• In the off season, Mountain Bike rentals and lift tickets are available for a reasonable cost. Ride the lift up to the top and bike your way down, taking in thrills, scenery, and encounters with wildlife. Trails are rated by difficulty and are well-maintained. It is certainly easy and fun to ride the gondola up and ride the bike down.

 • Vail Bike Tech [ is located on the Lionshead Mall and offers mountain bike (and ski) rentals.
 • Venture Sports Located in Avone, Full service bike 970-949-1318
 • Mountain Pedaler of Vail  is a great bike pro shop.
 • Trail Action Group is a great trail (for biking and hiking] maintenance group. A great way to help build trails and meet local folks.

Gondola Ride

As of summer of 2005 it was $17 to ride the Gondola to the top of the mountain. At the top there is an outside bar with the worlds greatest view, and a pretty pricy grill (check times). Hint: If you want a work out and want to save the $17 walk up to the top. The Gondola is always a free ride down! The hike will take you about 1-2 hours (depending on fitness). Take the Berry Picker trail from Lionshead.

Piney Lake

A gorgeous view awaits you if you brave the 12 mile dirt road up to the Piney Lake. You can also grab some grub or rent a boat at the Piney River Ranch . See the map on the Piney River Ranch web site for directions.

Rafting

Vail is a great location to plan some rafting adventures. The Eagle River runs through Vail -- it is a smaller river and offers less opportunity (except for kayakers) than some of the bigger rivers that are nearby. The Colorado River is just down valley and offers ample opportunity, especially during summer months, because it has such a reliable water source. The stretch above and through Glenwood Springs is a favorite hot-weather summer family ride. The Arkansas River is about an hour away, and offers several famous whitewater stretches as well.

 • Whitewater Rafting, LLC is located on the Colorado River down valley in Glenwood Springs.

 • Breckenridge Whitewater Rafting is in the Frisco-Dillon area and runs the Arkansas, Eagle, and Colorado Rive. ph. 800-507-7703

 • Colorado River Runs Vail area outfit ph. 800-826-1081

 • Rock Gardens Rafting they specialize in family float trips down the milder waters of the Colorado or Roaring Fork Rivers. They also offer fun jeep tours on the nearby flat-tops.

 • Dvorak Expeditions Specializes in longer and multi-day trips in rivers across Colorado. They do really neat Yoga, classical music (a raft with a quartet goes along] and fly-fishing multi-day trips.

Golf

The Vail Valley has half a dozen nice golf courses.

Eagle Ranch Golf Course Eagle Ranch Golf Course is an Arnold Palmer Signature Design. The course plays through the Brush Creek Valley and offers panoramic views of the Colorado Rockies on every hole.

Cotton Ranch Golf Club Cotton Ranch is a golf community that welcomes the public. There is a restaurant that serves lunch every day and dinner nightly.