Vail

Nestled in the Gore Creek Valley of Eagle County, Vail is a resort town and home rule municipality situated approximately 100 miles west of Denver along Interstate 70. Vail's average elevation is 8,150 feet (2,480 m) above sea level, and the town is surrounded by 350,000 acres of White River National Forest land. A home rule municipality in Eagle County, the population of the town was 4,835 in 2020, and it is home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, known for its hotels, dining, and the numerous events it hosts annually, including the Vail Film Festival, Vail Resorts Snow Days, and Bravo! Vail. Unlike many Colorado mountain communities whose origins trace to 19th-century mining, Vail village was built when the resort opened, making it one of the few American towns purpose-built as a ski destination from the ground up.

History

Indigenous and Early Settler History

The Ute tribe first inhabited what they referred to as "The Shining Mountains" (due to the majestic peaks) long before settlers moved west. The valley offered a cool summer retreat for the Utes, who spent harsh winters in the more arid land of western Colorado. By the mid-1800s, the first white settlers arrived in the Gore Valley, forcing the Native Americans to flee.

By the 1870s, the Gore Range was attracting fortune seekers as news spread that its hills contained both gold and silver. Mines were set up, and railroad tracks laid down to transport the precious metals. As mines were set up and railroad tracks laid down, the Northern Utes were pushed from Colorado onto northeastern Utah reservations. The 1879 Meeker incident was the final impetus for the Ute removal of 1881. During the forced removal, the Utes allegedly set fire to thousands of acres of trees, resulting in the deforested area today known as Vail's famous Back Bowls.

It wasn't long before the miners depleted the area's mineral resources and abandoned the valley. It remained a peaceful home for sheep ranchers until 1939, when construction began on Highway 6, running from Denver through the Gore Valley. Charlie Vail, the project's engineer, lent his name to the road — the Vail Pass — and eventually to the Town of Vail, too.

World War II and the 10th Mountain Division

During World War II, the Army's 10th Mountain Division used the Vail area for backcountry survival training. After the war, many of the men who trained there were drawn back to the mountain valleys. Camp Hale, a training facility that taught soldiers skiing and mountain survival techniques, was established about 14 miles south of Vail during this conflict. This military legacy left an enduring mark on Vail's identity — trails, buildings, and chairlifts throughout the resort carry references to the 10th Mountain Division to this day.

Founding of the Resort and Town

Most histories of Vail start with the fateful day on March 19, 1957, when Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton parked Seibert's army-surplus jeep on the side of US Highway 6, attached climbing skins to their skis, and slogged up what would become the front side of Vail Mountain. It took them seven hours to climb 3,050 vertical feet to the summit at 11,250 feet, where Seibert first saw what he later described as "the most mind-blowing landscape of all."

In the early 1960s, Seibert got funds from a group of Colorado investors, including Jack Tweedy, and with Earl Eaton bought a ranch at the base of the mountain and eventually incorporated as Vail Associates. The official opening of Vail ski resort occurred on December 15, 1962, with initial lift tickets costing $5. Construction began in spring 1962, and by fall 1966, the Town of Vail was incorporated. Vail had the first gondola in the United States, along with two double chairlifts and a beginner Poma lift, serving six square miles of terrain.

By 1969, Vail was the most popular ski resort in the state. President Gerald Ford traveled to the town in 1969 for the first time. He liked his experience there so much that he even purchased a property in the area. From that moment on, he started to visit Vail every year. Ford's association with Vail brought significant national attention to the resort throughout the 1970s.

In May 1970, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had selected Colorado to host the 1976 Olympic Winter Games. Vail's founder then purchased land at the base of present-day Beaver Creek that he intended to develop as an Olympic venue, only to have his dream snatched away when Denver voters rebuffed the IOC's offer in 1972.

Rapidly burgeoning into a year-round vacationing spot, Vail continued to break ground for its skiers in the 1980s by installing high-speed lifts — the country's first to have multiple quad-seaters. In 1988, Vail opened China Bowl, making Vail the third largest ski area in North America.

Geography and Climate

Vail is a popular ski resort and town located in Eagle County, west-central Colorado. Located approximately 100 miles west of Denver, it stretches across some 7 miles through the Gore Creek Valley in the Gore and Sawatch mountain ranges. The town has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km²), with no lakes (there is, however, at least one pond). Gore Creek flows from east to west through the center of town. The town is surrounded by the White River National Forest, and the Vail Ski Resort is leased from the United States Forest Service.

Vail has warm summers and cold winters because of its elevation. Depending on the classification used, it is either an alpine or subarctic climate transitional with humid continental, due to mild daytime temperatures in September bringing the daily mean to around 50 °F (10 °C). Minimum temperatures mostly remain below the freezing point from late September to late May. Vail receives more than 335 inches of snow annually and almost 300 days of sunshine each year. During the summer, daytime temperatures average 75 degrees and 45 degrees for the nighttime low.

Vail Ski Resort

Coveted as one of the largest ski resorts in the world with more than 5,300 acres of skiable terrain, seven legendary Back Bowls spanning seven miles, and the most groomed terrain on the planet, Vail has been an extraordinary winter vacation destination for skiers and snowboarders for more than 50 years. At 5,317 acres, Vail is the largest resort in the state and second only to Big Sky as the largest single mountain ski resort in North America.

Vail Mountain has three sections: The Front-Side, Blue Sky Basin, and the Back Bowls. Most of the resort is wide open terrain with all types of trails. There are cruising runs accessible from most front side and Blue Sky Basin lifts, as well as the wide open Back Bowls, glades, and chutes.

The Back Bowls are among the resort's most iconic features. The Back Bowls, from west to east, include: Sun Down Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, Tea Cup Bowl, China Bowl, Siberia Bowl, Inner Mongolia Bowl, and Outer Mongolia Bowl. Sun Down Bowl is the westernmost Back Bowl, and the sun sets right over it — hence the name. Sun Down is Vail's largest bowl, and it is also the sole Back Bowl with no intermediate terrain, meaning the area is for advanced and expert skiers and riders only. The treeless, wide-open character of the Back Bowls is historically linked to the alleged Ute fires of 1881, which cleared the terrain that skiers now prize.

Vail has been the number one ski resort in the United States fourteen times in a 17-year period. Vail proudly joined Beaver Creek in hosting the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships and has become the home of the Burton US Open Snowboard Championships. On February 27, 2010, one of the original black diamond trails into Vail Village, International, was renamed Lindsey's to honor Vail's Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn.

Vail Resorts operates on National Forest System lands under special use permit to the White River National Forest. The resort is owned and operated by Vail Resorts, Inc., the publicly traded company that grew out of the original Vail Associates partnership. A pivotal moment in the company's history was the introduction of the Epic Pass in 2008, an innovation that revolutionized access to multiple ski resorts and fundamentally altered the traditional ski pass model.

Arts, Culture, and Events

Vail has cultivated a significant cultural identity alongside its skiing reputation. Bravo! Vail Music Festival brings world-renowned musicians to picturesque venues throughout the Vail and Eagle River Valley region, and it is the only festival in North America to host four of the world's finest orchestras in a single season. The festival's 36th annual summer edition, running from June 22 to August 3, brought in $34 million in direct economic impact to Eagle County and the state of Colorado.

The internationally acclaimed Vail Dance Festival returns every summer with over 14 performances and 30 events across the Vail Valley. Stars from renowned companies like the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre take the stage in Vail's stunning mountain venues.

Hot Summer Nights, a Vail Valley tradition since 1987, is a free concert series that brings world-class music to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater every Tuesday evening. The amphitheater itself serves as the principal outdoor performance venue for the town, hosting orchestral concerts, popular music acts, and community events throughout the warm months.

A permanent public art collection managed by Art in Public Places includes over 60 works ranging from paintings, sculptures, murals, playground components, to site-integrated art, most of which were created by Colorado artists. The town fosters cultural exchanges through its Global Friendship Exchange Program, which includes partnerships with San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Yamanouchi-machi, Japan.

Summer in Vail offers a wide array of non-skiing activities. Vail is also a summer resort and golfing center, with summer activities including guided hikes, mountain biking, horseback riding, carriage rides, and fishing. Vail is also developing as a cultural center, with various art and music venues active throughout the summer.

Economy and Housing

The Vail economy relies heavily on tourism. The main attraction in Vail is winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding on the mountain, in addition to snowmobiling and snowshoeing, among many other winter sports. The town's fiscal health is closely tied to visitation levels, with the ski season driving the majority of sales tax revenue for local government.

The median property value in Vail, CO was $1.04 million in 2023, which is 3.43 times larger than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $846,600 to $1.04 million, a 22.9% increase. This high cost of real estate has created persistent workforce challenges. The town faces a worker shortage, as there is insufficient housing. A Vail Resorts spokesperson said in 2022 that there is a deficit of some 6,000 beds for the county's workforce.

Vail has been recognized nationally by the Urban Land Institute for housing policy leadership through the Vail InDEED deed-restriction acquisition program established in 2018. Despite policy efforts, tension between resort development and affordable housing remains a defining civic issue. In 2023, the village paid $17 million to Vail Resorts to prevent Vail Resorts from building housing for 165 workers, a decision preceded by a lengthy conflict where the village sought to block the construction of housing.

Vail's public schools are part of Eagle County School District RE-50, with high school students attending the nearby Battle Mountain High School in Edwards. Eagle County Schools also offers the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, a joint program with area ski programs for students in grades 5–12 who are involved in competitive skiing and snowboarding.