Ahh, Breckenridge, a Colorado mountain with exceptional terrain, a bumping après-ski vibe, an adorable town, and social media influencers galore — what more could you want?! After spending three winter months in Fairplay (a tiny, tiny town over Hoosier Pass and about 40 minutes from Breck) we found ourselves riding the gondola up to Breckenridge Ski Resort at least once a week. Needless to say, we got to know the mountain pretttttty well — so well that we decided to dedicate a blog to our favorite (and least favorite) runs on the mountain. Let’s shred.

The 5 top runs at Breckenridge Ski Resort (according to us)

5. Briar Rose

Located on Peak 9, Briar Rose is a narrowish trail with plenty of trees — which is partly why it ranks in our top five runs at Breck. It isn’t too long, and its difficulty is Blue. For those who don’t venture thick into the trees, the terrain is moderate. And, since it’s slightly tucked away than other trails on Peak 9, it doesn’t get as crowded as some of the others.

4. Riverside

Our favorite run on Peak 6, Riverside, requires you to take the Kensho SuperChair up to the near-top of the peak. We say near-top because if you’re feeling adventurous, you can climb a trail that takes you to the tippy top of Peak 6 and gives you access to Serenity Bowl and Beyond Bowl.

Back to Riverside: The run takes you down the front of Peak 6. The terrain is pretty tough, despite being labeled as a Blue trail. That said, the terrain is pretty tough, so we wouldn’t recommend giving it a go unless you’re an intermediate skier. The views from the top of Peak 6 are beautiful, but be mindful of the wind — there are no trees at the upper levels of the peak, so it can get really windy up there (so much that on high wind days, the mountain shuts down the Kensho chairlift).

ANYWAYS, Riverside is a great run because it’s wide open at the top while the lower portion is groomed — the best of both worlds in one run. This means you can take your time making nice, wide turns at the top (where there’s usually plenty of fresh pow pow) before buckling in and bombing the lower portion of the trail. Gnarly.

3. Duke’s Run

Peak 8 is known as the area where beginners and young children go since it has Green trails galore and it’s where the ski schools are based. So it may come as a surprise that one of our favorite Black Diamond/Blue runs is on Peak 8. Duke’s Run is a pretty steep, but groomed, trail that you can access by riding the Rocky Mountain SuperChair at Peak 8. It starts as a Black Diamond before turning into a Blue. While the top is steep, most intermediate skiers should be able to handle the terrain. And since it’s listed as a Black Diamond at the top, Duke’s Run doesn’t tend to be as crowded as some of the other runs on Peak 8 (score). The two best times to shred Duke’s Run are in the morning when the mountain first opens (get those groom lines, babeeee) and after a fresh snowfall (the pow is amazing, and the trees lining the trail are incredible with the right snow).

2. Lincoln Meadows

Not gonna lie, when we discovered Lincoln Meadows, we skied that trail probably eight times in a row. It’s a not-so-hidden gem on Peak 7 that’s fun, not challenging or overly strenuous on the legs, and surrounded by trees. Rated as a Blue in difficulty, you can reach Lincoln Meadows from the Independence SuperChair or the Freedom SuperChair. The trail’s terrain isn’t too steep — personally, we would rank it as Green compared to other Blue trails. We loved heading to Lincoln Meadows near the end of the day. When the crowds on Peak 7 simmer down, that’s when you can bomb Lincoln Meadows and tear up the trees that surround it.

1. Whale’s Tail

Putting anything other than Whale’s Tail as our top run at Breck would be a crime in the ski community — and we don’t need a mob throwing their Oakleys at us in rage (just kidding, Oakley goggles are waay too expensive to be thrown around).

Taking you to the very top of Breckenridge Ski Resort is the Imperial SuperChair, also known as the highest chairlift in North America. Once there, you have the Imperial Bowl at your disposal and, quite frankly, you can’t really go wrong with any of the runs.

But if we had to pick a favorite, it would be Whale’s Tail: An epic, Double-Black Diamond that’s unlike any others on the mountain. And on a fresh pow day? Forget about the other trails — Whale’s Tail is where it’s at. In fact, skiers line up at the Imperial Chair (which opens at 10 AM, later than most of the others on the mountain) to get first tracks on Whale’s Tail.

Best runs at Breck — Honorable mentions

• Angel’s Rest: Blue trail located on Peak 7; an easy run that’s fun to shred.
• Centennial: Black Diamond trail on Peak 10; steep but groomed, making it a good trail for bombing and hitting top speeds (if you’re into that kind of thing…….).
• Art’s Bowl: Another great Black Diamond trail off Imperial SuperChair; exceptional after a fresh snowfall.

The most ehh runs at Breckenridge Ski Resort (according to us)

Every run with moguls. Just kidding…

3. Cimarron

This might be ~controversial~ (a lottttt of people had recommended this trail), but to be honest, we did it once and were not impressed. In fact, we never felt the need to return because there were better runs to shred. To be fair, we did this run on a Sunday afternoon when it was fairly skied off. The trail had a lot of icy spots and reminded us of the terrain we grew up skiing back on the East Coast. In the morning, when it’s freshly groomed, this Black Diamond trail on Peak 10 is probably a good one to bomb. But it wasn’t our favorite. 

2. Four O’clock

The trail itself is fine — an easy Green off Peak 8. The problem with Four O’clock is there are a ton of people of all ski levels riding it down, and the trail gets pretty narrow as you get closer to the bottom. So, essentially you’ve got people wearing skis for the first time in their life and ultra-experienced bombers trying to zoom past them. Here’s the real kicker: Four O’clock comes to a screeching halt, so you take off your skis and carry them down a set of stairs, under a tunnel, back up the stairs, and then walk to wherever you parked. If you’ve just done a handful of runs, then the stairs aren’t bad. But if you just completed a full day of skiing and absolutely tore up the mountain (hell yeah, brother), the last thing you want to do is go up and down stairs. So, sorry Breckenridge — we know you’re trying to convince everyone to take Four O’clock down, but we’d rather wait in long gondola lines. 

1. Intuition

Before you judge us, hear us out: Intuition might be one of the most epic trails at Breckenridge, but only for a portion of the trail. Unfortunately, it turns completely flat — so much that snowboarders have to remove their boards and walk while skiers huff and puff past them using their poles to get them across the terrain. And for that reason, it’s our least favorite trail at Breck.

Intuition is a Peak 6 Black Diamond trail. It starts as a bowl and, while challenging, is a ton of fun. However, after the bowl, the trail goes completely flat for approximately 500 miles.* It’s horrible and just a terrible way to end a super fun run. Not only does the trail go flat, but it also gets pretty narrow. Skiers have to dodge snowboards as they remove their gear and start walking, which can make it even harder to keep your speed. Overall, it’s very, very, very ehh.

*Figure has been exaggerated to prove a point.