Vail, Colorado
Internationally known for its incomparable world-class skiing and riding, the Vail Valley additionally offers an exciting nightlife, unique shops, gourmet dining and nonstop outdoor adventure, summer or winter.
Vail Mountain, 100 miles west of Denver, is larger than nearly every other North American ski area, and is linked by a well placed network of lifts and trails. There are 1,220 acres of varied runs on the front side, and the existence of the Back Bowls make this a skiers' heaven. Those same slopes provide the perfect trails for mountain bike devotees in summer. The village hosts a wide variety of festivals year round.
Skiers getting first tracks in Blue Sky Basins Petes Bowl
Photo Courtesy: Kaia Van Praag, Vail Resorts. |
Consistently ranked the country's most popular ski resort by skiers and ski magazines almost since its inception, Vail has the look of a Tyrolean village, and is visited regularly by almost as many Europeans as Americans. This gives its restaurants, hotels, and shops a continental air. The size of the mountain and the varying degrees of difficulty and excellent condition of its trails are the main draw.
Vail and Aspen are often compared, and just as often, they are contrasted. Aspen is an authentic mining town. Vail resembles a Bavarian village. Gerald Ford, Dan Quayle, and John Sununu set the trend for the retreat of statesmen to Vail to escape the pressures of public life. Thornton Wilder, Ortega Y Gasset and Albert Schweitzer traveled to Aspen at the inception of the Aspen Institute, and other intellectuals and writers followed. Each resort area has its separate and distinct personality.
The Bavarian-style Vail Village comes alive at night
Photo Courtesy: Jack Affleck, Vail Resorts. |
Two people with a vision planned what has become Vail. They were Pete Seibert, a veteran of the 10th Mountain Division that prepared for alpine warfare in the surrounding Gore and Sawatch ranges during World War II, and Earl Eaton, a uranium prospector who had grown up in and surveyed the area's wild ranges. In 1957 they climbed to the summit of the mountain now known as Vail and discovered a skier's dream: the Back Bowls, 4,000 acres of open glades. The Bowls were formed unintentionally when the Ute Indians set "spite fires" to the timberland in retaliation for being driven out by ranchers and miners. After five years of seeking permits, drafting agreements and uncertainty, the partners were near financial ruin. In the end, the problems were resolved, and the fabulous Vail resort was created.
Vail is an almost perfect example of mountain and village design. The development is divided into the residential East Vail, upscale Vail Village, and the more modest Lionshead.
The Village at Vail Colorado
Photo Courtesy: Jack Affleck, Vail Resorts. |
Vail is American skiing's "king of the hills." Vail logs more "skier days", the ski industry's measure of ticket sales, than any other resort in the country. Its merger with Keystone and Breckenridge, has made Vail the world's largest ski company.
The satellite ski area of Beaver Creek, developed in the 1980's, has quickly become a substantial resort in its own right. Beaver Creek's strength is that it is one of the best ski areas in America for lower intermediates. The linking of Beaver Creek's trail system with that of neighboring Arrowhead Resort and with Bachelor Gulch, a new area between the two, has added 30% more novice and intermediate terrain to the area and created a European-style "village-to-village" ski experience.
Vail Mountain scenic hiking tours
Photo Courtesy: Peter Fredin, Vail Resorts. |
Spring and summer at Vail bring a wealth of additional opportunities. The mountain streams and lakes provide superb fishing, canoeing, rafting, and the ski trails are open for mountain biking. Horseback riding in the rugged back country is another seasonal favorite, as are hiking, golf, balloon rides and tennis. All of these activities unfold against the spectacular backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, which are so striking in their beauty and grandeur that the first glimpse of them after at each visit to Vail literally takes one's breath away.
The Rockies, Vail, the surrounding White River National Forest, all provide peak esthetic and recreational experiences. All are ready and waiting to welcome you and your family year round.
