’s finest dining establishments, complete with Victorian furnishings and decor.

Between 1898 and 1942, nine dredge boats chewed the gravels of the Blue and Swan rivers and French Creek. These dredge boats moved up and down waterways, extracting gold from the bedrock. Visit two dredge boat ruins, the Reiling Gold Dredge and the Reliance Dredge and learn about this unique mining process.

11am: Visit the historic Barney Ford House Museum. Barney Ford was Breckenridge’s first black businessman, and he is considered Colorado's first great leader of African-American heritage. He owned several businesses in Breckenridge, and at one time owned the finest house in town, which is now the Barney Ford House Museum. Highlights of Ford’s life story include his escape from slavery, work with the Underground Railroad in Chicago, far-flung business endeavors and starting the first adult-education program in the state. A visit to Breckenridge wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the recently restored Barney House Museum on Washington Avenue where tours are available year-round.

Lunch: Enjoy a casual lunch at Fatty’s Pizzeria in Breckenridge. A great way to get a taste of Breckenridge’s history is to dine at some of its historic sites. Fatty’s Pizzeria is the oldest pizza joint in town, but the building’s history goes far beyond tossing pies.

What might not be as obvious to Fatty’s diners is that the building was originally established as a boarding house for miners, in the late 1800s it was known as the Colorado House.

Afternoon: Lace up your hiking shoes or strap on your snowshoes and hit Breckenridge’s trails for a hike up Iowa Hill. Perched on the side of a hill outside Breckenridge is a two-story log boardinghouse that was built in 1876 to house the miners of Colonel A.J. Ware’s Iowa Hill Placer Gold Mine. Today, visitors can take a one-mile hike from the Iowa Hill Trailhead up to the boardinghouse. Along the way, mining relics and interpretive signs tell the story of Iowa Hill and how gold was extracted from the surrounding hills.

Iowa Hill is an excellent example of how visitors to Breckenridge can experience history out on the trails while enjoying modern-day adventures such as mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing and Nordic skiing.

6pm: With the gained knowledge of dredge boat mining from earlier in the day, it is appropriate to dine at the Dredge Boathouse for dinner. This two-million pound floating restaurant is a replica of one of the largest and longest operating dredges. It was the last dredge operating and stopped forever in the Blue River, in the same pond the restaurant floats in today.