History of Vail: In 1939 construction began on Highway 6, running from Denver through the Gore Valley. Charlie Vail, the project's engineer, lent his name to the road--Vail Pass--and eventually The Town of Vail.
During World War II, the Army's Tenth Mountain Division used the Vail area for backcountry survival training. After the war, many of the men who trained there were drawn back to the mountain valleys for theirrecreational lifestyle. Pete Seibert, one of Vail's founding fathers, was one such veteran; he returned to the Valley along with fellow troopers Bill "Sarge" Brown and Bob Parker. The three vets shared a great vision of a mountain ski community. In 1954, Earl Eaton, a uranium prospector with a similar vision, teamed up with Seibert to draw up a plan for a ski resort. Construction began in spring 1962, and by winter 1965, the Town of Vail was incorporated. Vail had the first gondola in the United States, along with two double chairlifts and a beginner poma lift, serving six square miles of terrain. Several restaurants, hotels and a medical clinic opened their doors soon thereafter.
Today, Vail provides a lifestyle that combines one of the best alpine resorts in the world with a friendly, small-town feel. Vail offers an abundant array of recreational and cultural opportunities. Visitors and residents alike enjoy the 1,100 acres of open space accounting for 30 percent of Vail's town-owned land; 350,000 surrounding acres of national forest, crowned by 5,289 skiable acres on one of the largest and best mountains in the world, 15 miles of recreation paths, the highest botanical gardens in the world and an outdoor amphitheater.
With world-renowned skiing, diverse shops and restaurants, luxurious accommodations, friendly neighborhoods and breath-taking mountain views, Vail is arguably the finest resort destination in the world.
