Breckenridge highlights ‘Christmas Holidays’ ties

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colorado (KRDO) – If scenes from the 1989 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation comedy look familiar to the Coloradians, it is because this Chicago-set movie was partly shot in the Colorado highlands.

According to GoBreck and the Breckenridge Tourism Bureau, the film really begins in Colorado.

When the Griwolds are out in the field looking for a tree and find themselves under a wooden truck, it was filmed north of Silverthorne, near the Maryland Creek Ranch / LG Everist.

GoBreck says his van’s final landing was at the Breckenridge golf course, near Georgia Pass, on Tiger Road.

The Christmas tree cut scene was also filmed in the Breckenridge / Highlands golf course area near Tiger Rd, which was before the Breckenridge subdivision in Highlands was built, according to GoBreck.

In a blog post, GoBreck wrote that the team camped in the vehicle maintenance area of ​​the Breckenridge Ski Resort at peak 8. The film was shot at night, so it didn’t interfere with skiing.

It is where Clark, played by Chevy Chase, descends the hill in his silicon sprayed saucer. The traffic he goes through is on a stretch of road in Frisco on Summit Blvd, and the Toys For Tots dump he hits is in front of Wal-Mart in Frisco.

GoBreck also said that the scene where Clark and cousin Eddie, played by Randy Quaid, are shopping is at the same Wal-Mart in Frisco.

Another indoor location used for the film was the former Summit High School in Frisco, which is now Summit Middle School. GoBreck writes the scene in which Clark watches old films in the attic that was shot in the gym. According to GoBreck, this scene was filmed during a big snowstorm when Breckenridge received more than 2.10 meters of snow.

This was not the only time that the “National Lampoon” series was filmed in Colorado. According to the Pueblo Chieftain, the 1983 film “Vacation” had scenes shot in Pueblo.