Everything about Vail Colorado totally explained
The
Town of Vail is a
Home Rule Municipality located in
Eagle County,
Colorado. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,589. The town was established in
1966 at the base of
Vail Ski Resort, which opened in December
1962. The town is famous for its
skiing and other winter sports in addition to being a year round destination for outdoor activities.
History
The town of Vail incorporated in
1966, four years after the opening of
Vail Ski Resort. The
ski area was founded by
Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton in
1962, between the town of
Eagle and
Vail Pass. The pass was named after Charles Vail, the highway engineer that routed
U.S. Highway 6 through the valley in
1940.
Seibert, a
New England native, served in the
U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division during
World War II, which trained at
Camp Hale, just southeast of Vail. He was seriously wounded in
Italy and was told he'd never ski again.
Geography
Vail is located at (39.635757, -106.362984). Its average elevation is 8150
feet (2484 m)
above sea level.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.8 km²), with no lakes (there is, however, at least one pond).
Gore Creek flows from east to west through the center of town.
Mount of the Holy Cross is visible from the top of Vail mountain near the top of the Eagle Bahn Gondola.
Vail is surrounded by the
White River National Forest.
Vail Mountain
Vail Mountain has a maximum elevation of 11,570' (3526 m) and low of 8,120' (2475 m), a vertical drop of 3450' (1051 m). It has skiable, 33 lifts, 193 marked trails on three faces: the front side, the back bowls, and Blue Sky Basin. The seven back bowls are Sun Down Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, Teacup Bowl, China Bowl, Siberia Bowl, Inner Mongolia Bowl, and Outer Mongolia Bowl. Vail was ranked as the top ski resort in SKI Magazine's reader's poll for the
2006-
07 season.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 4,531 people, 2,165 households, and 762 families residing in the town. The
population density was 999.0 people per square mile (385.3/km²). There were 5,389 housing units at an average density of 1,188.1/sq mi (458.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.13%
White, 0.29%
African American, 0.49%
Native American, 1.66%
Asian, 0.09%
Pacific Islander, 1.43% from
other races, and 1.92% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 6.20% of the population.
There were 2,165 households out of which 11.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.0% were
married couples living together, 3.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.8% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.62.
In the town the population was spread out with 9.9% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 47.9% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 140.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 143.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $56,680, and the median income for a family was $66,389. Males had a median income of $33,534 versus $32,065 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $42,390. About 1.8% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The Vail economic community relies heavily upon tourism. Though the majority of the tourism industry revolves around seasonal winter activities like skiing and snowboarding, Vail has become increasingly popular as a summer vacation destination. Popular summer activities that take advantage of Vail's picturesque surroundings include hiking, mountain biking, and fishing.
Arts and culture
Annual cultural events
Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival
featuring the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra & the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Museums and other points of interest
Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
Steadman-Hawkins clinic world renowned clinic for knee injuries
Colorado Ski Museum
Vail Ski Resort
Parks and recreation
Government
Vail has a council-manager form of government and is led by a 7-member town council elected-at-large.
Education
Vail's public schools are part of Eagle County School District RE-50 with high school students attending Battle Mountain High School. Eagle County Schools also offers the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, a joint program with area ski programs for students in grades 8-12 that are involved in competitive skiing and snowboarding.
Private schools in Vail include Vail Mountain School (K-12), Vail Christian High School (9-12), St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School (K-8) and Eagle Valley Christian Academy (PK-8).
Higher education is offered through the Vail Eagle Valley campus of Colorado Mountain College.
Transportation
Vail is served by Eagle County Airport, which is near Gypsum. Native Americans used to call the area near this airport the "hole in the sky" because storms seemed to avoid it.
Vail is modeled after European ski towns, many of which are car-free, and the town is partially car-free. Vail hosts the largest zero-fare shuttle bus system in the USA and has one hybrid-electric bus (For schedules see Vail Transit, for estimated arrival times visit NextBus). At each of the several bus stops a sign tells you how long until the next two buses arrive.
Major Highways
Interstate 70 runs east-west through the middle of Vail and is the only road to Vail. East of Vail along the highway is Vail Pass and Denver, located 97 miles away. To the west, it passes through Avon, Eagle, Grand Junction and reaches the State of Utah, where it ends at the intersection with Interstate 15.
Media
The Vail Daily and weekly papers Vail Trail and Mountain Weekly are all published by Colorado Mountain News Media.
A broadcast translator for public radio station KUNC allows listeners in the Eagle Valley to listen at 99.7 FM.
Two specialty television networks have stations in Vail, Plum TV and Resort Sports Network. The latter, branded as TV-8, also broadcasts on the low-powered UHF station K45IE.
During the mid 70's Vail became known as the Western White House for President Gerald Ford. and he did a good bit of the nation’s business from The Lodge at Vail. Cabinet members and other high-ranking government officials were a common sight during this time. The national media followed Ford to Vail and almost daily they beamed television pictures of Vail’s slopes into living rooms all over the world. That media saturation, as much or more than anything else, put Vail on the map as an international destination ski resort.
Sister cities
St. Moritz, SwitzerlandFurther Information
Get more info on 'Vail Colorado'.
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