Vacationing in Breckenridge

[love2bike]

Hi- We and our friends are going to spend a week in Breckenridge in August. We will have 4 adults and 3 kids- ages 9,8, and 6. We probably won't bring our own bikes (traveling with the bikes will stress my husband out too much) and will need to rent some for everyone - Can anyone recommend any good bicycle rental companies there?

All of us are used to riding on a crushed limestone trail - can you make any recommendations of off-road paved or unpaved paths that would be suitable for youngsters? Can you recommend any good websites for bike trail info?

Do you have any favorite trails that you could recommend? We would love some restaurant recommendations too!

Many thanks! Patty

[Pedal Wench]

RASTA PASTA!!!!!! Yum!!!!!! We ate there when we finished last year's Ride The Rockies. Granted, ANY pasta would have been good at that point, but it was really, really good. Fun too.

There is a great bike path right outside of Breck that goes for miles. It looked great.

[Kathi]

There's a paved path that goes from Breckenridge to Frisco. From there you have the choice of going to Copper Mtn and up Vail pass, or around Dillion Lake to Keystone. The path is pretty flat, except the Copper, Vail part. It's safe for kids and not many street crossings. You can park in various locations and ride it in sections. The section between the high school and the hospital climbs into the woods and then there are some rollers. The path does get busy on the weekends.

As for rentals, I'm not familiar with any shop in particular but there are 2-3 in Frisco that rents bikes and there was one in Breck, can't remember the name.
There are also tour operators that shuttle you to the top of Vail pass and then you can ride down. The trail is pretty twisty and narrow but I have seen kids come down it.

There is also the Mineral Belt trail in Leadville, I hear it's nice but I haven't ridden it.

Hope this helps

[sarahkonamojo]

Biking is great in the area. I have skied the Mineral Belt trail in Leadville. I'd recommend it with kids because of the mining history along the route. Breckenridge has a mining background also, but it has been covered up a bit.

Alpine Market in Frisco is a nice natural foods type store with a great deli. Next store is a pizza place. Lots of food/dining selections.

Sorry don't know the bike stores, but they should also be able to help with the trails.

Have fun.
sarah

[love2bike]

Thanks so much for the suggestions - I'm hoping that we can do at least 2 days (or half days) of riding with the kids-maybe three. I just found a white-water rafting company that sounds cool. I really appreciate the market recommendation!

[Kathi]

Summit County has a free bike guide with a trail description of difficulty, distance, elevation, type of road and driving directions.

Pick it up a the Frisco Visitors Center, 3rd and Main, or if you're an outlet mall shopper you can pick it up at the Silverthorne Visitor Center in the outlet mall near Pure Mtn Sport, exit 205 then turn north (right at first light).

The bike shops also had them, we know they are at Mountain Sports Outlet and Christy Sports in Silverthorne, they also rent bikes.

According to the book a good trail for families and novices is the Crown Point Trail. It's a 5 mile out and back. The description is on page 36 of the Guide. I have not ridden this trail but it sounds like a good one.

If you're driving gasoline is averaging .20 higher in the mtns so top off at Georgetown.

[love2bike]

Ladies,

Thanks so much for the biking/dining advice for Breckenridge! We ended up finding and renting road bikes and rode the Breckenridge/Frisco circuit. A beautiful ride. We are used to nice flat roads and paths. Between the high altitude and the 4-9 % grade changes; it was a workout for us, but we loved it. Rasta Pasta was great too!