Vail at the end of April

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
Post Reply
riverkid
Posts: 4
Joined: 4/9/2014
Trip Reports (0)
 

Vail at the end of April

Post by riverkid »

Hello all,
My wife is going for a conference in Vail at the end of April and I am going as well in the hopes of doing some hiking/running. I have not hiked or explored around the Vail area at all. I was hoping to gather some information on any hike that you all are willing to tell me about. It does not matter how I get out, ie snowshoes, regular shoes, etc...
Thanks for any input. Enjoy!!
User avatar
Chicago Transplant
Posts: 4008
Joined: 9/7/2004
14ers: 58  12  24 
13ers: 697 39 34
Trip Reports (66)
 

Re: Vail at the end of April

Post by Chicago Transplant »

Tough time of year for local hikes, typically everything is either slushy snow or mud. Some trails start to close for elk calving in some areas as well, and those tend to be the ones that melt first. I think in town its only the North Trail that has that closure.

The mountain closes April 20, so uphill travel on the ski mountain would be an easy option. Some of the trails in East Vail are popular year round, Gore Creek and Booth Falls are generally the two most popular and should be pretty packed out. They will be soft in the warm afternoon, but may be firm snow or frozen mud in the mornings. Bring snowshoes, gaitors and microspikes/yaktrax if you have them and you should be covered.

If you drive a little farther west, you would have more luck. There are some dirt roads that go out from north of Singletree in Edwards that are usually fairly dry, I will start biking those soon (maybe even this week now that its warming up - if I can leave work early enough!) and can give you a better idea of conditions. You get off at the Edwards exit, head west on the north frontage road to just past Shaw Cancer Center and you can park along the dirt road (Berry Creek) there behind some townhomes. More popular for biking than anything, but you can walk or trail run it as well, just expect bike traffic. There are some other roads that branch off it, Powerline Road to the left/west a little ways up (maybe a mile tops?) is in sage and usually gets enough sun that its dry by now for several miles. Berry Creek switchbacks up the ridge and starts to climb, so might run into snow as you get higher, the road goes to almost 11k, which will almost certainly be snow when you are here.
"We want the unpopular challenge. We want to test our intellect!" - Snapcase
"You are not what you own" - Fugazi
"Life's a mountain not a beach" - Fortune Cookie I got at lunch the other day
User avatar
mountainrev
Posts: 150
Joined: 9/9/2008
14ers: 20 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Vail at the end of April

Post by mountainrev »

I don't know how far from Vail you're willing to venture, but, as Chicago Transplant indicated, the farther west you go, the better the conditions will be (although last year, the entire area got buried in a huge storm on May 1!). Eagle, which is 30 miles west of Vail, has many excellent trails for mountain biking, hiking, and trail running. Many are closed during the winter months, but open up on April 15. Yesterday, I attempted to run one of the trails that remains open all year--Boneyard. Two miles up is still buried under 2' to 3' drifts. It will definitely be better in a few weeks, but will certainly be muddy by midday. But there are others that will probably be in a bit better shape. Here's a link that has maps and descriptions of some of the trails in the Eagle area: http://eagleoutside.com/
User avatar
rickinco123
Posts: 680
Joined: 6/27/2006
14ers: 8 
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Vail at the end of April

Post by rickinco123 »

Fruita is a 2:15 from Vail. You can't get much better Mtn Biking than that anywhere in the world.
PaliKona
Posts: 793
Joined: 9/24/2008
14ers: 20 
13ers: 17
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Vail at the end of April

Post by PaliKona »

20 mins east of Vail, near Copper Mtn, is a nice snowshoe. Look up Mayflower Gulch.
User avatar
climber with a k
Posts: 38
Joined: 10/22/2007
14ers: 13  4 
13ers: 1
Trip Reports (0)
 
Contact:

Re: Vail at the end of April

Post by climber with a k »

River Kid,

30+ year Vailite here. ANY of the trails into the Eagles Nest Wilderness will be fantastic that time of year. Booth Falls, Pitkin Lake, Bighorn Trail, Deluge Lake and Gore Lake trails are each in the Eagle's nest Wilderness, each offers an approach to area 13ers and each will be easy for an out of towner to find and have very few people. All of the trailheads are in the Town of Vail, can be reached within 12 min of any Vail Hotel and from the free bus route. Bring your boots and snowshoes, (and of course wear shorts but expect the possibility of sun, snow and rain within the same hour) and you will have a great time. No need to go to Edwards. Just come prepared for some mud and some snow and the potential for Colorado weather, and you'll have a great time. NO need to drive out of town.
Any day in the mountains from which you come home tired, dirty, hungry, thirsty, with a little too much sun and in one piece is nothing short of perfect.
riverkid
Posts: 4
Joined: 4/9/2014
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Vail at the end of April

Post by riverkid »

Thanks everyone for all the input. I know there is a limitless amount of exploring, but it is nice to know where to start.
Post Reply