Breckenridge - Page 3
By Tom Kagy | 02 Jul, 2026

Steamboat Springs and Fairplay add color and dimension to our sojourn in the heart of the Colorado mountains.

Fairplay's South Park attraction includes a detailed restoration of the Alma Mining Company operations of the late 19th century. (Tom Kagy Photo)

Our Sunday outing was to Steamboat Springs, about two and a half hours' drive northwest, the longest side trip on our itinerary.  

Steamboat Springs' summer attractions include canoeing and rafting down the fast-flowing Yampa River. (Tom Kagy Photo)

Steamboat Springs:  Heart of Ranch Country

The first half of the drive follows the northward flow of the Blue River on SH-9.  The rolling verdure of the high-mountain valley provided a pastoral view of Colorado's ranch country which contrasts with the rugged folds of the Front Range along the tortured I-70 corridor. 

Aside from the two major ski resorts on the ridge south of town, Steamboat Springs offers canoeing and rafting on the Yampa River which flows north along the town's west side.  

The two ski resorts on the ridge south of Steamboat Springs are prominent feature of the town's vista. (Tom Kagy Photo)

The natural hot springs in town are another draw.  During ski season Steamboat's slopes are beloved for the famously light "Champagne Powder."  In late May, the ski season had wound down while hiking and floating down the lively Yampa are in full swing.

The town isn't devoid of historic charm, but for us the biggest attraction was the endless rolling hills and broad green valleys on the drive up and back.  The lush ranch country had provided early settlers a more stable alternative to chasing elusive mining fortunes in the rugged Front Range.  

Within minutes of hitting Fairplay, at an elevation of 9,953 feet, we were greeted by a late-May blizzard.  (Tom Kagy Photo)

Marquee Mining Town

Fairplay, home of South Park (yes, that South Park), is about a 45 minute straight-shot south down Highway 9 from Breckenridge which made for an attractive Monday afternoon outing.  I use "straight" figuratively.  Once outside Breckenridge the highway becomes a series of twists and hairpin turns toward 11,539-foot high Hoosier Pass located almost precisely halfway between Breckenridge and Fairplay.  From there the highway unwinds into more gracious curves as it descends into the broad valley that encompasses one of Colorado's most elevated historic mining and ranching areas.

The hot comfort food at the Platte River Saloon (above) was an alternative to the blizzard that raged outside for all of fifteen minutes.  The Silver Scoop Creamery also provided sweet respite from the on-again-off-again weather.  (Tom Kagy Photos)

Within a couple minutes of parking our Equinox on picturesque Front Street we were treated to the kind of brief but serious blizzard that can only happen in late May at two miles high.  It made for a memorable stroll down the four-block length of Front Street.

But the charm of being blasted in the face with whipping icy winds and actual small ice pellets faded surprisingly quickly, and we decided it was a good time for lunch.  

The entrance to South Park, Fairplay's remarkable recreation of its 19th century past.  Below: The interior of the South Park Courthouse, one of a dozen lovingly resurrected structures that make up the town.  (Tom Kagy Photos)

We don't normally see saloons as lunch spots, but the Platte River Saloon located next to the Hand Hotel looked to offer everything a couple of Southern Californians might seek in a frontier mining town—walls covered in rustic local color, the promise of a hot, hearty lunch and a window table that afforded the luxury of enjoying the blizzard behind glass.

Cheese curds, a reuben, a garden salad and, incongruously enough, spring rolls, seemed like a good compromise between our desire to embrace a rugged frontier appetite without entirely casting nutritional caution to the blizzard.  

Sitting at the next table were Paul and Joanne, retired teachers who had spent the last forty years in a neighboring mountain town after spending a decade working in Paris, Southeast Asia and Hawaii.  

"As we say around here," Paul noted, "if you don't like the weather, just wait fifteen minutes."  

Even before our food arrived the blizzard passed to expose fast-evolving patches of blue sky and sunshine.  After lunch Paul urged us to check out South Park, a loving reconstruction of Fairplay as a frontier mining town in the late 19th century.  

Before we made our way to the entrance of South Park on 4th Street, we spotted an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor called the Silver Scoop Creamery.  I couldn't resist stepping in for a decaf latte and we ended up also buying a scoop of ice cream, a cinnamon roll and a peanut butter cookie at old-fashioned prices.  

While dallying over our treats we noticed that a door at the back of the parlor led into a gift shop, the Big Red Barn where we bought a black-bear napkin holder—along with advice from the ladies running the shop that black bears do consider people food so best to fight for your life—a tasteful Fairplay sweatshirt, and small toy animals for the grandkids.

Admission to South Park was $6 a head which seemed a fair price for the privilege of literally stepping back into the town's full-scale incarnation as a frontier town.  Aside from a small museum, the town offered the opportunity to enter a lovingly recreated chapel, railroad office and the Alma Mine which had once been the town's main industry. 

The exit from South Park took us through a souvenir shop that also offered up pretty rocks and other local treasures to remember an unforgettable piece of Americana.