What's on in Breckenridge, United States through the year

Peak crowds — Intl Snow Sculpture Championships, Ski season

• Festival

  Intl Snow Sculpture Championships

  20 Jan – 5 Feb · usuallyIce seasonCrowded

  Teams carve twenty-five-ton blocks by hand over five days, then the finished pieces stand on Main Street for a week until they slump. Free, and best walked after dark when they are lit. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (7 Nov – 25 Apr (usually)), Avalanche season (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — Intl Snow Sculpture Championships, Ski season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Intl Snow Sculpture Championships (20 Jan – 5 Feb (usually)), Ski season (7 Nov – 25 Apr (usually)), Avalanche season (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — Ski season, Spring break in United States

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (7 Nov – 25 Apr (usually)), Avalanche season (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Busy — Ski season

• Season

  Spring mud season

  25 Apr – 5 JunOff-season shutdownClosures

  The lifts stop and half of Main Street shuts for six weeks while the trails are still under snow or under mud. Rooms are at their cheapest all year and there is genuinely not much to do.

Still on: Ski season (7 Nov – 25 Apr (usually)), Avalanche season (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring mud season (25 Apr – 5 Jun)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Spring mud season (25 Apr – 5 Jun)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Peak crowds — Breckenridge Film Festival, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  Breckenridge Film Festival

  15–30 Sep · usuallyCrowded

  Four days of independent screenings in late September, timed to the aspens turning on the Boreas Pass road. A small festival with filmmakers who actually stay for the questions. Source ↗

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Autumn shoulder shutdown

  5 Oct – 10 NovOff-season shutdownClosures

  The aspens are down, the lifts are not yet running and the town takes its second holiday of the year. Restaurants close for a fortnight at a stretch, so check before driving up for dinner.

Peak crowds — Ski season, Thanksgiving break in United States

• Opening

  Ski season

  7 Nov – 25 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  Snowmaking usually gets the first runs open in the second week of November and the top bowls hold into late April, which is a longer season than almost anywhere in the Rockies. Peak 6 and the alpine terrain open on snowpack, not on a date. Source ↗

Still on: Autumn shoulder shutdown (5 Oct – 10 Nov)

Peak crowds — Ski season, Ullr Fest

• Hazard

  Avalanche season

  1 Dec – 30 Apr

  Colorado's continental snowpack builds weak layers early and keeps them all winter, which is why the state leads the country for avalanche deaths. Read the Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecast before anything outside the ropes, including the pass roads. Source ↗

• Festival

  Ullr Fest

  17–19 DecMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Three days of ritual snow-begging to the Norse god of winter, built round a deliberately silly Main Street parade and a record attempt at the world's longest shotski. It runs the week before the Christmas rates kick in. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (7 Nov – 25 Apr (usually))