Many of the greatest ski communities in the United States are located in Summit County, Colorado. These would include Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone, plus over 8000 acres of premier skiing. For those who don’t ski, Summit County also offers plenty of other activities to keep residents and visitors happy. Including hiking, sight-seeing, nature and bird watching, and a host of other outdoor activities. Located amongst the high peaks of the Colorado Rockies just west of the Continental Divide. Obviously, it towers over the landscape at just under 8,000 feet above sea level and also encompasses several mountain ranges. Including the Gore Range, Tenmile Range, and the Front Range.
It is very conveniently located and only about an hour from Denver Metro, just off I-70, (the main corridor through this stretch of mountain communities). Within Summit County there are six municipalities, Blue River, Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Montezuma, and Silverthorne. A huge portion of the land up to 80% is public land and managed by both US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Other highly desirable features in Summit County include the beautiful Blue River which generates 3 times the flow of any other river contributing to the Colorado River Basin. In the early 1960s, the Denver Water Board saw this as a great opportunity. They damned the Blue River, creating the 2,790 acres Dillon Reservoir.
Summit County Real Estate
Summit County has been established in 1861 as part of the Colorado Territory’s original 17 counties. It has received worldwide attention during the Gold Rush Era in 1859 when prospector’s first discovered gold and silver there Forever changing the landscape of Summit County from a tranquil, undeveloped expanse of beauty into a gold-chasing frenzy of hopeful, numerous miners.
Since after the Gold Rush, there are many parts of Colorado became ghost towns. Just as the Gold Rush came almost overnight, again came a rush of development with ski businesses and ski slopes. It boasts one of the most favorable climates in the world with average highs of 68o. But it lows of 30o and a whopping average of 250” of snow annually. It is also sparsely populated with around 28,000 people to enjoy 610 square miles of living.
