Breckenridge Kids' Museum Activities

Breckenridge Kids’ Museum Activities

The Mountain Top Children’s Museum is a quick walk or shuttle ride from Breckenridge vacation rental, and it’s a great place to take kids who are 10 and younger.

The museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating kids through fun, interactive exhibits and programs that foster imagination.

It opened in 2001 and began day camps the following year. It is located by Breckenridge lodging on Peak 9, in the Village at Breckenridge, off S. Park Avenue and Main Street. Breckenridge Ski Resort donates the space to house it.

Within the walls of the museum, kids can examine bones through “X-rays,” strap on a pair of skis and become a virtual ski patroller or step into a bear cave, make animal tracks, identify scat or make up stories about the stars in the museum’s mini planetarium. Once they’re acquainted with the planetarium’s stars, adults can take them into the backyard of their Breckenridge vacation rental — where artificial lights don’t spoil the night sky — and look for constellations.

Kids also can create their own masterpiece in the Creation Station, which offers art, crafts and recycled materials to produce a piece to take home to your Breckenridge vacation rental.

And for kids who prefer theatrics, Studio Imagination allows them to find a costume and become a star on stage.

Families and kids alike can have fun in the Kidstruction Zone, where you can pretend you’re building your own Breckenridge vacation rental by using remote control construction vehicles to erect a structure.

Tots have a great time at the museum in the Tot Spot, designed for kids who are 2 years old and younger to keep their little hands and minds busy through colorful blocks, zany stuffed animals and experimental stations.

Adults get a break on museum admission prices: They’re $5 per adult and $7 per child. Seniors and kids younger than 1 are free. Most days, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In the summer the museum’s day camp for school-age children keeps kids active through projects, crazy experiments, nature explorations and other educational themes.

Kid’s Night Out parties, scheduled throughout the year, give parents and adult caregivers a chance to enjoy a fancy dinner without the fuss or an intimate evening in front of a cozy fire in a luxurious Breckenridge vacation rental.

The kid’s nights cater to ages 5 through 12 on Tuesday and Friday nights. From 6-9 p.m., kids eat dinner from Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant and Domino’s Pizza and engage in a variety of activities, from being a Mad Scientist to going Color Crazy or playing in the snow. Reservations are required; fees are $50.

A special kid’s night will take place on New Year’s Eve, from 6 p.m. until midnight at a rate of $20 per hour. For more information on any of the kid’s nights, call (970) 453-7878.

The family friendly museum is also a great place to host a birthday party, as opposed to having kids running through a Breckenridge vacation rental. A two-hour party costs $100-150 and includes space for 10 children, balloons and play time. To learn more about Mountain Top Children’s Museum, visit www.mtntopmuseum.org.

The Parks of Summit County

Breckenridge Parks

During your stay in Breckenridge lodging, you’ll be just a hop, skip and a jump away from wonderful Breckenridge parks.

Carter Park is one of Summit County’s largest parks, complete with baseball fields, tennis courts and sand volleyball courts. It also has an indoor community gathering center, as well as outdoor picnic tables. If your Breckenridge vacation happens to involve a family reunion or other special celebration, you can always head to Carter Park to spread out the fun.

It’s likely that you didn’t bring your dog to stay at your Breckenridge vacation rental, but if you happen to miss watching furry creatures romp around, head down to the fenced dog park at Carter Park and watch them play.

Or simply take a Frisbee or kite down to the park, and let it soar through the thin air.

Carter Park is located at the south end of High Street, adjacent to Breckenridge Elementary School. If you’re heading south on Main Street, turn left and go up a few blocks to High Street, which ends at the park.

The Blue River Plaza, near the Riverwalk Center, is also a fun area for kids and families. It’s easy to get to from your Breckenridge vacation rental by walking or taking a free shuttle to just about the middle of Main Street. It’s located along the Blue River, and in the summer kids play on the rocks near the stream, art festivals and musicians enliven the grassy place and people stroll along the path that follows the Blue River.

Kingdom Park sits near the Breckenridge Recreation Center, just north of downtown, at 880 Airport Road. The park is adjacent to the kayak park, which is always thrilling to watch, as paddlers navigate rocks and rapids. Kingdom Park has outdoor tennis courts, soccer and lighted softball fields, a basketball court and a skate park.

Parks Outside Breckenridge

From your Breckenridge vacation rental, you can drive or take the free Summit Stage to other parks in Summit County.

Dillon’s playground and park at the south end of Lake Dillon Drive overlooks the lake and is the best playground in Summit County. It combines modern jungle gyms with artistic bronze sculptures, so there’s something to inspire everyone.

The playground includes slides, poles, climbing walls and swings within the few hundred feet of mulch-covered ground. Plenty of picnic tables dot the perimeter of a paved path, which overlooks the lake, so it’s a perfect place to eat lunch or dinner. Just down the hill, the Dillon Marina rents boats and has a tiki bar that serves food and drinks. In the other direction the Dillon Amphitheatre hosts nature nights, free live bands every weekend, church services and other family-oriented events.

Frisco has a network of pocket parks, a historic park and a modern-age playground. The pocket parks are tucked within the downtown region, often near a stream.

The Frisco Historic Park is one of the most amazing historic parks, offering a dozen buildings dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s. It includes an old schoolhouse, where you can pick up a free walking tour guide. Visitors can walk into old jailhouses, bedrooms, chapels and more.

The park near the Frisco Marina provides a nontraditional jungle gym, a large swathe of grass, boat rentals and a water taxi tour that goes to the Dillon Marina.

Silverthorne’s Rainbow Park lies next to the Silverthorne Recreation Center at 430 Rainbow Drive and has a grass field for sports, a basketball court, two sand volleyball courts, two tennis courts, picnic tables, a playground and a concrete skate park.

The opportunities for enjoying parks near your Breckenridge vacation rental abound!

Breckenridge Ski Passes

Breckenridge Ski Passes

In the mountain world, it’s never too early to think about the upcoming winter, and where to get your discounted Breckenridge lift tickets or passes.

It’s always best to plan your Breckenridge vacation and lock in your Breckenridge vacation rental sooner rather than later. For one thing, you can get discounted lift tickets or you may decide to buy an entire season pass, if that makes financial sense for the amount of time you’ll be skiing.

For a “limited time only,” (and, of course, they don’t tell you when the offer expires), Breckenridge Ski Area is offering lift tickets at last season’s prices. This only applies to multiple-day lift tickets, which is fine, because, truthfully, if you’re just looking at skiing for one day at a specific resort, you’re better off stopping at a local grocery store or ski rental shop to pick up a discount.

For the high-season Christmas weeks from Dec. 20 through Jan. 2, an adult three-day ticket (allowing you to ski three out of five days) is currently $249. A five-day (out of eight days) is $415. And it’s not much different if you come during what I consider to be the best time of the season – Feb. 13 through March 27. Though March brings some spring break crowds, the weather tends to be warmer and the snow base solid, so you won’t be hitting rocks, like you can early in December. During Feb. 13 through March 27, a three-day is $237, and a five-day is $340 (two-, six- and seven-day packages are also available).

Now here’s where it might make sense to consider buying a full season pass. If you buy now (and these prices usually hold until sometime in the fall), a Summit Pass, which gives you unlimited access to ski Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin, is $399 for adults, $309 for teens and $199 for kids.

Obviously, it would make sense to buy the adult pass if you’re planning on skiing at least five days during the high-priced holiday season, or if you plan to ski seven days during the Feb. 13 through March 27 timeframe I mentioned, because a seven-day combo ticket (assuming you buy now) costs $420 ($238 for kids).

There’s also an interesting pass called the Colorado Pass, which is only $40 more for an adult (and only $10 more for kids). It allows skiers 10 days at Vail or Beaver Creek. However, you will not be able to use those days on Nov. 27-28, Dec. 27-Jan. 2 and Feb. 13-14. And also be aware that it costs around $20-25 to park in Vail. However, for Beaver Creek skiing, you can park in a free lot at the base of the mountain and take a free shuttle to the base.

If you want to buy a pass now or learn more information, visit Breckenridge Ski Area prices at http://www.snow.com/passsales/default.aspx, then make Breckenridge lodging reservations at http://www.tenpeaks.com.