• Vail Ski Resort
  

  
  Vail Ski Resort is the second largest ski resort in the United States, featuring legendary dry Colorado powder, perfect grooming when no powder, 200 runs, 3,500 ft / 1,050 m vertical, top elevation of 11,570 ft / 3,500 m and 33 lifts (2 gondolas). It doesn't have much of extreme terrain, but the bowls are long, wide and relatively steep. The lift tickets are expensive, and it’s not odd to see Texans in 10-gallon hats and ladies in mink coats zipping down the slopes.
  
  

• Beaver Creek Ski Resort
  

  
  Beaver Creek is a separate ski resort, only 10 mi / 15 min from Vail. It is perhaps less celebrated but, as skiing is concerned, as good as Vail. It has same 3,340 ft (1,000 m) vertical, same top elevation of 11,450 ft (3,500 m), 150 runs and 17 lifts (2 gondolas). It is the home to formidable Birds of Prey downhill race. Regarded as one of the most difficult downhill race courses in the world, the Birds of Prey is host to the only men's Alpine Skiing World Cup in the United States. Vail/Beaver Creek is also the home to the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
  
  

• Vail Village
  

  
  Synonymous with swank, Vail is a favorite winter playground for the world’s rich and famous. This is where the movie stars ski. A resort town in every sense of the word, the compact Vail Village offers restaurants, bars and boutiques of high standard. The glitz factor is certainly up there, but the place is more laid-back and less pretentious than Colorado’s other high-octane resort, Aspen.
  
  

• Whitewater rafting and kayaking
  

  
  Gore Creek, running right through Vail and Beaver Creek villages, along Hwy 70, boast Class V rapids. There is a whitewater park in the middle of Vail Village; kayaking competitions are frequently held there. A number of outfitters, some staffed by members of the US Rafting team, offer everything from float trips to high adrenaline, on Gore Creek, as well as other streams and rivers.
  
  

• Hiking
  

  
  Vail summer activities offer miles of scenic hiking trails for all ability levels. Explore the wildflowers, catch a glimpse of wildlife, and enjoy the amazing views of the surrounding mountain ranges. Vail offers numerous hiking trails to be explored, both by foot or by Gondola. There are numerous trails around.
  
  

• Mountain biking
  

  
  From epic singletrack to screaming gondola accessed downhill, Vail is a mountain bikers haven. Discover highly scenic mountain biking coupled with a huge variety of trails and terrain.
  
  

• Gore Creek fishing
  

  
  It’s hard to believe that a stream so close to a freeway would be included among Colorado’s Gold Medal waters, yet four miles of Gore Creek from Red Sandstone Creek to its confluence with the Eagle River is prize trout fly-fishing water. Expect to find rainbow, brook and big brown trout, plus native cutthroat in its tributaries.
  
  

• Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
  

  
  The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are the world's highest botanical garden, located at 183 Gore Creek Drive, Vail, Colorado, USA, at an 8,200 feet altitude in the Rocky Mountains. The Gardens are open to the public daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
  
  

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