The mix of purpose-built ski resorts, old mining towns, snow-covered peaks, alpine meadows and crystal lakes that make up Summit County lie alongside I-70, around seventy miles west of Denver.

Before white settlement, the Ute hunted here every summer: the swanky Keystone Ranch Golf Club now occupies the meadow where they pitched their tepees. During the late nineteenth century the county witnessed several gold-mining booms; dilapidated ghost towns cling to the mountainsides, but one settlement that survived is BRECKENRIDGE, whose streets are lined with brightly painted Victorian houses, shops and cafés.

This is the liveliest of Summit County's four towns; FRISCO, stretching sedately along a quiet alley, appeals to those looking for a less hectic pace. Both the other towns, DILLON and SILVERTHORNE, are dull, though the latter contains dozens of cut-price factory outlet stores. The villages at the resorts of Keystone and Copper Mountain are also unexciting.

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