The Best Trails for Beginners at Vail – Where to Go Next?

Before taking a trip out west to ski at Vail, I have to admit I was a little worried. I am a beginner skier, and the entirety of my skiing experience has been on slopes in western Pennsylvania which is known for being compacted and, dare I say, icy. 

Everyone I spoke to said if I could ski to any basic degree on the East Coast, the slopes in the West would be a breeze. It only took a few runs at Vail for my concerns to go away, as every single person who told me this was 100% right. Even with poor, “dust on crust” conditions at Vail during my visit, I was having the time of my life.

Still, as Vail is one of the largest ski resorts in the USA, there are dozens of dozens of trails to consider which, as a beginner, was incredibly daunting for my first time. Where do you go next? How do you avoid getting on a trail that is too hard for your skill level? I had few reference points on where to start and was only lucky that I was with friends who could scope out runs for me in advance. 

So in this article, I want to share the progression of trails that I would recommend taking if you are skiing in Vail for the first time. This guide will start at the absolute easiest trails and then recommend others that could be the next logical leap as you advance.

  • Notes: All named trails in this guide are marked in bold for easy reference. Other elements like park sections (Front Side, Game Creek Bowl, China Bowl) or lifts (Sourdough Express, Wildwood Express) are not. Likewise, we recommend opening up the trail maps in a separate tab to reference when reading this guide. 
  • Likewise, for full disclosure, I had received an Epic Pass as media through an outside partnership from this website. All costs for my time in Vail were my own. I was not required nor requested to produce any content from this trip in any capacity.

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Bar Harbor’s Bar Island Hike is a Must – If You Can Time It

Bar Harbor is a charming little town in Maine that is often used as a base to access the stunning Acadia National Park just a few miles away.

While most visitors stay in Bar Harbor for its park access, there are many great things to do in Bar Harbor that make it a destination to explore on its own right. 

One such attraction is a unique natural element that you may not get to experience anywhere else- the Bar Island hike. This one is only accessible during low tide as the land bridge that connects the island to Bar Harbor town is only safe to cross for just six hours a day- 1.5 hours each before and after low tide.

So to see this one, you may have to do a bit of planning and have some luck on your side for tide schedules, too!

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Platform 18 Review – High-End Cocktails on a Simulated Train

Immersive cocktail bars are becoming all the rage these days, as the ambiance and overall experience of the space are becoming almost as important as the cocktails themselves.

At Platform 18 in Phoenix, you board a smuggler's train trying to elude the authorities and get a high-end cocktail experience in the train's bar car when along for the ride.

This is one of those spots where everything truly comes together to be better than the sum of the parts!

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The Musical Instrument Museum is a Must-See in Phoenix

We are big fans of music, and whenever we travel somewhere featuring a museum dedicated to music in any fashion (be it for an artist, composer, or a single instrument), we are there.

In Phoenix, this led us to the Musical Instrument Museum, considered the largest in the world, with a collection of over 15,000 instruments from nearly 200 countries and regions. 

To say that the Musical Instrument Museum is large is an understatement, and it is truly a must-see when in the area!

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