At this Colorado resort, the shopping and dining scene is on the rise, but the skiing has always been elevated.

Breckenridge’s Peak 10 is one of five peaks spread across the resort

When you’re perched at 12,840 feet at the top of the Imperial SuperChair, the highest chairlift in North America, you feel like you’re truly out there. The air is thin. The wind tugs at your jacket. And the Tenmile Range fills the view. Up there in the high alpine, your soul can soar. The historic town of Breckenridge, Colo., bustles below, filled with restaurants, shops and historic log cabins. At day’s end, you can ski down more than 3,000 vertical feet into town, where there are plenty of places to raise a glass, from whiskey and wine tasting rooms to the cozy alpine-chic space inside Gravity Haus’ Cabin Juice. Here, our ultimate guide to this buzzing destination.

The guest rooms at Gravity Haus have an alpine aesthetic.

STAY

In 2019, Gravity Haus (gravityhaus.com) opened its flagship property in Breckenridge with an $8 million renovation to the old village hotel in Village at Breck. Inside this hip gathering spot, you’ll find a welcoming lobby with fur-covered chairlift seating, recycled shipping containers and Unravel Coffee, where your small-batch latte comes in an eco-friendly glass jar. Hotel guests and GH members can enjoy a Japanese-inspired onsen space that opens up to mountain views. At the north end of Main Street, stay at The Carlin (thecarlinbreckenridge.com), a new three-story lodging and dining experience from Destination Hospitality, the restaurant group behind fan-favorite Aurum Food & Wine.

The Fly by Night cocktail at The Carlin’s Tavern Underground starts with Suntory Toki Japanese whisky

EAT & DRINK

Ema Landis came to Breckenridge in 1996 as the Czech Olympic team’s sous-chef. At breakfast time, you’ll be glad she stayed. Every morning at Mom’s Baking Co. (momsbakingcompany.com), Landis bakes her pastries and desserts in-house, many of them culled from her mother’s secret Czech recipes. Radicato (radicatobreck.com) is the most recent endeavor by Rootstalk chef-owner Matt Vawter. From its second-story perch off Main Street, Radicato serves handmade pasta dishes and seafood-centric plates like bluefin tuna poke with pickled celery, ponzu sauce and puffed rice. With the Founder’s Experience at Breckenridge Distillery (breckenridgedistillery.com), you can sample cask-finished whiskeys with a private guided whiskey flight inside the Founder’s Lab. The distillery also offers VIP behind-the-scenes tours of the production facility.

Breckenridge’s Main Street is built on history

SHOP

Folcland (folcland.com) fills its shelves with sustainably sourced and ethically created goods like organic cotton sweaters from White + Warren and botanical body oils from Native Nectar Botanicals. Local goldsmith and jewelry designer Nichole Shepherd owns DonLo Mercantile (donlomercantile.com), where you’ll find artisanal home goods like a hemp and wood wall hanging from New York artist Michele Quan. And Overland Sheepskin Co. (overland.com) has gorgeous shearling coats and wool-lined leather boots.

BROWSE

In Breckenridge, there are two Raitman Art Galleries (raitmanart.com). At the north outpost, don’t miss the fluid acrylic and gold leaf works from Kate McCavitt. In 2017, Tina Rossi and Alex Kendall took over Breckenridge Gallery (breckenridgegallery.com), a local institution since 1969. The new owners have brought in contemporary artists like Levi Larkin, an ironworker who creates large sculptures with tiny welded nuts.

RENEW

Clairvergence (clairvergence.com) is a new wellness studio on Main Street offering tarot card readings, reiki energy healing, yoga, craniosacral therapy, ear seeds acupressure and crystal attunements.