Vail is a U.S. ski resort town set in the Rocky Mountains. Vail is located in the Northwestern region of the state of Colorado. It is 100 miles west of Denver and 35 miles (56 km) east of Eagle.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Roughly Vail is divided into four zones; West Vail, Vail Village, Lionshead, and East Vail.
If you are staying in Vail or Lionshead, having a car will be more hindrance (parking fees) than a value. The town is set up so you can walk between most places and the slopes. There is also a free shuttle that will take you to the immediate surroundings and up to Beaver Creek. If you are coming from somewhere else and skiing, you can park on site. It will cost about $25 (2010) per day. Best advice arrive early (before 9AM) on busy days and you won't have problems. There are two parking garages, one in Vail and one in Lionshead. The Lionshead garage is the shortest walk to the slopes. If the garages do fill up, you may to park on the road.
Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum. Might be interesting. 1 Shrine Pass.
Ski/snowboard Lift Tickets $356 (updated 2026 ) a day too steep? Want to save some money? Well there are a couple of ways, but they are not easy: Use of the snow.com or vail.com website has seven day advance internet purchases with discounted rates. Colorado Pass - The Colorado Pass provides unlimited slope access at Breckenridge, Keystone and A-Basin, as well as 10 days' access to the lifts at Vail or Beaver Creek. The Colorado Pass costs $449 (2008). It is blocked out on certain dates. eBay - Typically for $10 you can buy a 2 for 1 coupon that was issued somewhere in the country.
There are many options to eat in both Vail Village and Lionshead. Another good idea is to pack a lunch, or grill your own burgers or hot dogs at the free public bbq at Blue Sky Basin. Wildwood Shelter. Best value on the mountain is the Combo at the Wildwood shelter. $11 for a great barbeque beef or pork sandwich, soup and side. Plus Wildwood is much smaller than most of the other places on mountain so you can find your group. And there is a good view. Two Elk. This place has beautiful architecture (a giant log structure) nice furniture, but has expensive, average food. See it once then head to Wildwood for your next meal. Vail Grocery Delivery, Inside City Market Vail.
The Club (top of Bridge St.), ☏ +1 970-479-0556. Think fraternity party, that's the club. Garfinkel's (at the base of the gondola in Lionshead). Great deck to enjoy the afternoon sun. The George (at the Covered Bridge, Vail Village). Good Irish style pub. The Red Lion. The place for après-ski in Vail. Get there early for an outside table.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
Top-rated tours and tickets from €95 — book ahead for the popular ones.
Tours and tickets provided by Viator (a Tripadvisor company). Some links earn Stayonomy a commission.
In Oct, Vail typically sees ~13°C daytime highs and 11 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-10-04. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy