Long before miners, ranchers or skiers came to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the Ute Indians spent summers in the Vail Valley. In the late 1800's, ranchers and miners settled in the area and displaced the Utes. When a highway from Denver was completed in 1940, the population grew.

During World War II, the area was used for mountain survival training by the 10th Mountain Division. Some of the members returned after the war. Pete Seibert, Sarge Brown and Bob Parker were among these pioneers with a vision of creating a ski resort.

The Town of Vail was incorporated in 1966 and gained notoriety in the mid-70s when then President Ford owned a home in Vail. The resort and town blossomed throughout the 80's as skiing's popularity grew, and today Vail is the top ranked ski resort in the United States.