| Visiting Vail? |
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Known for big dreams and even bigger triumphs, Vail was once a sheep-raising and lettuce-growing area at the eastern edge of the Gore Range Mountains until its founders worked quietly and inconspicuously to develop one of the greatest ski resorts in the world. Their enthusiasm had been shaped years earlier at the nearby Camp Hale training facility where ski troopers from the 10th Mountain Division honed their outdoor talents to become renowned high-altitude soldiers in World War II. Their lives and their contributions to skiing are now celebrated at the Colorado Ski Museum in the heart of Vail.
Today, 45 years after Vail’s founding, the dreams envisioned all those years ago are being perfected. Surrounded by 350,000 acres of White River National Forest and framed by 5,000 acres of skiable terrain, Vail provides the perfect setting for alpine pleasures. Visitors are drawn to Vail’s charming European-style pedestrian village, which provides a variety of shopping and dining opportunities and a vibrant nightlife.
Vail’s community qualities are just as impressive with public and private schools, a full-service hospital, an award-winning library, free transit system, an abundance of neighborhood parks and trails, a Nature Center, Nordic center, gymnastics center, ice arena, championship public golf course, an outdoor performing arts venue and more open space than any other resort community in the United States.
Although winter continues to draw most of the area’s visitors, an abundance of summer activities such as golf, mountain biking, fishing, rafting and cultural arts have produced a growing market for summer tourism.
In the years ahead, Vail’s commitment to increase protection of its pristine natural resources will add yet another chapter to its history with ongoing initiatives to improve the health of the surrounding forest and nearby streams. Together, these initiatives will keep Vail on the cutting edge as one of the finest alpine resort communities in the world. Visit vailgov.com.
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