17 Best Things to Do in Dillon, Colorado

By VI Staff on November 11, 2019

Located along the shores of Lake Dillon in the heart of Summit County, Dillon, CO is a small mountain community that is home to numerous outdoor amenities, recreational attractions and breathtaking mountain views. Renowned for having the highest deep-water marina in the country, the town also features the Dillon Amphitheater, which hosts weekly dance nights and free weekend concerts.

1.Dillon Reservoir

Dillon Reservoir, also known as Lake Dillon, is the largest lake in the area and offers magnificent mountain vistas and an array of activities and recreation. Bordered by the towns of Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne, Lake Dillon is home to the Dillon Marina, which hosts sailing regattas and other boating events throughout the year, as well as pontoon boats, runabouts, and sailboats available to rent for exploring the lake, fishing or basking in the summer sun. The lake is stocked with a variety of fish, including Arctic Char, Brown Trout, Kokanee Salmon, and Rainbow Trout and its 26-mile shoreline offer plenty of spots for casting. The lake is surrounded by the National Forest, which provides hiking, horseback riding, camping, mountain biking, jeep tours to nearby historic mining towns and other interesting scenic tours.

Dillon, CO 80435

2.Dillon Marina

Set on the shoreline of Lake Dillon, the Dillon Marina is a full-service marina that offers access to beautiful Lake and an array of facilities, including world-class sailing, boating rentals, shopping, and the high country's only lakeside dining. The Dillon Marina offers sailboat, pontoon, and runabout rentals, as well as kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals, sailing courses, lessons and scenic tours in the lake. Pug Ryan's Lakeside Tiki Bar offers casual lakeside dining on a large deck overlooking the water with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. Perched at 9,000 feet above sea level, the seasonal bar features a menu of sunny bites and drinks, including craft beers and handcrafted cocktails.

150 Marina Dr, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-468-5100

3.Dillon Amphitheater

Set in the center of town at the intersection of Lodgepole Street and Lake Dillon Drive, the Dillon Amphitheater boasts breathtaking views of both the lake and the mountains and hosts a variety of events throughout the summer. The newly renovated amphitheater features a seating bowl, which can seat up to 3,500 people, as well as a new concession building that serves sandwiches, burgers, beer and wine, and other concert fare, and several restroom facilities. The top of the venue features a walking plaza that offers spectacular views of the surrounding landscapes. The Dillon Amphitheater provides free concerts on weekend evenings throughout the summer.

201 W Lodgepole St, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-468-2403

4.Marina Park

Marina Park is a beautiful urban park with spectacular panoramic views over Lake Dillon and all the way to the Ten Mile and Gore Mountain Ranges. Extending from the intersection of Lake Dillon Drive and Lodgepole Street all along the waterfront to Point Dillon Park, Marina Park is located next to the Dillon Marina and offers a wide range of facilities, including access to the lakeshore, shaded picnic tables, small charcoal grills, and a playground for children of all ages. The park is also home to paved paths with benches for walking and biking, a historic pocket park with interpretive signs that showcase the history of Dillon, a bronze sculpture pocket park with bench seating, and a boating dock with fishing opportunities. The Marina Pavilion features numerous picnic tables, charcoal grills, electrical outlets, drinking water, and restrooms, and is ideal for private functions.

306 W Lodgepole St, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-468-2403

5.Dillon Farmers' Market

The Dillon Farmers Market is a seasonal market held weekly in Dillon that features a host of vendors selling their wares which include Colorado-grown, farm-fresh produce, handcrafted and artisan goods, and delicious homemade food, along with live music and family entertainment. Hailed as Summit County's ‘Best Farmers Market,’ the market is located on Lodgepole Street next to the Dillon Reservoir and runs on Fridays from early June to mid-September. Over 120 vendors offer a variety of goods, including fresh fruit and vegetables, artisan cheeses, charcuterie, honey, fresh bread, beef, elk, or buffalo jerky, and homemade food such as salmon sandwiches, tamales, crepes, and more. Open picnic tables allow for visitors to enjoy the delicious fare while listening to the market’s live music.

Lodgepole Street, Dillon, CO 29536, Phone: 970-262-3439

6.Summit Shuttle

Summit Shuttle provides transportation and tour services between the marinas of Lake Dillon and Frisco Bay. Passengers enjoy an educational briefing about the area and its many attractions and recreational activities en route, and the company also offers private boat charters to residents for functions and events.

150 Marina Drive, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-389-9336

7.Dillon Schoolhouse Museum

The Dillon Schoolhouse Museum is an L-shaped frame schoolhouse that was built in 1883 and now stands a museum on LaBonte Street in Dillon. Dating back to the late 1800s, the wooden structure features the original belfry and bell, four-by-four casement windows, and a tin ceiling, with a front platform for student recitations and presentations. Today, the museum features an array of exhibits showcasing artifacts from its bygone school days, including slates and chalk, McGuffy desks, individual learning stations, Heath readers with hand-crocheted bookmarks, a black celestial globe, an 1892 flag, a kerosene slide projector with glass slides, a Centennial flag, and a sand table. Other interesting objects range from assay scales, coffee grinders, blacksmith tools, and cigar molds and tobacco cutters and can be viewed in the adjacent country storeroom.

403 La Bonte, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-468-2207

8.Lake Dillon Theatre Company

The Lake Dillon Theatre Company (LDTC) is a professional community theater that presents one-of-a-kind cultural performances and performing arts shows throughout the year. Founded in 1993 to raise funds for the Lake Dillon Amphitheater, the Lake Dillon Theatre Company began with presenting a free summer concert series and has grown to include an amateur theater company, a chamber concert series, and a variety of youth education programs. Today, the Lake Dillon Theatre Company is dedicated to providing quality cultural experiences and opportunities for the communities of Summit County through a diverse range of performances, education and outreach programs.

460 Blue River Pkwy, Silverthorne, CO 80498, Phone: 970-513-9386

9.Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness

The Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness is a 12,760-acre U.S. Wilderness Area in the Williams Fork Mountains near Dillon. Established in 1993, the wilderness is comprised of the Routt and White River National Forests and features forests of lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir, and lush riparian meadows and drainages of the South and Middle Forks of the Williams Fork Rivers, which are filled with beaver dams with pools and cascades. Dozens of perennial streams are home to brook, brown, cutthroat, and rainbow trout, and there are miles hiking trails through the wilderness, including Ptarmigan Peak Trail, which crosses Ptarmigan Pass into the drainages to the northeast, and the Ute Pass Trail, which follows the ridgeline boundary from the Ptarmigan Pass to Ute Peak and on to Ute Pass.

900 Grand Avenue, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602, Phone: 970-945-2521

10.Silver Flask Fishing

Nestled in the heart of Summit County Colorado, Silver Flask Fishing offers lessons on how to successfully land fish on the beautiful waters on Lake Dillon. The company offers two types of fishing tours – guided ice-fishing and fly-fishing trips – both of which target fish in a high alpine environment using the latest angling innovations and technologies. Ice-fishing trips happen on the frozen Lake Dillon in winter with heated ice shelters to stay warm while fishing, while fly-fishing trips are usually held in the summer months. Silver Flask Fishing gives back to the community by teaching fly fishing to the children of the Town of Frisco Water Camp kids and helping the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and other local agencies study fish on the Blue River downstream from Lake Dillon.

82 Glen Cove, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 920-268-9918

11.Colorado Snowboard Guides

Colorado Snowboard Guides offers a premier snowboard specific guide service for snowboarders to further their skill-sets off-piste through guided trips, courses in backcountry education, and mentorship. A branch of CBST Adventures, which has been in operation since 1994, Colorado Snowboard Guides boasts guides with over 20 years of combined professional outdoor guiding experience, and offers a variety of services, including day tours in the Colorado high country for all abilities and skill levels; courses in avalanche skiing, avalanche rescue, split-boarding, snowboard mountaineering, and snowboarding; and a variety of educational clinics.

Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 719-244-7779

12.Stand Up Paddle Colorado

Stand Up Paddle Colorado offers paddle boards, single and tandem on-top kayaks to rent and enjoy on the beautiful calm waters of Lake Dillon. There are boards of all sizes for all ages of the paddler, and paddlers are watched over by instructors in a pontoon boat to assist if required. The company is based on Dillon and Nottingham Lake with grassy lawns and shaded structures for relaxing before and after paddle sessions, and there is lovely riverside camping available year-round SUP CO Dome at Rancho Del Rio. Rancho del Rio also has a few cabins for rent.

Dillon Marina, 150 Marina Drive, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-453-7873

13.Colorado Kite Force

Colorado Kite Force offers snow-kiting, kite-skiing, and kite-snowboarding lessons and guided trips, as well as snow kite training abilities, with a complete IKO certified instruction program. The company has two locations for snow kite lessons in Summit County – on Lodgepole Street in Dillon and the Kite Park at Farmers Corner at the corner of Swan Mountain Road and Highway 9 – and offers a range of lessons for all levels, from beginners to instructors. There are also three-day kite camps where guests can use their equipment or the equipment provided.

12 Fawn Ct, Silverthorne, CO 80498, Phone: 970-485-3300

14.Cafe ProFusion

Café ProFusion is an East-meets-West eatery Pan-Asian joint tucked-away in Dillon that serves a delicious menu of gluten-free curries and mouthwatering Pan-Asian cuisine and casual wines by the glass. The cozy, bustling, 14-seater restaurant boasts warm décor and an inviting appeal and the menu features dishes such as green and Panang curries made with fresh coconut milk and freshly ground, house-made spice blends, New Delhi Garbanzo Bean Stew, Pot Roast Panang, Braised Babyback Ribs, and desserts such as Maple–Star Anise Mousse. Café ProFusion is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

119 La Bonte Street, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-513-8336

15.Dillon Dam Brewery

The Dillon Dam Brewery is a craft brewery and American-style restaurant that produces and serves a range of handcrafted brews, along with a menu of casual cuisine for lunch and dinner. Spanning two floors with a 220-seat indoor restaurant and a summer beer garden, the Dillon Dam Brewery is the largest brewpub in Colorado. The brewery’s restaurant serves a menu that features regionally sourced ingredients, grass-fed meats, chicken and other produce, which is served with a variety of craft brews from the brewery. Named after Summit County's well-known Dillon Dam, the Dillon Dam Brewery brews about 2,000 barrels a year of hand-crafted ales and lagers, including Open Season IPA, Art of Science Schwarzbier, Cucumber Gose, Dam Chili Dam, and Zuma Zen Marzan.

100 Little Dam St, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-262-7777

16.Arapahoe Cafe & Pub

The Arapahoe Café and Pub is a historic eatery and pub that dates back to the 1940s and draws both regulars and visitors for their Southwestern-style American fare, steaming barbecue, and hearty breakfasts. Breakfast delights include Trout & Eggs, Chicken Fried Steak, Biscuits & Gravy, Bonnie’s Chicken & Waffles, Noah's Chicken & Biscuit Slider, and Doug’s Breakfast, which includes steel cut organic oats with a blueberry and raspberry compote and flax seed. Dinner entrées include award-winning house smoked BBQ Pork Ribs, Bone-in Pork Chops, Pan Fried Chicken with cracked pepper sausage gravy, Rocky Mountain Ruby Red Trout, Smoked Cheddar Mac N Cheese, Trout, and Spinach Salad, and Shrimp & Grits.

626 Lake Dillon Drive, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-468-0873

17.Jersey Boys Pizza & Deli

Jersey Boys Pizza & Deli is a laid-back Italian-style counter-serve eatery that serves casual all-American cuisine such as pizza and pasta, deli and gourmet sandwiches, salads, wraps and a variety of craft beer and casual wines. Located just minutes from Keystone Mountain, Jersey Boys Pizza & Deli is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week and offers weekly specials such as cheesesteak night, spaghetti night, and burger night. Jersey Boys Pizza & Deli offers free delivery to lodges and hotel rooms at Keystone Mountain, as well as anywhere in Dillon or Silverthorne.

149 Tenderfoot St, Dillon, CO 80435, Phone: 970-513-1087