Breckenridge, CO
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The Road Trip from Dallas to Colorado Travel Date: December 2020
Is there really a reason to go to the small town of Breckenridge in the winter if you do not ski? Don’t get me wrong, skiing was the highlight of our trip. However, going into it with a five year old and a nine year old who had never skied before, there were no guarantees. Consequently, we decided to take the conservative approach and only book two days of skiing. This left us three other days to fill with additional winter outdoor activities.
Booking the Lift Tickets
Booking the lift tickets was an adventure in itself. The process was a huge learning curve for us. To guarantee a lift ticket on your chosen date and receive a discounted rate, you have to purchase an Epic Pass. This gives you the ability to reserve your lift ticket during presale.
When presale date arrives, you go to Breckenridge.com to reserve your lift ticket dates. Not only did I find going to two different places confusing and irritating, but the Epic Pass website was not very clear with their language. We could not figure out if we were buying a pass that allows us to buy presale lift tickets later or if we were actually paying for the lift tickets when we purchased the Epic Pass. I know, right. We only received clarity by following their Instagram channels. Many people posted similar questions to the questions we had. Thankfully, Epic Pass and Breckenridge’s Instagram accounts were pretty quick to reply and clarify. Because of this, I recommend following them @EpicPass and @breckenridgemtn. Ultimately, we were relieved to learn that purchasing the Epic Pass did include the cost of the lift ticket.
Purchasing Trip Insurance
Travel insurance can be beneficial on any trip that takes you 100 miles or more from home – even on road trips. If you have to cut your trip short, travel insurance can help you receive reimbursement for non-refundable prepaid trip expenses, like cabin reservations, for example. Some plans even cover RV rental expenses or closed attractions you booked. Bringing plans from 10 different providers together, Travel Insurance Masters can help you find the right coverage you are looking for!
The Road Trip from Dallas
As soon as the kids and I got out for Winter Break, we hit the road. The road trip from downtown Dallas to Breckenridge is a long drive totaling 815 miles with a travel time of 13 hours and 7 minutes. To break up the trip, we stayed the first night in Amarillo and took on the final eight hours the next morning. I’m not a believer in driving more than eight hours in a day, because eight hours can easily turn into eleven for us. We like to take our time, stop as often as everyone needs, and take in sights along the way. Below are some of the pit stops we visited along the route:
The Big Texan Steak Ranch
Even though, this is a very popular place, I wasn’t overly impressed with the food. Maybe I should have ordered steak instead of fish. However, the atmosphere, creepy face changing portraits, 72 oz. steak hall of fame, and the trio that played and sang “Amarillo by Morning” made it worth a visit. Kids plates that double as cowboy hat souvenirs was also a nice touch.
Capulin Valcano National Monument
This extinct cinder cone volcano is located in the northeastern New Mexico portion of the road trip from Dallas. We didn’t stop and explore, but I was able to snap a pic of one of the many natural wonders of the United States as we drove by.
Hoosier Pass Continental Divide
This is one of the four places to stand on the Continental Divide near Breckenridge. Here you can find over two miles of trails for hiking. I was not personally ready to tackle a snow hike, but AllTrails describes it as “a 2.8 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Breckenridge, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from April until September.” Sounds perfect for nature lovers like us.
South Park, CO
Why stop here? Well, because it is called South Park and you can take this photo. Actually now called Fairplay, this was a great place to grab groceries and supplies on our way into town.
Where We Stayed
A year in advance we booked a fabulous, eight bedroom airbnb cabin in Blue River that is only a short drive to Breckenridge. We were traveling with extended family and this mountain retreat less than ten minutes away from the slopes and town of Breckenridge turned out to be a great spot. I would not hesitate to stay here again. From the heated floors to the TWO hot tubs, calling this glamping would be an understatement.
What We Did
The Magic Carpets
This is the perfect place for beginner skiers because conveyor belts pull skiers up a small slope. They made for the perfect training ground for our littles.
Gondola Ride
Even our non-skiing travel friends enjoyed the Gondola. It’s free and a completely enclosed way to take in the view of the Rocky Mountains.
Sleigh Ride
The next day after our skiing adventures, we began exploring other things to do in Breckenridge. First, we decided to book a horse drawn sleigh ride. Golden Horseshoe Sleigh Rides was only offering their Hot Cocoa Scenic Sleigh Rides in Summit County during the COVID pandemic. If I had this to do over, I would book this as a day trip and in nicer weather.
The less than an hour drive into the White River National Forest offered one of the most gorgeous scenic drives I have ever seen, but by the time our sleigh ride started it was too dark to see anything. The hot cocoa bar was a treat with toppings such as sprinkles, crushed peppermint, whipped cream, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. The adults even enjoyed a little bit of peppermint liquor in their hot chocolates. We did get to see the Christmas Star on our ride, a once in 800 years opportunity! A word of caution, I don’t recommend this excursion if you are uncomfortable driving on very icy roads with no cell signal.
Sledding
Free Sledding Hill! This is one of the best places for younger kids. I recommend bringing your own sleds as this is a popular spot and the sleds provided at the hill were pretty beat up. Not to mention, few and far between.
Ice Castle
This is a gorgeous walk-through ice sculpture with fun little ice slides for the kids. Be warned, the ground is icy and not recommended for someone with bad ankles, knees, or feet.
Play in the snow
These Texans may need more snowman building practice, but we had a lot of fun trying. However, we did get pretty good at snow angels and snow ball fights!
Shopping
The downtown area of Breckenridge is adorable. Spend time here for some good food or a cute gift shop visit. Our groups’ favorite was the breakfast croissants at the Coffee Depot before hitting the slopes.
Paint winter scenes
On our last day it was just too cold for us to get out, so we decided to have a winter scene paint party in the cabin dining room. Good thing Maw Maw packed cute holiday kits from Micheals similar to these.
Hot Tub
The best time for enjoying our cabin’s hot tub was after a long day of skiing. There is nothing better for tired muscles than relaxing while taking in the beautiful scenery.
Conclusion
It did not take us much time to realized that that Breckenridge offers so much more than skiing. This trip turned out to be one of our best road trips from Dallas. So much so, that we planned another Colorado trip this upcoming summer. We look forward to experiencing what summer in Colorado has to offer. Be on the look out for my Summer Delores, Colorado post featuring our second son’s wedding, horseback riding, ATV adventures, sky diving, river rapids, and possibly a mountain bike or two!
Interested in more great Colorado destinations and activities for kids? Check out this Denver post by Kara Simply Travels.
Other Road Trips from Dallas
This entire website, Champagne On Deck, is dedicated to sharing our family road trips from the Dallas and Fort Worth area. Before you go, I invite you to check out some of my other road trips from Dallas posts below:
Road Trips from Dallas to other states
Want to experience true glamping? Check out Broken Bow, Oklahoma in this post.
Sandy beaches more your style? Gulf State Park was our favorite RV vacation so far.
Less than an Hour Road Trips from Dallas
How about a road trip from Dallas to East Texas? Learn more about camping on Caddo Lake and the natural beauty of Caddo Lake State Park.
North Texas Jellystone Park in Burleson, TX is only 45 minutes away from DFW. Read about this camping location that will have your kids begging to go back.
Lake Lewisville is also only about 45 minutes from Dallas. Read about two different lakeside campgrounds on Lake Lewisville.
Joe Pool Lake is just a half hour from Dallas. Learn more about Loyd Park on this lake below.
Let’s Connect
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I’m happy to answer any questions in the comments related to road trips from Dallas. Follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss my next trip.
I would love to visit an Ice Castle! I heard that there’s one in New Hampshire actually. Was it as icy as you’d expect?
Yes! It was very hard to walk through. Have some good boots and I would not go if you have bad knees, feet, or ankles.
This looks like a fabulous trip! The airbnb looks like it was the perfect place to share with family, especially with the hot tub and those views. I appreciate the tips about the ice castle too.
That ice castle looks so fun to visit! And I would really like to go on a sleigh ride as well.
What a fun trip! We love visiting Breckenridge so much. It is such a great little town. It looks like you all had a blast also!
Awww I love that you had a mix of ski fun as well as other winter giggles. That ice castle looks flipping amaaaazing!
In the end, how did the kids do with skiing? I didn’t learn as a child, so I am always so impressed with how easily children seem to pick it up!
They did amazing! I could not believe how quickly they picked it up. My 5 year old was so close to the ground that when he would fall he would just pop right back up and by day three I couldn’t keep up with my 8 year old.
Lol I have a feeling that will happen to me if I have kids! 🙂
I haven’t been to Breckenridge since I was a kid, but you can guess what we did there. Hahaha. I would love to go back and visit to see some of these other sites that you mention. I would much rather go to hike now.
Yes, I love to hike, but it was so cold! I am going back in June. This will be my first CO summer trip! I will have a whole new “Things to Do” list!
An amazing list! I’ll absolutely have to try these next time I’m in Breck!
What a fun trip! I’m not much of a skier but I’d love to do the sledding and see that ice castle which is gorgeous! Would definitely enjoy ending the day in a hot tub too!
Wow that looks like a fun trip skiing and the ice castle looks a fine place to hang out!!
[…] Finally right before pulling into Breckenridge, stop in South Park, CO. If for no other reason, stop because it is called South Park and take a photo in the wooden cut out as the characters from the South Park animated TV series. Actually now called Fairplay, this is a great place to grab groceries and supplies on the way into Breckenridge. […]