Living in Summit County & the Central Rockies

This region's six towns sit directly on or just off I-70, making it genuinely the most Denver-accessible of Colorado's mountain-resort regions -- every town here sits within roughly two to three hours of Denver by car, unlike the Aspen/Roaring Fork Valley or Southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains covered elsewhere in this dataset. Vail, home to the 3rd-largest single-mountain ski area in the US by skiable acres, and Breckenridge, the closest major Colorado resort town to Denver (under two hours), both operate under Vail Resorts (itself headquartered in Broomfield, not in the town of Vail); Winter Park operates under Alterra Mountain Company on land the City and County of Denver still owns. Silverthorne and Frisco both sit at Summit County's practical center, within a short drive of Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Arapahoe Basin, while tiny, historic Georgetown -- a National Historic Landmark district since 1966 -- offers the region's most affordable and most deeply preserved 19th-century mining-town option. Nearly every town here shares the same underlying pattern: a large, disclosed share of local housing sits vacant as second homes or short-term rentals, prompting real, current workforce-housing policy responses town by town.

Explore Summit County & the Central Rockies in depth

Exploring the idea of moving?

We can connect you with a local real estate professional who knows the area -- no pressure, just a starting point.

Learn more

Places we've researched in Summit County & the Central Rockies

Planning a move?

Tell us what you're looking for and we'll connect you with a local expert who can help you make it happen.

Talk to a local expert
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26. Independent research; see individual place pages for metric-level source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.