The Town of Breckenridge is known for its perfect slopes that are frequented during the winter months. But that hasn’t always been the case. Breckenridge’s rich and colorful history is full of gold finds and mining, exploration and adventure, brothels, saloons, booms and busts.

Founded in 1859 by a small group of prospectors, the town’s Gold Rush brought droves of settlers seeking their fortunes. Though not all found gold, each discovered the beauty of the Tenmile Range and the bounty of surrounding mountain landscape.

Today, locals and visitors alike are still discovering gold — white gold that is — as in the 300 annual inches of pure Colorado powder this real mountain town and ski resort are known around the world for.

The mountain rises from 9,600 feet (2,926 m) to 12,998 feet (3,963 m) giving a vertical height of 3,398 feet (1,036 m). The ski area has 4.5 square miles (12 km2) of skiable area, 37 lifts, 187 trails with the longest one reaching 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers).