The time has arrived to Make the most of music, trails and turning leaves in Colorado’s luxe mountain town.
EAT
Stroll around Vail Village and you’ll find a pleasing combination of casual and posh when it comes time to chow down. Kick it off with a double Americano and avacado toast at Two Arrows (twoarrowscoffe.com) and head back to the same location after your adventures for a mezcal gin negroni and artisan cheeses at Root and Flower (rootandflowervail.com). Rather be out on the trails than sitting down for lunch? No problem. The Grazing Fox (thegrazingfox.com) will craft you a (recyclable) box lunch packed with fruits, meats, veggies and chocolate. Cap if off with Japanese cuisine at Matsuhisa (matsuhisarestaurants.com), where the sake pairs perfectly with mouth-watering broiled black cod and miso.
SLEEP
The crash pad of celebs and free spenders, the swank Sebastian (thesebastianvail.com) combines eat, sleep and play in one pack-and-picnic package (Pack and Pedal, Pack and Paddle or Pack and Pooch). They include a gourmet picnic lunch from the hotel’s bistro Leonora and an activity-specific guide and rates starting at $473 per couple. Offering rooms with jaw-dropping views of the mountain, Grand Hyatt Vail (hyatt.com) gives you the ability to hop right on the creekside rec path out the door. More of a dirtbag? Head up Homestake Road (bit.ly/2Z02aSD) toward Homestake Reservoir and pitch a tent or your van.
PLAY
Vails’ Epic Discovery (vail.com) keeps the lifts spinning weekends until September 29 and it’s the ideal launchpad for family adventure (kids ride for free). Zoom down on the 3,400-foot Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster, clamber on the two ropes courses or soar for two miles on the Game Creek Zipline Tour. Or use the lifts to access hikes and mountain bike rides in the verdant meadows of the Back Bowls. Not sure of your bike skills? Local shop Venture Sports (avonventuresports.com) hosts 15-mile downhill tours in the fall foliage. And be sure to time your visit around the Whistle Pig Vail (whistlepigvail.com) concert series, which brings big-name acts—including Bon Iver on September 2 and Gary Clark Jr. on September 5 and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on September 18—to the intimate confines of the 2,600-seat Ford Amphitheatre, where you can also simply toss down a blanket on the lawn seats. Likewise, the indoor Vilar Performing Arts Center (vilarpac.org) stage at Beaver Creek Village has a hotlist of performers this fall, including Ranky Tanky on October 5 and Todd Snider with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott on October 11.
