Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine

Meadow Mountain's Line Shack Trail. MEADOW MOUNTAIN In the 1920s, lettuce crops blanketed the lower slopes of this 9,700-foot-high gentle peak west of Vail (accessible via Dowd Junction from the Minturn exit off I-70). Then, for seven years in the 1960s, a small ski area operated here. Now Meadow Mountain is a beloved year-round recreation spot, where backcountry skiers and snowboarders slide on snow in winter, and hikers and mountain bikers tackle the trails in summer and fall.

As spring blossoms into summer, add a golden glow and diamond bling to your look from these local jewelry shops.

Bravo! Vail Artistic Director Anne-Marie McDermott Before I started playing piano at age 5, my mother had taken us to a concert—I’m one of three girls. I still have this image in my head of looking up at the stage with the spotlight on this big, shiny black piano. Something about the power of the instrument got to me at that young age. When I was 14, my mother died of breast cancer. I lost my way for a couple of years, and I stopped loving the piano.

Miso-marinated black cod at Zuma. When, at long last, Zuma opens in the Sebastian this summer, the restaurant will bring the same global energy that has captivated diners and revelers around the world. But first, some history: In 2002, after six years of working in restaurants in Japan, German chef Rainer Becker debuted Zuma in Central London’s Knightsbridge. His mission: capture and celebrate the magic of gathering through food and drink.

New seats at The Amp. Under the tenure of the Vail Valley Foundation (VVF), The Amp has seen five major renovations: the original completion of construction in the mid-1980s, and upgrades in 2001, 2011, 2014, and 2025 (ongoing through 2028).

A president of the United States partnering with corporate overlords from the nation’s largest ski resort might seem unsurprising these days, but 50 years ago, one such then-groundbreaking relationship helped birth the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. It all began in 1968, when Gerald R. Ford, then a congressman from Michigan (and an avid skier), his wife Betty, and their four children, felt the gravitational pull of America’s newest ski town and spent their first Christmas in Vail.

Tenmile peak from the Shrine ridge trail. So many trails, so little time. You could spend a lifetime summering here and still not manage to hike all of the high-country trails this beautiful valley has to offer. So where to begin?

Spencer's Cabin There’s only one way to get to Spencer’s Cabin: You have to float there, either by raft or kayak. Located river left at Mile 43 just upstream from the town of Burns (and 27 river miles from Dotsero), the former private fishing shack is unique in that it happens to be one of the only reservable overnight camping spots on the Upper Colorado.

Porter, Josiah, and Sullivan Middaugh at the 2024 Xterra World Championship in Trentino, Italy; the Middaughs placed 23rd, fifth, and seventh, respectively. On July 16, 2022, 18-year-old Sullivan Middaugh of Eagle-Vail, newly graduated from Battle Mountain High, competed for the first time at the elite level in the Xterra USA Championship in Beaver Creek.

Vail Health launched Healthspan in 2025 to help adults maximize their physical, mental, and metabolic fitness with longevity in mind. About 200 subjects, ages 23 to 88, participated in the initial eight-month pilot project. Now the data-driven program is open for enrollment, with a choice of three different eight-month tracks (from $2,500) that rely on science, metrics, and personal coaching to help participants make and sustain healthy lifestyle choices.