# Silverthorne, Colorado

The Town of Silverthorne is a home rule municipality in Summit County, Colorado. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 4,402.

## History

The town was named for Judge Marshall Silverthorn who served as the judge of the miners' court in Breckenridge. The judge first came to town as a prospector and claimed a section of the Blue River in 1881. After patenting his claim in April 1882, he was disappointed to find the gold to be sparse and the claim a poor bet. The land passed to his daughters on his death in 1887 and was then sold several times to various mining companies. In 1953 Clayton Hill bought the property and subdivided it for homes and stores.
Silverthorne served as a makeshift camp for workers during the construction of the Dillon Reservoir from 1961 to 1963, and later as a stop along Interstate 70. It was eventually incorporated on April 5, 1967.
The city has expanded several times since incorporation by annexation.
Since 2016, the town of Silverthorne has hosted the Silverthon Games, an annual competition featuring a seasonally-based slate of individual and team events, culminating with the heavily spectated Hummingbird Circle race.

## Geography

Silverthorne is situated between the Gore Range to the west and the Continental Divide to the east. The two most visible mountains are Buffalo and Red Mountains. Also surrounding the valley are Ptarmigan, Tenderfoot, and Ten Mile Peaks.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km$^2$), of which, 3.2 square miles (8.3 km$^2$) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km$^2$) of it (0.94%) is water.

## Climate

Silverthorne has a highland-influenced subpolar climate (Köppen (Dfc) with warm summer days, cold nights year round, as well as cold and snowy winter days.
Climate data for Silverthorne (1981–2010, extremes 1910-2018) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 60 (16) | 63 (17) | 76 (24) | 80 (27) | 87 (31) | 89 (32) | 87 (31) | 84 (29) | 77 (25) | 65 (18) | 61 (16) | 89 (32) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 31.7 (−0.2) | 33.9 (1.1) | 39.6 (4.2) | 47.3 (8.5) | 57.3 (14.1) | 67.9 (19.9) | 74.0 (23.3) | 71.9 (22.2) | 64.9 (18.3) | 53.5 (11.9) | 40.2 (4.6) | 31.5 (−0.3) | 51.1 (10.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 1.8 (−16.8) | 4.0 (−15.6) | 11.7 (−11.3) | 18.8 (−7.3) | 27.3 (−2.6) | 33.7 (0.9) | 39.0 (3.9) | 38.2 (3.4) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 22.0 (−5.6) | 12.6 (−10.8) | 3.8 (−15.7) | 20.3 (−6.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −44 (−42) | −45 (−43) | −38 (−39) | −25 (−32) | −8 (−22) | 11 (−12) | 22 (−6) | 20 (−7) | 4 (−16) | −17 (−27) | −30 (−34) | −46 (−43) | −46 (−43) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.81 (21) | 0.92 (23) | 1.01 (26) | 1.26 (32) | 1.31 (33) | 1.25 (32) | 1.95 (50) | 1.93 (49) | 1.42 (36) | 0.90 (23) | 0.93 (24) | 0.86 (22) | 14.55 (371) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 14.7 (37) | 15.7 (40) | 16.5 (42) | 15.8 (40) | 5.6 (14) | 0.7 (1.8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.4 (3.6) | 6.6 (17) | 14.1 (36) | 15.0 (38) | 106.1 (269.4) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.04 in) | 6.7 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 7.5 | 5.9 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 88.2 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.4 in) | 9.5 | 8.7 | 9.4 | 8.5 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 61.2 |
| Source: NWS NOWDATA —data from Dillon 1E 1981-2010 ||||||||||||||

## Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Silverthorne include:
* Red Gerard (born 2000), Olympic gold medalist snowboarder.
* Tieghan Gerard (born 1993), food blogger of Half Baked Harvest
* Dan Gibbs (born 1976), Colorado state legislator
* Sarah Hirshland (born 1975), chief executive officer of the United States Olympic Committee
* Mike Potekhen (born 1979), race car driver