Several ‘Christmas Vacation’ scenes were filmed in Colorado – find out where
Dec 9, 2025, 4:58 PM | Updated: Dec 12, 2025, 2:19 pm
I’ve always kept the Christmas movies going for that week between Christmas and New Years. “Elf” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” are just a couple that’ll be on repeat in my house this week. However, until just now, I had no idea that a bunch of “Christmas Vacation” was actually filmed in Colorado!
Although the movie was set in Chicago, much of the filming happened in the Colorado high country in the spring of 1989.
According to the Breckenridge Tourism Office, the movie begins with a tree-cutting scene as the family heads out to the country to pick the perfect Christmas tree. That happened near the Breckenridge Golf Course near Tiger Road. The subdivision nearby hadn’t actually been built yet.
This wasn’t the only Chicago-oriented situation that was filmed in Breckenridge.
The sledding scene was filmed at Breckenridge Ski Area’s Peak 8. When Clark is dodging traffic on the slick saucer, that was on Frisco’s Summit Boulevard.
According to GoBreck, Clark’s sled eventually ends up in a Toys For Tots bin in front of the Walmart in Frisco.
GoBreck said local crew was also involved in filming and a producer did everything they could to keep money in town. In fact, the shopping scenes with Clark and Eddie were shot at the Frisco Walmart.
Meanwhile, Summit High School in Frisco was converted into a cover set for the throwback home video scene.
Now, I cannot wait to get home with this new knowledge to watch the movie for the 20th time this season!
