Heading to Breckenridge Thursday with my two (5 yr old and 7 month old) and another family with 3 young kids.

Any recommendations besides hydrate ahead of time to fend off altitude sickness?

Restaurant recommendations for a night out with that many kids in tow?

Anything else we should try aside from skiing?

Thanks!

Most docs can prescribe altitude meds that you take a day before ascent and a couple days after. Its a drug for seizures but doubles for altitude. Call your doc!

When my kids were little, I had them do Ski School at both Breckenridge and Keystone.
They had to be 3 years old and potty trained (at that time - 20 years ago now).
It was expensive but, they enjoyed it and we enjoyed knowing that they were being looked after so we could have fun.

This time of year, there should still be the snow sculptures up. (looks like they'll be gone by the end of the week)
https://www.gobreck.com/event/international-snow-sculpture-championships/

Since it sounds like you're going with a group, y'all might be fine but, be on the look out for anybody else struggling with the altitude in your group. From memory, Base Elevation is about 9600 feet at Breckenridge. If anybody needs to "get down to a lower altitude", Denver is obviously at 5280 ft. That is still high for folks like my Houston/Galveston family whose houses are between 14-23 feet ASL but, getting down to Denver will help if anybody is really struggling.

-Sledding at Carter Park (free but you need sleds)
-Sleigh Rides
-Snow Cat ride at Keystone (little pricey but fun); kids can also play at the snow fort at the top if you go to Keystone
-Ice skating at Keystone Lake

If you have a car rental try driving an hour to Ski Cooper in Leadville, CO. it's a great "family mountain" that is great for beginners. It's where we're take new skiers before going to the mega resorts.

I remember Downstairs at Eric's as being a good place to east for kids. A full game basement while waiting for tables.

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Restaurant recommendations for a night out with that many kids in tow?

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Downstairs at Eric's
The Motherloaded Tavern
Giampietros


Fatty's Pizza (down the street from Giampietros) is also a good option for larger parties.
If you want a great breakfast.....Columbine Cafe & Blue Moose.

Crepes A La Cart is fantastic

....I also suggest trying to eat a bit early. It can be quite crowded during the dinner rush.

If you want your kids to actually learn something... spring for the Quad Squad ski lessons that Breck offers. Maximum four kids instead of a large group with little one on one help.

Can't remember the name but we enjoy the French bakery that is right on main street... kids love their over the top hot chocolates.

We were there over Christmas with the extended family so lots of kids. Just watch them, we had a couple that started feeling ill, headaches, tired, etc., so they went to bed early and/or took a nap and it seemed to get them over it every time.

And I'd definitely recommend lessons if planning on skiing. My nieces didn't do lessons for a couple reasons: their dad thought he could teach them and we didn't think they'd last long anyway. They hated it, only lasted a few minutes. My dad wasn't skiing so was BS'ing with our ski valet and some other employees most the day. They were confident that if my nieces would've done a half day of lessons with them they'd still be up on the mountain skiing.

We also really enjoyed a snow mobile tour. Our group split up, one group did the leisure ride with the kids, the other did the adventure ride. The adventure ride was a blast. The other group said the leisure ride was ok. But it was something for the kids to do and we got to do something we really enjoyed (the adventure ride).

Other than that, already lots of good suggestions here for activities.

I have two daughters (8 and 6), and we go to Breck 3-4 times/year because we have a condo there. As mentioned above, the free sledding hill in town is nice but you have to bring your own sled. I've never been to the tubing hill in Frisco, but I've heard it is nice. It might be a little pricey (I haven't been in a long time), but the rec center has nice indoor pool. There is an ice skating rink a short drive south of Main Street.

Favorite places to eat:
-Breakfast: Cool River Cafe for great coffee (Huckleberry's from Denver), pastries, bagel sandwiches, and burritos; Breckfast: really good burrito, biscuit sandwiches, and dunkers; Columbine Cafe is my favorite place to enjoy a nie breakfast if I'm not in a hurry; Daylight Donuts: good donuts and traditional breakfast food too; Blue Moose: very good overall.
-Burgers: FlipSide; Empire... love both places.
-Italian: Giampietro's is my favorite (chicken parm); Michael's; Luigi's is good for cheap pizza and subs.
-Fine dining: Hearthstone; Aurum; Relish; Ember.
-Mexican: Mi Casa... great back patio, happy hour, and pretty good food (I grew up in south Texas so I'm picky).
-Dessert: Mountain Top Cookies, Stir Pan Creamery; Clint's.
-Others: Lost Cajun; Duggan's sandwiches; Downstairs at Eric's.

Best place for kids would probably be Downstairs at Eric's.

We just got back from there with 3 young kids last week. I think they all agreed it was the best vacation they have been on.

Tubing at Frisco Adventure Park.

Ski School is a must, we opted for the private lesson for all 3 for only a couple hundred more it makes a world of difference. My wife and I were able to ski with them (and instructor) basically the entire 2nd day. You cant do that with a group. Also, make sure you do lesson at Peak 9. We started at Peak 8 Day 1 and its not very conducive to them going up the lift.

Downstairs at Eric's is great spot, half arcade half restaurant.

We did Sleight Ride at Golden Horseshoe.....kind of a waste of money IMO, but the grounds there are pretty cool and Good Times (who owns that land) also offers dog sledding. snowmobile etc. only 10 mins away

Make sure you find a hot tub outside, was one of the highlights for the kids.

Thanks all for the suggestions. We fly to CO today and we're looking forward to the trip.

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Ski School is a must, we opted for the private lesson for all 3 for only a couple hundred more it makes a world of difference.

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Group lesson at breck is $225/day, private is $900. A few hundred more huh?

The quad (4 kids per class) is still only $320. A far better value for 99% of people.

OP, if you want to day trip to loveland, a kids lessons is only $150, including rental equipment and lunch. Heck of a deal. Groups are 5 max, and ski lesson area is a completely different area than the normal loveland skiing, so no people zooming past you.

62strat said:

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Ski School is a must, we opted for the private lesson for all 3 for only a couple hundred more it makes a world of difference.

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Group lesson at breck is $225/day, private is $900. A few hundred more huh?

The quad (4 kids per class) is still only $320. A far better value for 99% of people.

OP, if you want to day trip to loveland, a kids lessons is only $150, including rental equipment and lunch. Heck of a deal. Groups are 5 max, and ski lesson area is a completely different area than the normal loveland skiing, so no people zooming past you.

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$225/day x 3 people = $675
$320/day x 3 people = $960

Having just done a Breck private half day lesson, the $900 is total for 3 people. If you add people, it's an extra $x a person, don't remember the amount. So yeah, it really is only a few hundred more.....

ETA, this obviously assumes you have more than one person in a lesson and I used 3 as an example because it's the standard size and what the poster who suggested it had in their group.

htxag09 said:

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62strat said:

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Ski School is a must, we opted for the private lesson for all 3 for only a couple hundred more it makes a world of difference.

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Group lesson at breck is $225/day, private is $900. A few hundred more huh?

The quad (4 kids per class) is still only $320. A far better value for 99% of people.

OP, if you want to day trip to loveland, a kids lessons is only $150, including rental equipment and lunch. Heck of a deal. Groups are 5 max, and ski lesson area is a completely different area than the normal loveland skiing, so no people zooming past you.

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$225/day x 3 people = $675
$320/day x 3 people = $960

Having just done a Breck private half day lesson, the $900 is total for 3 people. If you add people, it's an extra $x a person, don't remember the amount. So yeah, it really is only a few hundred more.....

ETA, this obviously assumes you have more than one person in a lesson and I used 3 as an example because it's the standard size and what the poster who suggested it had in their group.

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Op has a 5 year old an an infant, so there's no reason for someone to mention a private lesson is not much more than 3 individual lessons. Op needs 1 lesson.

I only know this because I just signed my children up for lessons over President's Day weekend but Breck seems to have instituted some sort of dynamic pricing structure for their lessons. The Quad Squad is $411 per person/per day for that weekend instead of that $320 figure it has been every other time we have visited. Multiple children/multiple days and that difference adds up quickly... that being said, I felt like the standard group lessons were a complete waste of money in terms of what they actually learned and more of a ski based child care day.

President's Day at Breck is one of the busiest weekends. We did it two years ago and the crowds around Peak 9 were insane.

We have done President's Day weekend many times... fully aware of the crowds and accept it for what it is. That being said Friday and especially Monday aren't that bad...still better than Spring Break in my opinion. I however had not seen that type of dynamic pricing scheme from Breck in previous years (regardless of it being a bigger weekend).

JJWAGGIE said:

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We have done President's Day weekend many times... fully aware of the crowds and accept it for what it is. That being said Friday and especially Monday aren't that bad...still better than Spring Break in my opinion. I however had not seen that type of dynamic pricing scheme from Breck in previous years (regardless of it being a bigger weekend).

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'Spring break' is not a specific weekend. Pres. day is. I believe breck says their busiest weekend is in fact pres day. Followed by MLK weekend and weekend between xmas/NYE.

Spring break is spread over ~5-6 weeks.. so it's not a single concentration of travelers.

Could be. We ski Friday, Saturday and Monday with Sunday reserved for something off mountain. Friday and Monday have less crowds than I experienced during the last spring break trip we did. Saturday was on par but not too bad once you got up on the mountain away from the base/easy green runs.

We are just happy to get up there and get some skiing in... whatever the conditions. Texans can't be all that picky.

htxag09 said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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Ski School is a must, we opted for the private lesson for all 3 for only a couple hundred more it makes a world of difference.

---

Group lesson at breck is $225/day, private is $900. A few hundred more huh?

The quad (4 kids per class) is still only $320. A far better value for 99% of people.

OP, if you want to day trip to loveland, a kids lessons is only $150, including rental equipment and lunch. Heck of a deal. Groups are 5 max, and ski lesson area is a completely different area than the normal loveland skiing, so no people zooming past you.

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$225/day x 3 people = $675
$320/day x 3 people = $960

Having just done a Breck private half day lesson, the $900 is total for 3 people. If you add people, it's an extra $x a person, don't remember the amount. So yeah, it really is only a few hundred more.....

ETA, this obviously assumes you have more than one person in a lesson and I used 3 as an example because it's the standard size and what the poster who suggested it had in their group.

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I have 3 kids so was a nice deal for us. And they allow up to 6 at the same price, so if you go with other family or friends its a screaming deal.

The Silverback said:

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htxag09 said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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Ski School is a must, we opted for the private lesson for all 3 for only a couple hundred more it makes a world of difference.

---

Group lesson at breck is $225/day, private is $900. A few hundred more huh?

The quad (4 kids per class) is still only $320. A far better value for 99% of people.

OP, if you want to day trip to loveland, a kids lessons is only $150, including rental equipment and lunch. Heck of a deal. Groups are 5 max, and ski lesson area is a completely different area than the normal loveland skiing, so no people zooming past you.

---

$225/day x 3 people = $675
$320/day x 3 people = $960

Having just done a Breck private half day lesson, the $900 is total for 3 people. If you add people, it's an extra $x a person, don't remember the amount. So yeah, it really is only a few hundred more.....

ETA, this obviously assumes you have more than one person in a lesson and I used 3 as an example because it's the standard size and what the poster who suggested it had in their group.

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I have 3 kids so was a nice deal for us. And they allow up to 6 at the same price, so if you go with other family or friends its a screaming deal.

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Same scenario here. Plus, when we joined our kids and their instructor after lunch we got to skip the long lift lines and go through the ski school line.

Obviously wouldn't work for the OP but may for others.

I would consider dog sledding with kids of that age

[url] https://www.goodtimesadventures.com/dogsledding.html[/url]

Presidents day week is a big holiday for the ski resorts and even the local towns. The schools are even out Presidents day week for a winter / early spring break with another spring break in late April.