Vail family holidays and breaks

Winter Holidays in Vail

• Ski and snowboard in the USA’s biggest single-mountain ski resort, covering more than 5,000 acres (20km2) and boasting seven bowls and the Blue Sky Basin with its intermediate wooded terrain. Most is wide-open terrain with 193 trails, much than half advanced/ expert, about a third intermediate, and the rest beginner. 

• Head for the Epic Discovery centre, with plenty of winter activities for younger visitors including ski-biking, tubing and guided snowshoe tours. There’s also ice-skating in the resort itself.

• Pick from Vail ski passes including one offering unlimited access to Vail and resorts such as Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte, plus discounts on dining out, equipment rental and more. Or there are full Colorado ski passes with unrestricted access to around 20 Colorado ski areas, including Aspen, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin.

• Take a snowmobile tour from Vail, through groomed snowmobile trails including loops, single-track and play bowls.

• Sign kids up in advance to the children’s ski and snowboard school set amid easy slopes, or the childcare centre.  

Summer Holidays in Vail  

• Enjoy mountain-biking, under your own steam or as part of a specialist family outing.

• At the Epic Discovery centre, get involved in summer activities including an alpine slide, bungee trampolines, ropes courses and zip-lining.

• Go white-water rafting – with families it’s best on the stretch above and through Glenwood Springs, where you can enjoy gentler family float trips plus zip-line adventures in the Glenwood Canyon. See our white-water rafting tips page.

• Make for Vail’s imaginative Pirate Ship Park at the base of the slopes, designed by boat-loving artist Ty Gillespie.