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main_street_600pxParking within Breckenridge can be frustrating, especially during our busy ski season. It is a chore for the town to accommodate the consistently growing population and surplus of visitors each winter. Fortunately, it is significantly easier to find a parking space when you know where to look. Here is the inside scoop on parking in Breckenridge, CO.

Breckenridge does offer several free parking locations. The Satellite Lot has over 500 spaces for free, daytime parking. This lot accommodates compact cars, SUV’s, buses, RV’s, and even trucks with trailers. For $5, the Satellite Lot is one of the few places in Summit County that permits overnight parking. However, vehicles are not to exceed 2 weeks of parking. For skiers wanting to avoid in-town traffic and parking fees, park in the Satellite lot and catch the Summit Free Ride’s Yellow Route / Breck Ski Area bus service for a ride to the slopes.

At the opposite end of Breckenridge, the south side of town, there are 210 spaces available for free parking at the Ice Rink, located at 189 Boreas Pass Road. Once parked, the in-town trolley and the Free Ride brown and blue routes provide easy transportation to Breck’s shopping and dining on Main Street and the Gondola.

breck christmasParking is free after 3:00 PM during ski season at F-Lot, Tiger Dredge, and Wellington. The F-Lot is located at the south side of Breckenridge, where South Park Avenue intersects Village Road. After 3:00 PM, parking also becomes available to the public at the East Sawmill Lot; before three it is reserved for employee parking only. The short term / 3 hour limit parking is located on French Street and at the French Street Lot is also free. Just be sure not to stay longer than the 3 hours since you will receive a ticket. For more information regarding parking in Breck, visit TownOfBreckenridge.com.

The best approach to the challenge of finding parking in Breckenridge is to avoid the burden of having a car. There is a good reason why most locals take the Summit Free Ride bus system or a fortunate few can snowboard to work. Breckenridge became a town due to the mining boom during the Victorian era. Its founders could never have anticipated how popular of a vacation destination Breck would become thanks in part to the skiing industry. Back in the day, skiing wasn’t a winter sport, it was an essential means of transportation. The famous Father Dyer would ride 8ft long wooden skis from mining camp to mining camp in order to spread the word of God. There would have been a few spots for travelers to tie up their horses but there certainly wasn’t town planning for the modern day’s masses’ car parking.

In addition to the stress of even finding a parking spot, you have to consider the potential of having to pay for a parking ticket. While your first offense can cost only $50, the expense grows with every infraction and there are monitors patrolling the lots nearly every hour.

Save on airport shuttles with Peak 1 Express!   
Save on airport shuttles with Peak 1 Express!  

For visitors, rental cars are expensive enough, especially when you take into account the cost of gas and parking. Since in-town transportation is readily available (Summit Free Ride, hotel shuttles, taxi services, etc.) your only concern is getting from the airport to the mountains and back. Peak 1 Express is an affordable and convenient solution. Our drivers are experienced in traveling I-70 during winter road conditions. Rather than drive yourself through the gauntlet, guests can sit back aboard our Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans and enjoy Wi-Fi.