On our recent trip to Colorado, we spent a day exploring Vail, a popular ski town for tourists. We were staying at a hotel in Breckenridge for a week and it was a super quick 45 min drive to Vail in our rental car. Vail is known for it’s Bavarian style villages, but the tourist parts of the town are actually much newer than some of the other ski towns we visited like Breckenridge and Aspen. It’s also known for it’s high end dining and shopping. Even though it was the off season, we really enjoyed just getting a feel for the town without all the tourists.

It was a pretty cold day, which was a little tough for my baby boy Sage Wylder. He is an Arizona boy through and through and did not enjoy the brisk Colorado air on his face. We kept him bundled up and spent time warming up in doors as well. I carried him in my Ergobaby a bit and my car seat/stroller combo made it super easy to get around with my diaper bag, camera, etc.

Shop Baby Travel Essentials

What To Do

Lionshead Village

Lionshead Village is one of two popular touristic villages in Vail, CO. When we visited in May, most of Lionshead was closed, so we mainly just walked around to check out the area. It’s much smaller than the main Village, Vail Village. We loved the Bavarian style architecture, colorful buildings, and the beautiful view of the mountain and ski lifts. In May there isn’t any snow or skiing which is why the village was mostly closed for spring/summer. We walked along the river on our way to Lionshead and took a quick bus ride back to Vail Village where we had arrived.

Vail Village

We arrived at Vail Village at the beginning of our day and ended our day here. I quickly want to mention we were shocked when we got back to our car and found out that the parking garage we parked in was $60 for the day! If you want to save on parking I would suggest not parking in the villages and just walking or taking a bus there instead but we didn’t have a lot of time. There are a ton of boutiques and restaurants in the village. We didn’t do any shopping, we mainly wanted to just walk around and get a feel for the town. We really enjoyed exploring the Sonnenalp hotel in Vail Village where we had lunch and we also grabbed a treat to split from The Chocolate Factory. It was a S’mores treat which was SO good, the perfect sweet treat to end our day in Vail.

Sonnenalp Hotel

It was pretty cold during our day in Vail and baby Sage was just not a fan! We popped into this hotel and ended up falling in love it. The Sonnenalp Vail is a family owned luxury resort hotel with a spa, several restaurants & bars, a pool, and more. We really loved the Bavarian style interiors which were impecable and we ended up spending a few hours here exploring the hotel and sitting by the fire in the lounge. We ended up coming back for lunch at Bully Ranch after exploring Lionshead Village for a bit.

River Trail

There is a little river trail that goes through Vail that we walked along on our way to Lionshead Village from Vail Village. Although Vail wasn’t super busy when we visited in May, I could see this spot being a relaxing respite from the busy tourist villages. The river was so pretty and it was cool seeing some of the beautiful lodge style homes along the river too. There were picnic tables with views of the river which would be so lovely! There were also bikers on the path.

Shop Our Style

Where To Eat

Bully Ranch

After exploring Lionshead Village, we came back to the Sonnenalp Hotel to eat at one of several restaurants on the property, Bully Ranch. It’s an American restaurant with a fun, cowboy/country flair to the interiors which we loved because my dad is a western lover! We all ended up ordering the chili which was super tasty and the perfect meal to warm us back up before heading back out to explore more of Vail Village. I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are looking for somewhere to dine in Vail!

Two Arrows Coffee

One of my favorite things to do is check out the coffee scene in any city or town that I visit. I really love checking out cute coffee shops and I found one in Vail Village, Two Arrows Coffee. It was the perfect spot to grab my favorite, a hot vanilla latte, on our way out of Vail and back to Breckenridge!

I hope you guys enjoyed this quick travel guide from our day in Vail! Be sure to check out my Denver travel guide here.

XOXO