Family sitting in field next to gondola and mountains in Vail

Family Activities in Vail

From sunny summer hikes at Vail Nature Center to fall bike rides through golden aspen groves, Vail is packed with year-round family activities. Spend a summer morning on a guided horseback ride through wildflower-filled meadows or enjoy the cool rush of rafting along Gore Creek. Winter has something for everyone, whether it’s tubing at Adventure Ridge, ice skating under the twinkling lights in Lionshead Village or taking your first snowboarding lesson at Vail Ski Resort. Whatever the season, Vail’s kid-friendly adventures make it easy to keep the whole family entertained.

A waterfall flowing through a wooded area.

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

A single gondola along the rail in Vail, Colorado, rides down the line with the blue-and-green mountains behind it, under a mostly-blue sky.

Scenic Gondola

two riders on horseback in a mountain field

Vail Ranch Experiences

three people on horseback in a mountain setting

A red-brown horse and a black horse nuzzle each other inside a pen at a ranch near Vail, Colorado.

Horseback Riding in Vail

Three skiers on snowy slope on Vail Mountain

Vail Skiing & Snowboarding

Family-Friendly Restaurants in Vail

A group of huskies prance and smile and they pull a dogsled through the snow near Vail, Colorado.

Vail Dog Sledding

young girl looks up at the sun light coming through the trees in an alpine forest

Camps for Kids in Vail

Children splash around in a fountain at a park in Vail Village

A young child balances on one foot on a stone at a playground in Vail. Her parent watches behind and people chat in the background. It is a sunny summer day

Vail Parks & Playgrounds

Group of friends snow shoeing in winter in Vail

Group of friends snowshoes across from Vail Mountain

Snowshoeing in Vail

Family-Friendly Biking in Vail

Nature Discovery Center on Vail Mountain

A family with two parents and three young children admire the view of Vail Valley from a flower-strewn mountainside in Colorado.

A family hikes through a grassy meadow peppered with tall pines as the sun shines down near Vail, Colorador.

Family-Friendly Hikes in Vail

Young girl and her grand father sort through rocks on a high alpine river bank

Vail Nature Center

Vail Public Library

Vail Whitewater Rafting

contemporary bronze sculpture of a ski racer

Young children wandering through a public art piece in Vail

Art in Public Places

A couple wearing brightly colored winter jackets ride fat-tire bikes in the snow around Vail, Colorado. There are white mountains and evergreen trees in the background.

A couple wearing brightly colored winter jackets ride across a wooden bridge on fat bikes in the snow near Vail, Colorado. Behind them are forested mountains covered in snow.

Fat Biking Trails in Vail

A family of four are wearing light winter fleece jackets and knit hats as they cross-country skiing through a tunnel of bare aspens in Vail, Colorado.

A person in a blue jacket is cross-country skiing across a snowy path with trees and snowcapped mountains in the background in Vail.

Vail Cross-Country Skiing

A woman at Vail Golf Club takes a swing and watches her golf ball go into the hole as a male golfer looks on. Evergreen trees rise up on a ridge behind them.

Golf in Vail

Two horses running and pulling a carriage through the snow in Vail.

A snowy sleigh ride at Bearcat Stables in Vail

Vail Sleigh Rides

family enjoys sunny skies while siting on a park bench in Vail village

young girl jumps from rock to rock in a vail park

Family Fun: What To Do in Vail in Summer

Two little girls stare in wonder at the holiday lights at a Vail ice rink.

Vail Ice Skating

Women sits in inner tube at the top of the summer tubing hill in Vail

Epic Discovery Activities on Vail Mountain

Jeep driving on mountain dirt road in fall

Off-Road Jeep & ATV Adventures

A waterfall surrounded by rocks in a wooded area.

Gardens & Parks

Ice skating family wearing winter coats and hats laughs on snowy day in Vail

Winter Family Fun

A group of people riding in ice bumper cars in Vail at Dobson Ice Arena.

Six people riding ice bumper cars at Dobson Ice Arena in Vail.

Vail Ice Bumper Cars

An adventurer reaches the top of a rock climbing route over a scenic river valley near Vail, Colorado.

Rock Climbing in Vail

Black and white photo of a man and woman on skis.

historic photos of a 10th mountain division soldier skiing down a snowy face

Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail

Build Your Family-Friendly Itinerary

From days filled with ziplining through the treetops to cross-country skiing at the Nordic center, Vail is the place to make some memories. Dine at a few family-friendly restaurants, stay at hotels in Lionshead Village that come with bunkbeds, cribs and nightlights, and sprinkle in some alone time for the parents with local babysitters who will take care of the kiddos while you escape for a ski or spa day. Get even more ideas by taking this five-question quiz that will help you plan the perfect Vailcation.

Take the Quiz