By Austin Price, Editor in Chief

Everyone wants life to be magical. We want the world to be clean, cheerful, and rich, brimming with human culture and natural beauty. These types of places are hard to find. However, just a 2-hour drive from Denver is a storybook town straight out of a fairytale. This place is Vail Colorado.

Up into the mountains, surrounded by luscious, green trees and endless fields of flowers is a small town with a population of under 5000 people. Vail is primarily known as a skier's dream destination, with a plethora of terrain perfect for slick ice and powdery snow. This homey mountain town is designed for the ultimate outdoorsman. With ski shops on every corner, and ski lifts visible at all times, it doesn’t seem like Vail would be very popular in the hot, 90-degree days of the Colorado summer. However, Vail has proven to be a yearlong tourist attraction and a vacation spot with opportunities for relaxation and an atmosphere of adventure.

I recently visited Vail to attend the annual Vail Dance Festival, an extraordinary yearly event that originated in Vail and has continued to prosper in its homeland ever since. Most of the activities and entertainment for the festival occurred at night, giving me plenty of time to explore the town and enjoy the beauty of Vail. Here I will list the highlights, give some reviews, and encourage you to plan your own trip to Vail Colorado.

Lodging

The first thing I noticed about Vail was that it is expensive. This was something I discovered before I even left for the trip and planned accordingly. Vail is a well-known tourist destination and its high value architecture and facilities cost a pretty penny. As a college student, I recommend going to Vail with a friend to help ease the strain on your bank account. I went with one of my good childhood friends and we split the cost. With both of us contributing, we shared a standard sized hotel room with two queen beds at the Evergreen Lodge at Vail. Each of us paid around $600 to stay 4 nights and 5 days. Compared to the multitude of 5-star hotels and private, overpriced Airbnb's, this was a reasonable lodging cost for two people. I personally would not pay that much for a room by myself, but with another person with me, it provided us with a safe, clean space to rest, relax, and store things in without breaking the bank.

Food

If it wasn’t for the skiing, biking and hiking options at Vail, I would say food is their specialty. Located on Lionshead Circle in Vail are countless restaurants, cafes, and bars, each with a unique taste and personality. Each day was a new opportunity to walk the cobbled streets of this charming mountain town, passing a wide variety of restaurants. I can say with absolute certainty that this trip expanded my palette.

First up for our food tour of Vail was breakfast, the most important meal of the day. The Little Diner is in Concert Hall Plaza and gives the perfect balance of warm, American charm, and friendly companionship between diners and servers. It’s open from 7am to 2pm every day, giving the perfect window to enjoy a late breakfast, or an early lunch. My personal favorite dish from The Little Diner was their French toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar and drenched in homemade, blueberry syrup. The average price of a meal and a drink for one is around $20, making it a doable price with endless food possibilities.

Now onto lunch. My personal favorite lunchtime spot was Rocky Mountain Taco. A small truck originating from Vail Brewing Company in Avon Colorado is packed to the brim with delicious tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, and burritos. My personal favorite item on this menu was simply called “The White Chick.” This was a plain chicken taco with no spice. Being a “white chick” myself, this was my ideal meal. With prices of $3 per taco, Rocky Mountain Taco is the perfect place for a quick bite between activities, or the start to an epic feast of traditional Mexican cuisine.

Up next, dinner. Vail is filled with bars, burger joints, and delis, but my personal favorite place for dinner was Blue Moose Pizza, right off of Lionshead Place. We dined at Blue Moose Pizza more than any other restaurant and for good reason. With hand-tossed New York style pizza as the focus, and delicious appetizers on the side, Blue Moose Pizza, albeit a bit more expensive, was worth every penny. Costing around $25-$30 per person for a full meal, this was both a filling dinner and a wonderful start to an evening of attending more performances at the Vail Dance Festival. My personal favorite dish was not even pizza, ironically enough. The best thing to eat at Blue Moose Pizza is Spinach and Artichoke Dip, specifically topping my leftover pizza crust.

Blue Moose Pizza, off of Lionshead Place

Time for my favorite part of food consumption, sweet treats and desserts! Vail fulfills the sweet tooth of any sugar addict, like yours truly, with options including gelato, milkshakes, smoothies, chocolate, and pastries. Just a few doors down from Blue Moose Pizza on Lionshead Place was my ultimate favorite desert destination, Rimini Gelato and Chocolate. With a sparkling case of vibrant gelato options, saturated with both color and flavor, it’s impossible to walk in without a watering mouth. Personally, my favorite type of gelato is those built around fruit. So, with half a bowl of raspberry gelato, and half a bowl of pineapple gelato, my $10 cup of ice cream was the perfect end to a long day.

Transportation

At its core, Vail is a mountain town, meaning the roads are primarily filled with people and dogs, not with cars and trucks. Once you’ve pulled off the interstate, you are now in a whole new world with large sidewalks, and a severe lack of parking. In simple words, my primary advice for transportation in Vail is to park your car and leave it there for the rest of your trip.

With a limited range of parking options, we left my car parked at the Evergreen Lodge, our hotel, the entire time. As part of our room fee, we got access to the hotel parking lot and kept the car there for the entirety of our trip.

Because Vail is relatively small and everything is connected, walking was the easiest and most efficient way to get around the town. With some sturdy walking shoes, comfortable clothing with good mobility, and a light backpack with the essentials, relying on our own two feet was a much better alternative to rental cars or Ubers. In addition to clean sidewalks and official trails, Vail offers a free shuttle around town that runs the loop throughout the whole day, giving your feet a break and your eyes an extraordinary view.

Local signs for pedestrians and cyclists

Outdoor Activities

Being a mountain town and ski center, Vail has a plethora of outdoor activities, catering to visitors of all ages and interests. As an outdoor lover myself, Vail was a dream hiking and bicycling destination. Official paths, clear maps, and straightforward directions give even the most novice hikers a challenging and joyful hiking experience. Bring your hiking boots and plenty of water and you are sure to enjoy magnificent scenery, friendly wildlife, and historical roots and origin stories. Gore Valley Trail was my personal favorite hiking trail due to its proximity to the river, wide trails, and well-maintained rest stops.

For those of you wanting to travel around Vail a bit faster, I recommend you rent a bicycle! Vail’s extensive list of ski shops are often complemented by bike stores and rentals. While an abundance of transportation rental services may seem overwhelming, the most affordable and easiest option for us was Vail Bike Tech, located in the heart of Lionshead Village. After filling out a quick survey and giving your measurements, Vail Bike Tech will reserve a bike for you as well as any safety equipment you desire, such as bike helmets. For one person to bike around Vail for two hours with a helmet, it cost me $20. Well worth the price and gave an amazing and fast paced ride through this beautiful town.

Another favorite outdoor activity was the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are one of the world's highest botanical gardens, located at 183 Gore Creek Drive, Vail, Colorado in the United States, at an 8,200 feet (about 2.5 km) altitude in the Rocky Mountains. These gardens are open year-round to the public for free, with a suggested donation as the only ticket to get in. The Gardens offer beautiful trails, extensive hidden pathways, water features, wildlife preservation, and informative guides to plant life and the ecosystem of Vail. This destination is also perfect for picture taking and sightseeing.

Indoor Activities

While Vail offers spectacular experiences outdoors, sometimes it’s nice to be inside with shade, and air conditioning, especially during the summer. When looking for ways to beat the heat, we focused our efforts on big, clean, and cool facilities.

Our first indoor activity was a trip to the Avon Recreation Center, specifically, the pool. With lap pools, a lazy river, a hot tub, slides, diving boards, and an aquatic climbing wall, the Avon Recreation Center was the perfect place to spend the day. Charging $12 per adult for access to all water facilities is a valuable investment to cool off and swim around.

Our second, main indoor activity was a visit to The Museum at Dinosaur Junction in Edwards, CO. With an admission fee of $8 per person, you are taken to this hidden gem of the mountains at a science center with fossils, artwork, sculptures, replicas, 3D models, interactive exhibits, personalized tours, all for the love of dinos. Run by volunteers and prehistoric creature enthusiasts, this small, historic escape is a perfect way to spend the afternoon. My favorite part of this attraction was the mascot, a real-life iguana, who we named Frank, that hangs out among the exhibits, living his best life with his ancestors.

Shopping

I will not deny my love, and possibly borderline obsession with shopping. Vail fed into my addiction to material things like no other. But it was useful for shopping! As an outdoors person who loves to camp, hike, backpack, rock climb, and be in the wild, the Vail shopping community catered to me and my every outdoor need. With shops including Patagonia, The North Face, Fjallraven Kanken, Helly Hansen, Salomon, and Christy Sports, Vail gave me a new and improved stock of outdoor tools and accessories.

The Patagonia Store, located in Lionshead Place

For more touristy, mainstream shops, Vail offers a multitude of gift stores and merchandise plants. Some of the main ones include Charlie’s T Shirts, Vail T Shirt Company, Crazy Shirts, Mountain Tees, and Vail Style. These offer a wide variety of Vail Swag and include the perfect gifts to take home to your loved ones.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Vail Colorado is truly a magical place that’s well-kept, beautiful, welcoming, and contains all the mountain charm we could ever ask for. I highly recommend taking a trip to Vail whether it’s for a weekend getaway, a trip with that special someone, a family reunion, a bachelor or bachelorette party, or a self-reflection, one on one trip with yourself. No matter who you are or what you’re interested in, Vail has something for you.

Vail Colorado, A Storybook Town Straight Out of a Fairytale