Description
Epic Discovery at Vail, Colorado, is a fantastic family-friendly outdoor adventure center featuring a wide range of exciting activities suitable for kids of all ages. It offers kid-friendly options such as the Marmot Mini Tubing hill, the Little Eagle Kids Zipline for children ages three and up, and hands-on experiences at the Nature Discovery Center, where young kids can explore animal exhibits at their own level. For older kids and adventurous families, there are challenging ropes courses, a Paramount Peak climbing wall, a bungee trampoline, and the thrilling Forest Flyer alpine coaster, which lets you speed down the mountain on a safe, driver-controlled track. The area has inclusive amenities such as scenic gondola rides with stunning mountain views and on-site casual dining, making it easy to spend a full day together outdoors in a fun, safe setting[1][2][3][5][6][9].
Key kid-friendly highlights include:
– **Marmot Mini Tubing**: A gentler tubing hill perfect for younger children.
– **Little Eagle Kids Zipline**: Designed for kids ages 3+; a great introduction to ziplining.
– **Nature Discovery Center**: An interactive space with animal puppets, puzzles, and binoculars that engage toddlers and preschoolers.
– **Bungee Trampoline & Climbing Wall**: Provide physical activity with safety gear and supervision.
– **Forest Flyer Alpine Coaster**: Exciting for older kids and adults with scenic views and wildlife sightings.
– **Adventure Pass**: Offers access to most activities with allowances for age and height restrictions.
Epic Discovery combines thrilling outdoor play with educational elements, encouraging kids to connect with nature through adventure and discovery. This makes it an excellent destination for families looking for varied, age-appropriate mountain fun in a safe, picturesque environment[1][2][3][5][6].
https://www.insiderfamilies.com/day-at-epic-discovery-vail/,https://lajollamom.com/epic-discovery-vail-mountain/,https://discovervail.com/things-to-do/epic-discovery-activities-on-vail-mountain/,https://www.vail.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/epic-discovery/epic-discovery.aspx,https://www.visittheusa.com/experience/colorados-vail-mountain-epic-and-hands-discovery-all-ages,https://www.thesebastianvail.com/exploring-vail-family-friendly/,https://www.airial.travel/attractions/united-states/vail/epic-discovery-vail-j19O35U8,https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33676-d10472179-Reviews-Epic_Discovery-Vail_Colorado.html,https://www.lovingthisadventure.com/epic-discovery-in-vail-colorado-everything-you-need-to-know/,https://discovervail.com/family/,https://www.vail.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/epic-discovery/epic-discovery-what-to-know.aspx
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19 Reviews on “Epic Discovery”
Epic Discovery has a big list of adventures to discover in gorgeous Vail. We were in town for a conference and the scenic gondola ride was a sponsored event for all guests. The nice part of the gondola ride is you can use it all day. The view once you get to the top is breathtaking. Lots of photo opportunity.
On this particular day, we couldn’t decide on which activity we wanted to try out. Ziplining and the rope course were high on the list. Unfortunately, the $35 Golden Eagle zipline option was not available due to renovations. The only other zipline option was the $199 Game Creek Zipline Tour which would take 3.5 hours. Big difference in cost and time. We asked about doing the rope course and were told you could not purchase this a la carte but rather it was inclusive in the “package” deals. We didn’t understand how they could offer majority of the adventures a la carte but this was not an option unless you bought the big package. So both answers killed our excitement to try the adventures we really wanted to do.
Since we were limited, we actually considered the $199 zipline package. The salesperson let us know that we could apply our $36 gondola ride ticket towards the purchase of the $199 zipline package. So that was a bit helpful in a discount. This option could also be applied towards the other unlimited package options. This sounded more enticing. So we decided to go for it and do the $199 ziplining. It’s not every day you’re in beautiful Vail ziplining over the scenic everything. Come to find out, since we had the group gondola ticket, they could not apply that discount. Really?!?
After that whole pitch, we decided to just jump ship and pay the $199 full price for ziplining. Guess what? Our salesperson literally just sold the very last ticket for the day, literally 10 minutes prior. So frustrating!!! They were not winning our business on this day or even really trying to accommodate.
So we just threw in the towel and didn’t do anything. Such a bummer! And a turnoff too. The reason they got 4 stars is their activity options were very cool. We get that things happen or might not go the way we want but damn, it really sucked that we ended up doing none of the activities. Other than the gondola ride which was offered through the conference. We really didn’t fell like dishing out money for activities that were just “eh” to us or not as appealing.
Anyway, here is some more in depth information and prices for all the activities they offer.
SCENIC GONDOLA RIDE $36
All-day Gondola Access
Adult: $36
Senior: $31
Child: $18*
*One $38 adult ticket provides one free child ticket
ULTIMATE ADVENTURE PASS $94
UNLIMITED ALL DAY ACCESS
This pass includes a FREE companion ride-along ticket for the Forest Flyer™ (so parents can join their kids if they can’t ride alone).
The Ultimate Adventure Pass Includes:
·Scenic Gondola Ride
·Gore Range Adventure Course
·Holy Cross Adventure Course
·Eagle’s Nest Tubing
·Forest Flyer™
·Paramount Peak Climbing Wall
·Bungee Trampoline
·Little Eagle Zipline
·Pine Cone Adventure Course
·Marmot Mini Tubing
LITTLE EXPLORER PASS $54
UNLIMITED ALL-DAY ACCESS
The Little Explorer Pass Includes:
·Paramount Peak Climbing Wall
·Bungee Trampoline
·Little Eagle Zipline
·Pine Cone Adventure Course
·Marmot Mini Tubing
·Scenic Gondola Ticket
GAME CREEK ZIPLINE TOUR for $199
Includes the Ultimate Adventure Pass ($94 Value)
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY TICKETS:
Mountain Top 4×4 Tour: $39
Gore Creek Mini Golf: $14
Golden Eagle Zipline: $35
Golden Eagle Zipline (Add on to Pass): $20
Forrest Flyer Mountain Coaster: 1 Ride – $27
Eagle’s Nest Tubing: 2 Runs – $23
Marmot Mini Tubing: 2 Runs – $15
Over $300 dollars for our family of four, kids ages are 14 & 16. Got there at 10 am…. rode 3 rides, waited in lines for hours. Bought over priced food and with lighting in the sky it was shut down every 30 minutes….. tickets are non refundable and rain checks are not worth repeating this day again. A total rip off and a total waste of a day in beautiful Colorado!
Had a great time at this mountaintop attraction with my 9 year old son.
This was well worth the $94 all-inclusive (everything except adult zipline) for us.
The challenging ropes course and its amazing staff that kept helping us really made us feel good about the ticket price. The crew at the rock climbing wall also went out of their way to make us have a great time.
A few tips to get your money’s worth:
1. Go on a day when local kids have school. It was empty at the end of August – no lines! People were telling us that it was crazy lines 2 weeks prior.
2. Make sure weather is clear. Even still, take your food breaks when they have to shut down the rides due to rain or lightning.
3. Arrive early. Take the gondola up before 10 am and arrive as park opens. Weather is usually better in the morning.
Gondola ride offers great views and its free. More kids activities than adult. Did enjoy the Alpine slide ride.
FUN at 10,350 feet… and up!
We just returned from an awesome family vacation in and around Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.
In Vail, CO, family friends met up with us, and we had a great time together over several days.
The other family has visited Colorado before and is familiar with skiing and with taking the gondolas up during warmer months, too. So they recommended that we do just that – take the tram to the top and walk / hike around Vail Mountain, which we now know is in the White River National Forest.
Work travel had me flying over the Rockies many times, during all seasons. So I knew before this trip that some mountains had snow during most of the year. I just hadn’t remembered seeing mountains with snow by time late July and August rolled around… not in the lower 48. But we learned a week earlier, in Wyoming that some of their mountains are snow-capped year round. While most of the snow had melted, there were a few patches that were lingering just long enough for us to enjoy them… and it was almost July. That was neat!
After we got away from the village at the top of the tram, we hiked along a couple trails… beautiful scenery through the trees. We took a trail for a mile and a half or so and then had lunch at 10,100 feet. We took another trail back, and that was a bit harder, as it was uphill and climbed above 10,700 feet in elevation. Both trails were really pretty, through open fields and through trees. We even saw a few deer along the way.
As we got back to where we started, the kids all rode the Forest Flyer toboggan / roller coaster. They all had a blast!
After we got to the bottom, we relaxed, and snacked at a cafe.
With our lift tickets allowing rides through the day, our daughter and I rode the gondola up and back down, again a couple times, just for fun. We had the gondola to ourselves, so we each had our own bench and laid down, looking up through the partial-glass ceiling at the clouds and the sky – peaceful! That was really relaxing.
Back at the cafe, our son and I had a lot of fun playing frisbee in some grass that was right there. That was fun!
We definitely had a great time, at the base, and especially at the top of the Vail tram – we recommend a visit, to experience the beauty of Vail!
We are staying in vail village. Late June. The family walked down early to buy a day passes at the bottom of the lionshead gondola. My kids were excited to ride the “roller coaster”. Rides opened at 10:00. We were one of the first ones down. At 10:55, all the rides got shut down due to a lightning storm. I went into the ticket office at the top and asked what happens. We haven’t even been here an hour. Is there a rain check policy, he said their hands were tied until everything was shut down for 75 minutes. When the storm came in it got really cold and windy and my kids were miserable. So, we went down the gondola and I went back to the ticket office at the base. They said that I would have to wait out the 75 minutes. So, we all walked back to the hotel in vail village. I called the office at 11:30 and they said that the rides were opened about 30 minutes ago. Ergo, no refund or rain check. My daughter wanted to try again. So we walk back down to lions head. By the time we got there, it was raining. I said can I get a rain check, I paid for a day and didn’t even get an hour. They said, well, the rides are open. So, no. I said it’s really cold, raining, and windy. My daughter would be crying if she had to stay outside up there. They said. Sorry, the rides are open and there are no rain checks if the rides are open. I said, practically speaking they are closed. It’s almost July, we didn’t bring snow gear. They said there was nothing they could do. The 75 minutes of lightning, not rain, is the only way to get a rain check. That’s the policy.
I didn’t catch this at the time but they said most of these storms pass quickly. Translation: there is almost no chance there is going to be a 75 min lightning storm.
I think a partial refund would be fair, but they don’t budge. It’s a bad policy will detract from our overall experience in Vail.
This way exceeded our expectations!! The roller coaster was a hoot! Our kids loved the little ropes course and tubing. Fun for many hours. Beautiful views.
We are a family of 4 with two teens. We did the coaster and the tubing. Kids did the ropes and climbing wall. It was fun, but we were done in about 3 hours. Felt like a lot of money for a short time. Of course there is a lot of hiking to be done that could extend your time up here, but if you’ve got older kids and you don’t want to hike up here, You’ll be done quickly. Come early in the morning before the crowds build.
I’ll divide this review into several parts to divide up the experiences that we had. Overall this was a solid 3 stars.
Game Creek Zipline Tour
You have to pick up your tickets BEFORE you get on the gondola and the line can be quite long. So save some time. Once you get to the top of the gondola, follow the signs to a back room where you’ll get harnessed up and hear the instructions. The guides will then escort you out to the first zip. We had two guides for our group of three. This size was perfect as it kept us from waiting too long on each platform or feeling crowded. There are seven zips; the first and last two are the easiest and the ones in the middle are varying degrees of difficult. There’s one where you are flying 340 feet above Game Creek. The course is well done and felt very safe but if you’re all concerned about heights, this is not the one for you. I probably wouldn’t have done it if I’d done more research before going. For your $249, you also get access to all of the other activities up at Adventure Ridge.
Forest Flyer
This is a fun “roller coaster” around Eagles Nest. The wait was pretty significant – about 15 minutes the first time we rode and a little over 30 the second time. Adults and kids can go together in one cart, as can two smaller adults (must be under 375 lbs). The ride itself is about a minute and then you have another 3-4 minutes of the cart getting dragged back up to the top. We had a good time but I’m not sure I’d wait 30+ minutes again.
Holy Cross Ropes Course
There’s a high, medium and low option. You get a very brief demonstration of how to clip into the course and be safe. Then you’re on your own. It felt safe but wasn’t my favorite. We did the low obstacle and then quit.
This park is really perfect for everyone especially if your under 10 years because of the rides and activities but what really makes it go well are the employees who make the little ones feel special. That’s really what makes the place work. Keep hiring people who enjoy working with the kids.
Experiencing Epic Discovery mountaintop activities at a little over 10K feet is probably best done with kids. As an adult who regularly attends camp, I would not have gone on my own as some of the activities are redundant for me. Here are the activities:
Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster – CLOSED; Epic Discovery was offering 15% off the pass
Ziplines – shorter than most; one-time use; considered an extra charge
Tubing Hills – tubing down a slide; the more you lift your butt up, the faster you’ll go
Paramount Peak Climbing Wall – osteo arthritis precludes me from participating, but it looked fun
Adventure Courses – there are three courses, but Gore Range was temporarily closed until the afternoon when there would be more personnel to staff the course
Bungee Trampoline – must be ok with flips at altitude
If I were to go again, I would probably buy activities à la carte as I didn’t have a need to pursue these activities again and again. For example, I went down Tubing Hills twice and didn’t feel a need to go again. After completing Holy Cross’s (high ropes) lower course, my companions did not want to challenge themselves to the middle and top courses.
Engaging in these activites at 10K feet was still tough on me as I do not acclimate rapidly. If I was not constantly sipping water, I felt parched.
CAVEAT – Whenever I pursue outdoor activities, I wear my Keens; however, Epic Discovery did not approve and I had to quickly go back to my hotel to change into fitness shoes that were fully enclosed.
Eating lunch at the outdoor BBQ restaurant was around $11-$12 for a BBQ sandwich and $4.50 for waffle fries. There is a water bottle filling station inside the building.
Don’t give this place your money if there is any chance of bad weather. Rain check policy is not what they tell you. We were told policy was very generous by sales person at top of mountain when weather was threatening. However sales office at bottom of hill didn’t honor it when weather closed the park for rest of day after we completed only two activities. Terrible customer experience for expensive vacation activity.
This was the definition of tourist trap. The prices are hard to find online, nearly impossible. Once you pay to park and get your kids up the mountain, you discover the insanity of the prices. A round of mini golf is $20-per person. The bounce house is $18. My 4 year old and I did the alpine slide and it cost us nearly $50. The worst part is the horrible customer service. These kids basically stand around and offer no help. Getting on and off an open air gondola with a 4 year old, isn’t the easiest. I asked for help as we were getting off and the response was, you need to ask me sooner, and no on helped. We also wound up riding the whole way up without the safety bar down because no one helped us get on and I was terrified to take my hands off my kid to pull it down myself. When we got off, I asked where to take our buggy and I did what I was told only to pass 2 people who were too busy talking to take it, and get yelled at because we went too far. I’ve never ridden this before, I don’t know the routine. I’m appalled at the whole experience.
Much like a Disney experience, if you know going in that you aren’t getting a bargain and are going to pay high prices, you can really enjoy yourself. I would highly recommend getting the full day pass, early in the morning. Covers the gondola ride ($42!?) and gets you access to everything. Or pay full boat on the zip-line and that gets you access to everything for two days. From the alpine coaster to the Game Creek Zip-line to the nerve racking ropes course, this spot is great. The coaster was a favorite for the entire family, even my son that doesn’t like any kind of ride. I think the ability to control the coaster was a big help.
The Game Creek zip line was truly incredible. For those that are wavering on the experience, dig deep and do it! Be sure to book in advance and try your best to get the morning slot to avoid potential afternoon weather issues. The views are incredible and the zip lining is exhilarating. I’ve done zip lining in Maui and this was on par with that experience. Better in that the harness keeps you facing forward and not able to rotate, not as good because there’s no ocean view. But the views of the mountains and valleys are a good substitute. Dave and Ryan were incredible guides; encouraging, knowledgeable and hilarious. Safety is the main focus, “they clip, you zip”. One zip is just under half a mile (up to 60 mph) and another is over half a mile. And you get to ride a ski lift to the very top of the mountain. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
The ropes course is more challenging than it may appear (or we just suck). My daughter and I did the first level up and that was enough for us. It wasn’t the height (we’ve done courses that are 50 feet up), it was the instability of the course, which I guess is the point. Makes it much more challenging but she tapped after the first level.
The only disappointment was the tubing. The ride up was more exciting. When you first launch, you’re thinking that you’re going to plummet down the slide but something with the way the course is set up keeps you from going very fast.
So you buy your $400 of tickets at the bottom so your kids can do everything and then what greets you at the top are a couple of happy to help folks but mostly ultra grumpy “more than my jobs worth”, “computer says no”, “I’m sorry but not really” “we appreciate your understanding” excuse filled staff and a limited number of activities as many are “closed for maintenance” which is code for we can’t manage our staff. Then there are the lines created because they closed most of the activities. Don’t waste your money on this, take kids for a hike.
Don’t waste your money. I paid $142 per kid to “ride unlimited attractions” and the mountain coaster/gondola ride. For our family of 5 (I didn’t get a ride ticket but had to purchase a gondola ticket) it costs around $650. We get up to the top and the only thing my 11 and 10 year old kids can do is the mountain coaster (not unlimited) and the little bungee jump. The ropes courses, tubing, rock wall were all closed, and no, we were not informed about this closure when purchasing tickets. The “zip line” for the kids has a weight limit of 100lbs but honesty, it was a joke. I don’t know what the refund policy is just yet, but this is ridiculous. Don’t waste your money coming here. Instead, go to Copper Mountain; they had better attractions and they were actually open.
Very expensive especially if you want to do every attraction. It was $58 just to go up the mountain. $142 if you want to do everything. However, we we hiked and my son did the rock wall. ($19) The rock wall had 13 courses. Kids of all ages were using and enjoying it.
Everything was very clean. There was plenty of restrooms, water refill stations, and food available for purchase.
$375 for family of five to ride 3 rides. Because of weather things got shut down too. The coaster is fun though.
Great place for kids to get their energy out in the warm months. It’s a nice gondola ride to the top of Lionshead. By the time you do that, it might as well be set as a full day activity.