There will be no permanent winter tubing hill at Country Boy Mine in Breckenridge.
The owners of the historic gold mine have tried three times to add a snow-tubing hill on their property, and three times now they have been shot down by county commissioners and planning officials.
It all comes down to zoning. Country Boy is zoned for A-1, the same as farms and large swaths of private property. The mine, like your backyard, can’t operate a paid tubing hill without special permission through a condition use permit, CUP.
But a CUP only covers so much, and large activities like tubing need the scope of a dude ranch or resort. Country Boy is considered a museum and limited to smaller crowds with less impact on neighbors, like nearby homes in the Wellington neighborhood.
Country Boy asked county commissioners to revise the code. Commissioners today denied the request, saying any property zoned A-1 could now open a permanent, paid tubing hill. Changing one rule for one mine, says commissioner Nina Waters, “opens up a very large can of worms” the county does not want to open.