United States

Summit County, CO

Includes Silverthorne, Frisco, Keystone, Breckenridge. See Also Our Running Guide for the Vail Area

Summit County is a popular recreation area west of Denver, known for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. Resorts in the area include Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin. 75% of Summit County is public land.

Here’s the situation for running in Summit County: I-70 is the main road, with mountains all around. Naturally, the trail running options are extensive. For easier road running in the valleys, there’s a 60-mile network of multi-use paths, with good options in Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, and Breckenridge. Among the highlights are the paths around the Dillon Reservoir, the Blue River Bikeway, and the Tenmile Canyon Recreational Trail between Breckenridge and Vail.

Note that this entire area is at altitude. All of the towns are at least 7,000 feet. Note also that the paths might be snow covered (and used for XC skiing) in winter. Paths are generally clear May-October, and are especially beautiful in fall with the changing aspens.

See Also

Our Guide to Running in the Vail Area

Vail, CO

Vail and its neighboring mountain Beaver Creek are best known as wintertime ski destinations, but these scenic... more...

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This area has a four-season climate, with cold winters and mild summers. It’s also a very sunny climate. Altitude and mountains will impact the weather depending on your location. Summers are mild and cool, with daytime temperatures in the high 60s to mid-70s, and cool nights. A layer is required any time of year! In winter, temps reach the 20s-30sF in the valleys and generally dip to near zero at night. Snowfall in the towns averages 157 inches annually (more in the mountains). Summers are generally dry, with some rain — often in the form of thunderstorms.

Summit County Area:

Naturally there are numerous outdoor recreation and sporting goods stores in the area. There are also some running apparel stores in the Silverthorne Outlets.

The signature running store is Peak Running Company in Breckenridge.

Vail Area: Vail is full of sports shops, including Vail Sports. The area’s premiere running group is the Vail Valley Running Club.

Summit County Running events: The town of Frisco has this event listing.

Vail area events: The Vail Valley holds a variety of races, from the La Sportiva Trail Running Series to the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Running Series.

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