During the first weekend of August, Ryan and I piled into the car and ventured west on I-70 toward Summit County for the Bluegrass and Beer Festival in Keystone, Colorado. Not only was it a fun weekend in Summit County, but it was also Ryan’s 35th Birthday!!
Keystone is one of our favorite ski mountains in the winter, but we hadn’t spent much time there in the summer. They do, however, have a ton of cool festivals to keep tourists and locals busy during the summer months. I suspect you’ve guessed by now – we picked the Bluegrass and Beer Festival on August 7th.
Festival Details
We paid $136.93 for two beer sampling glasses and for one food pass. The beer glasses allowed us unlimited samples of beer from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the food pass gave us one sample from each of the 10 food tents. We were initially worried that this wouldn’t be enough food but the samples were pretty large and provided more than enough to get us through the afternoon.
A Fun Weekend in Summit County (& Ryan’s Birthday)
Although we were in Keystone for the festival, we wanted to make the most out of our mountain weekend! So we made a fancy decision and booked a HOTEL! We arrived at the Hyatt Place Keystone early on Friday evening. The hotel had comfortable rooms, several hot tubs, and beautiful views. We would definitely recommend it! After we checked in, we took a 10 minute walk to the River Run Village for dinner. We ate at the Kickapoo Tavern, a tavern at the base of the gondola.
The next morning (Ryan’s Birthday!), we woke up early and set out on a hike up the mountain. Don’t worry, I also gave Ryan lots of birthday treats! We didn’t quite know where we were going, but we ended up hiking up a ski run called Schoolmarm, a very long and very popular green run at Keystone. The hike was surprisingly difficult and it was made much more difficult by the heavy smoke caused by the California wildfires. We made it to the Montezuma lift before turning back.
After sharing a beer on the shaky chairs, we turned around. We ended our hike back in the River Run Village, where we checked into the Bluegrass and Beer Festival. There, we grabbed our cups, our food pass, and a quick snack before walking back to the hotel to clean up.
We returned to the River Run Village a little before 1 p.m., so we were ready when the first booth started pouring beer! The Bluegrass and Beer Festival turned out to be a great (albeit busy) way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Summit County! The beer lines were long, but it was possible to find stands without lines. We never found ourselves waiting too long for beer – and the beer was delicious. There were several local breweries to choose from and each brought their A-game. The food samples also far exceeded our expectations; the food was delicious and filling.
After the festival, we took a walk to the Goat Soup & Whiskey Tavern for a light dinner. This place is a favorite among the locals and it was a very fun way to end our day!
On Sunday morning, we were both pleasantly surprised by our lack of hangovers. I guess we approach beer festivals a little differently in our mid-30s than we did in our 20s! We ended our weekend with a delicious breakfast at the Haywood Cafe and returned to Evergreen.
The Bottom Line
Overall, Keystone’s Bluegrass and Beer Festival was a very fun event! The beer, food, and scenery created the perfect afternoon. We’d definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun summer activity in Summit County!
