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Colorado, United States

Vail ski resort

Aerial view of skiers enjoying a winter day on the slopes of Vail, Colorado.
Aerial view of skiers enjoying a winter day on the slopes of Vail, Colorado. Photo: Mora Varela / Pexels.

Good for

  • Experts38% of mapped runs are difficult
  • Big ski area215 km of runs
  • Snow-sureLifts up to 3,526 m

From OpenSkiMap piste data, SnowTrex’s stay listings.

The short answer

Vail has about 215 km of mapped runs and 32 lifts, with skiing from about 2,452 m up to 3,526 m (11,568 ft), a vertical drop of 1,074 m. By mapped runs it is number 3 of the 137 United States ski areas in our list. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Eagle County Regional (EGE), about 47 km away in a straight line.

Where to stay

Hotels in Vail

Hotels, apartments and chalets in and around Vail, with prices for your dates.

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Vail 7-day mountain forecast

At about 2,989 m · updated 13 Nov, 04:41 UTC

About 10 mm of precipitation as likely snow in the next week (water equivalent).

  1. Fri 138°-6°0 mm
  2. Sat 144°-5°0.3 mm
  3. Sun 152°-2°0.2 mm
  4. Mon 166°-10°0 mm
  5. Tue 176°-7°0 mm
  6. Wed 180°-10°9.3 mm
  7. Thu 191°-16°0 mm

Forecast data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). "Likely snow" = precipitation with the temperature at or below 0.5 °C; resort snow reports and avalanche bulletins are the authority on conditions.

Vail: runs from 2,452 m to 3,526 m, a vertical drop of 1,074 m2,5002,7503,0003,2503,500Top of the highest mapped run: 3,526 m (11,568 ft)Top 3,526 m · 11,568 ftBase 2,452 m · 8,045 ft1,074 mvertical drop
Illustrative profile. Top and base are the highest and lowest mapped runs (OpenStreetMap via OpenSkiMap).

Ski area facts

Top elevation
3,526 m11,568 ft
Vertical drop
1,074 m3,524 ft
Mapped runs
215 km322 runs
Lifts
32mostly chairlifts

Runs by difficulty

Run length by difficulty: Easy 25% (53.4 km), Intermediate 37% (78.9 km), Advanced 38% (81.7 km), Expert 1% (1.1 km)Easy: 53.4 km, 101 runs (25%)25%EasyIntermediate: 78.9 km, 110 runs (37%)37%IntermediateAdvanced: 81.7 km, 109 runs (38%)38%AdvancedExpert: 1.1 km, 2 runs (1%)

About 25% of the mapped run length is novice or easy, 37% intermediate and 38% advanced or harder. Difficulty follows OpenStreetMap’s international scale (in Europe, easy ≈ blue, intermediate ≈ red, advanced ≈ black).

DifficultyRunsLength
Easy10153.4 km
Intermediate11078.9 km
Advanced10981.7 km
Expert21.1 km

Lifts

32 mapped lifts, most of them chairlifts.

Lift typeCount
Chairlifts20
Magic carpets6
Platter lifts3
Gondolas2
T-bars1

Piste map

For the current official piste map, open the resort’s website. You can also explore every mapped run and lift on OpenSkiMap’s interactive map.

Nearest airports

Airports with scheduled flights, by straight-line distance (road distance is longer).

AirportCityStraight-line distance
Eagle County Regional (EGE)Eagle47 km
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field) (ASE)Aspen62 km
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (BJC)Denver111 km
Denver (DEN)Denver147 km

Frequently asked questions

What is the elevation of Vail?

The highest mapped run starts at about 3,526 m (11,568 ft) and the lowest ends at about 2,452 m (8,045 ft), a vertical of 1,074 m (3,524 ft).

How many km of ski runs does Vail have?

OpenStreetMap maps about 215 km of downhill runs and 32 lifts. The resort’s own figure may differ because it measures runs differently.

What is the nearest airport to Vail?

Eagle County Regional (EGE) is the closest airport with scheduled flights, about 47 km away in a straight line.

Where can I see the Vail piste map?

Use the resort’s official website for the current piste map, or view the mapped runs and lifts on OpenSkiMap.

Ski area data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), processed by OpenSkiMap; airports from OurAirports. Retrieved . Elevations are those of the highest and lowest mapped runs; run lengths are measured from the map and can differ from the resort’s published figures. Check the official website before you book.