Vail

Imagine strolling through a charming mountain village, surrounded by snow-capped peaks and crisp alpine air that fills your lungs with life. Suddenly, you turn a corner — and there it is. A sculpture that makes you smile, a mural that stops you in your tracks, or an installation that stirs something deep within you.

There are plenty of places where you can spend Christmas surrounded by lights, decorations, music, and holiday traditions. But celebrating Christmas in Vail, Colorado, feels different because the setting itself becomes part of the celebration. Imagine arriving in the Vail Valley as snow covers the surrounding mountains, walking through Vail Village beneath twinkling lights, hearing the sound of boots on snow-covered streets, and seeing the village decorated for the holidays. The smell of fireplaces and freshly prepared food comes from restaurants nearby, while skiers and snowboarders make their way back from the mountain at the end of the day.

There is a moment every year when Vail stops feeling like a mountain resort that is simply getting ready for winter and begins to feel like a holiday village. In Lionshead, that moment arrives when the lights on the Christmas tree are turned on for the season, surrounded by music, skating, families and visitors gathering together beneath the early winter sky.

There is something almost surreal about watching a group of people dance together in the middle of a Colorado ski resort while wearing headphones. There is no large sound system filling the village with music, no traditional concert stage and no obvious explanation for why everyone seems to be moving to a different beat. Yet that is precisely what makes Silent Disco in Vail such a memorable winter experience.

There are certain moments in a mountain town when an event becomes part of the story of the place itself. The reopening of Dobson Arena in Vail is one of those moments. After undergoing a transformation of more than $55 million, the longtime Vail venue is preparing to welcome the community back with a new identity as a modern sports and entertainment facility, and the first major concert inside the renovated arena will bring together three names deeply connected to American roots music: Trampled by Turtles, Old Crow Medicine Show and Lindsay Lou.

There is something special about the beginning of winter in Vail. The first snow settles over the mountain, the ski season begins to take shape, and Vail Village starts to transition from the quieter rhythm of fall into the energy that defines winter in the Rockies. Skiers return to the slopes, restaurants and bars begin welcoming winter guests, and the village becomes a place where spending the afternoon outdoors naturally turns into an evening of food, drinks and live music.

There is a particular kind of traveler who comes to Vail looking for something beyond a large resort hotel.They want a place with character. A hotel where the architecture feels connected to the mountains, where the lobby feels more like a gathering place than a convention space, and where walking outside puts you directly into the rhythm of Vail Village