Experience the best of Vail

Vail was founded in 1962 by Pete Seibert, a veteran of the army's 10th Mountain Division, and designed as a pedestrian village in the style of an Alpine ski town, with timbered buildings, cobbled squares and a stream running through. It sits at about 2,500 metres in the Gore Creek valley, beneath the Gore Range, and is one of the largest ski areas in North America, with wide Back Bowls to the south.

In summer, gondolas and hiking trails climb the mountain, and cyclists follow the paved path over Vail Pass. The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, a high-altitude botanical garden, lies in Ford Park, and Beaver Creek is the neighbouring resort to the west. Minturn, an old railroad town, the Holy Cross Wilderness, and the hot springs and canyon of Glenwood Springs are within reach.

Après-ski is part of the local culture, with fondue and schnitzel in Alpine-style restaurants, elk, bison burgers and Colorado craft beer. The ski season runs from late autumn to spring, wildflowers cover the slopes in July, and aspens turn gold in September.