Vail Travel Guide

Take the Vista Bahn Chairlift or the Lionshead Gondola to the top of Vail Mountain, and take a spin on the resort's extensive network of mountain-bike trails. Explore the mountain on your own, sign up for instruction, or enjoy a guided tour down the slopes. If you're looking for a challenging workout, skip the lifts, and pedal up one of the mountain trails, and go on from there.
Race to the Back Bowls on a powder day. They're Vail's prized attraction, and when it snows, you'll have to get up early to beat the masses to the good stuff.
Adventurous and savvy backcountry skiers can take the Minturn Mile, a long run off the back of the resort that leads to the tiny mining village of Minturn. Hop a public bus back to town.
Hiking on Vail Mountain in the summer is one of the best ways to enjoy this popular winter ski mountain. There are hundreds of trails that you can enjoy from the base of the mountain, minutes from town, or at the top of the mountain via the Lionshead Gondola or Vista Bahn Chairlift.
Après-ski at The George, downstairs near the covered bridge on Bridge Street. Relax in the plush leather sofas and nosh on discount nachos and other hearty bar fare.
Other popular Vail-area trails are: Cross Creek Trail, Deluge Creek Trail, Fall Creek Trail, Fancy Pass Trail, Gore Creek Trail, Grouse Lake Trail, Grouse Mountain Trail, Half Moon Pass Trail, Lost Lake Trail, Meadow Creek Trail, Meadow Mountain Line Shack, Missouri Lakes Trail, Notch Mountain Trail, Piney River Trail, Pitkin Creek Trail, and Whitney Lake Trail.
Take in a performance of Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
Play hard and have fun on Adventure Ridge, winter or summer.
Pond skim—that is, ski down a hill and across a chilly pool of water—at the Pond Skimming World Championships held every spring. It is open to the public.

Vail Travel Guide

Consistently ranked the country's most popular ski resort by skiers and ski magazines almost since its inception, Vail is the big one. It's hard to imagine a more celebrated spot to schuss. Off the slopes, Vail is an incredibly compact Tyrolean village, frequented by almost as many Europeans as Americans, a situation that lends its restaurants, lodgings, and trendy shops a more transatlantic feel than other Colorado resorts. But the size of the mountain and the difficulty and excitement of many of its trails are still what draw the faithful. Read More

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