The best things to do in Vail, Colorado, change with the season. From Vail Mountain's planned November 13 opening through spring, it is skiing, above all the seven Back Bowls. From June to September it is gondola rides, hiking, fly fishing on Gore Creek and a full festival calendar. Year-round, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens and the Colorado Snowsports Museum are free, and the walk between Vail Village and Lionshead costs nothing.
Vail Mountain is the main draw: 5,317 skiable acres, 278 trails and 32 lifts, with the seven Back Bowls covering 2,785 of those acres. The town works in every season, though. Two gondolas run in summer, a free botanical garden sits beside Gore Creek, and a festival calendar fills June through September. Festival dates below are marked by year so you can see what recurs.
What is open in Vail right now?
As of September 26, 2026, Vail is between seasons. The gondolas run their last summer weekend on September 27, and Vail Mountain plans to open for skiing on Friday, November 13, 2026, according to Vail Resorts' August 18 announcement. In between, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, the Colorado Snowsports Museum, the two villages and lower-elevation trails stay open.
Late September to mid-November is Vail's quietest stretch, with fewer things to do but uncrowded villages and trails. The table goes month by month, using 2026 dates where they are set.
| Month | What is open | What is not |
|---|---|---|
| Late September | Gondola One and the Eagle Bahn Gondola, Friday to Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., through September 27, 2026; Epic Discovery on the same weekends; Vail Oktoberfest (two September weekends); aspen color, which usually peaks in mid to late September | Daily lift service, which ended September 7 |
| October | Hiking, mostly at lower elevations; the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, dawn to dusk; the Colorado Snowsports Museum, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; the season's last Sunday farmers' market on October 4; the Vail Ski & Snowboard Swap, October 2 to 4 at the Grand Hyatt | Gondolas, Epic Discovery and skiing. Dobson Ice Arena is closed for a remodel |
| November | Vail Mountain's 2026–27 ski season from November 13 (planned, weather permitting); the outdoor rinks in Vail Village and Lionshead, which run November to April; Dobson Ice Arena, where programming resumes in November | Lifts before November 13; summer activities |
| December to March | Skiing, including the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin as snow allows; ice skating; free guided snowshoe tours at Eagle's Nest; snowshoe trails at the Vail Nordic Center | Summer activities |
| April | The last weeks of the ski season (recent closing days fell between April 8 and April 21); Taste of Vail | The 2027 closing day has not been announced |
| May to mid-June | Lower trails and village walks; the GoPro Mountain Games in early June (June 4 to 7 in 2026) | Lifts; some trails close for wildlife, such as the North Trail from April 15 to June 20 |
| Mid-June to early September | Daily gondola service (in 2026, Gondola One from June 12 and the Eagle Bahn from June 19, daily through September 7), Epic Discovery, the festival season and the Sunday farmers' market | Skiing |
Weather decides a lot in the gap months: the town averages about 9 inches of snow in October and 26 in November, so higher trails can be snowy well before the lifts open. Vail in October and Vail in November cover those months in detail, and when Vail opens and closes has the season dates.
What can you do in Vail in winter?
Winter in Vail runs from the planned November 13 opening to mid-April. Skiing is the core: Vail Mountain has 5,317 skiable acres, including 2,785 acres in the seven Back Bowls. Off the slopes, there are two outdoor ice rinks, free guided snowshoe tours at Eagle's Nest and 10 kilometers of snowshoe trails at the Vail Nordic Center.
Skiing the Back Bowls
The seven bowls behind the front side are Sun Up, Sun Down, Tea Cup, China, Siberia, Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia. Sun Up is the iconic first bowl, hiked and skied by the resort's founders. They are not all expert terrain: China Bowl has wide-open intermediate groomed runs, the Poppyfields, as well as steep expert pitches on its west side, and Sun Down Bowl holds some of the more complicated, hidden terrain in the bowls. Inner and Outer Mongolia are the long, remote outing, secluded expert terrain reached by traversing to the Mongolia Platter, with low-angle powder. Two areas sit outside the seven: Blue Sky Basin, an in-bounds backcountry experience of open meadows and groomed glades, and Game Creek Bowl, a stepping stone to the larger bowls with easy groomers and moguls.
Across the whole mountain, 53 percent of the terrain is rated advanced, 29 percent intermediate and 18 percent beginner. Vail Mountain's planned opening for 2026–27 is November 13, weather permitting; when the bowls open in a given season is covered in when the Back Bowls open.
Ice skating
Two outdoor rinks run from November to April: the Solaris Plaza rink in Vail Village and the Alderhof Ice Rink at Arrabelle at Vail Square in Lionshead. Both rent skates and offer skating-assist devices. Dobson Ice Arena, in Lionshead, is the indoor option. It has been closed for a remodel, and the Vail Recreation District says programming resumes there in November 2026, with public skating schedules to follow. Session times and prices are on the Discover Vail skating page.
Snowshoe tours and trails
The Nature Discovery Center at Eagle's Nest, part of Walking Mountains Science Center, runs free guided snowshoe tours of about 1.5 hours for ages 10 and up. Registration is required, and the gondola ride up needs a valid lift ticket or pass in winter. For self-guided snowshoeing, the Vail Nordic Center has 10 kilometers of snowshoe trails and rents snowshoes.
What can you do in Vail in summer and fall?
Vail's summer season runs from mid-June to late September. In 2026, Gondola One opened June 12 and the Eagle Bahn June 19, running daily through September 7 and on weekends to September 27. Summer days center on gondola rides, Epic Discovery at Eagle's Nest, the free Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, fly fishing on Gore Creek and hiking.
Ride a gondola without skis
The Eagle Bahn Gondola rises from Lionshead and Gondola One from Vail Village. Both run in summer and through the ski season, but not in the weeks between. The 2026 summer schedule is daily from June 12 (Gondola One) and June 19 (Eagle Bahn) through September 7, then Friday to Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with September 27 the last day of the season. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer and can pause service. For gondola-only tickets, one child 12 or under rides free with each adult ride ticket.
Epic Discovery at Eagle's Nest
At the top of the Eagle Bahn, the Vail Epic Discovery area has the Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster (3,400 feet of track), a 35-foot climbing wall, a bungee trampoline and 550-foot tubing lanes, and Gore Creek Mini Golf sits at the base of the gondola. Younger children have Marmot Mini Kids Tubing and the 10-foot-high Little Eagle Kids Zipline. Epic Discovery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from June through Labor Day weekend, then Friday to Sunday in September; September 27 is the last day of the 2026 season. A gondola ticket or Adventure Pass is required to get up, activities have age, height and weight limits, and fully enclosed footwear is required. The Adventure Ridge guide goes through the individual attractions.
Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens sit at 8,200 feet in Ford Park and are the highest-elevation botanical garden in the world. The outdoor gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk and admission is free, with a suggested donation of $20. Inside, the Education Center has interactive exhibits and the temperature-controlled Alpine House holds more than 200 species of bulbs and other plants. The Vail Nature Center is a short walk east along Gore Creek.
Fly fishing on Gore Creek
Gore Creek runs through the heart of town, and its Gold Medal section draws fly anglers. Access points include the Vail Nature Center, Ford Park, Antlers Lodge, Donovan Park and the Grand Hyatt. Waders are a good idea because the creek is narrow and lined with brush. Anglers need a Colorado fishing license depending on their age, and a guide is the simplest way to start; Discover Vail's fishing page lists local outfitters.
Hiking
The Vail area has more than 100 miles of hiking trails. Booth Falls, the valley's best-known waterfall hike, has no trailhead parking, so hikers take the free bus; the hiking guide covers access and difficulty for the popular trails, and where to see moose near Vail covers wildlife safety on them. The Nature Discovery Center also runs free guided nature hikes in summer, about an hour for the easy option and 1.5 hours for the moderate one, reached by a scenic gondola ride.
What festivals and events happen in Vail each year?
Vail's event calendar peaks from June to September: the GoPro Mountain Games in early June, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival from late June to early August, the Vail Dance Festival in late July and early August, the Vail Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend and Vail Oktoberfest across two September weekends. Taste of Vail is held in April.
These events recur each year at a similar time. Dates in parentheses are the 2026 editions, and the official Vail events calendar lists each year's dates.
| Event | Usual timing | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| GoPro Mountain Games | Early June (2026: June 4 to 7) | More than 35 outdoor competitions across 11 disciplines, plus concerts; free to watch |
| Bravo! Vail Music Festival | Late June to early August (2026: June 25 to August 6) | Orchestral and chamber concerts, more than 60 in 2026, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic |
| Vail Dance Festival | Late July to early August | Ballet and contemporary dance, with performances at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater |
| Vail Jazz Festival | Labor Day weekend (2026: September 4 to 6) | The 32nd annual festival in 2026 |
| Vail Oktoberfest | Two weekends in September | Free entry; one weekend in Lionshead Village, the next in Vail Village |
| Taste of Vail | April | Food and wine event on and off the mountain, held since 1990; see the Taste of Vail listing |
The Vail Farmers' Market and Art Show fills East Meadow Drive in Vail Village on Sundays from mid-June to early October (in 2026, June 14 to October 4), 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A smaller Meadow Market runs on Thursday evenings, 4 to 7 p.m., at the International Bridge from mid-June to mid-September. The Vail Farmers Market listing has more.
Where do you eat and relax in Vail's villages?
Vail has two pedestrian base villages, Vail Village and Lionshead, a 10 to 15 minute walk apart along Gore Creek or a short ride on the free in-town bus. Sweet Basil has served Vail Village since 1977, and the Arrabelle, the Lodge at Vail and the Four Seasons all run full-service spas.
Vail Village and Lionshead Village are a 10 to 15 minute walk apart along Gore Creek, or a short ride on the free in-town bus. Lionshead is pedestrian-friendly with no cars in the village, and Vail Village has cobblestone streets, galleries and boutiques.
Sweet Basil, at 193 Gore Creek Drive, has cooked New American food in Vail Village since 1977, serving lunch Wednesday to Sunday and dinner nightly. Alpenrose, at 100 E. Meadow Drive, serves home-style Alpine dishes such as goulash, Kässpätzle and apple strudel. Tables are harder to get on busy weekends, so reserve ahead. The Vail restaurant directory and the longer restaurant guide cover the rest.
For a spa day, the RockResorts Spa at The Arrabelle in Lionshead has 11 treatment rooms and a nail salon, the RockResorts Spa at the Lodge at Vail has 11 treatment rooms, and the Four Seasons spa has 13. The wellness and spa directory lists more. For rainy days and non-skiing options, see what to do in Vail if you do not ski.
