The Vail Valley

Up valley, down valley

Everyone here gives directions the same way. Up valley means east, toward Vail and the pass. Down valley means west, toward Eagle and Gypsum. As you travel down valley the elevation drops, the snowpack thins, the lots get larger and prices generally ease. Choosing a town is mostly a matter of deciding where on that gradient you want to live.

Town by town

• Vail (8,150 ft). The original resort, founded in 1962, with pedestrian villages at the base of the mountain and neighborhoods strung along Gore Creek. Much of the housing is condominium, and much of it is second homes.
• Minturn and EagleVail. A historic railroad town in a side canyon, and a neighborhood with its own golf course between Vail and Avon.
• Avon (7,430 ft). A full-service town around Nottingham Lake at the foot of Beaver Creek, with a gondola connection to the resort.
• Beaver Creek (8,100 ft). The gated resort above Avon, with Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead alongside.
• Edwards (7,220 ft). The valley’s mid-point and its everyday commercial center, surrounded by neighborhoods such as Singletree, Homestead and Cordillera.
• Wolcott. Ranch land and red sandstone where the valley narrows.
• Eagle (6,600 ft). The county seat, with Eagle Ranch, a large trail network and a year-round feel.
• Gypsum (6,300 ft). The western end, home to the regional airport.

Second homes and full-time homes

Resort-core property and down-valley property behave like two different markets. Up valley, many owners are part-time, short-term rental rules vary from building to building and town to town, and a large share of the cost of ownership arrives as association dues. Down valley, homes are more often primary residences with garages, yards and conventional financing.

Either way, three things deserve early attention:

• Associations and districts. Budgets, reserves and any transfer assessment due at closing.
• Rental rules. Whether short-term rental is allowed at that address, and what license it needs.
• Access. How the property behaves in January: plowing, driveway grade, sun exposure and distance to the interstate.

Between the valley and the Front Range

A good number of Amy’s conversations are with people moving in one direction or the other: Front Range households looking for a mountain place, and valley owners who want a base closer to Denver. Having lived at one end and now working at the other, she can describe the trade-offs in plain terms.