Wildflowers in bloom in Eagle County

VAIL, Colorado – Summer after summer, Vail visitors say that one of their main reasons for visiting Vail is to look at the wildflowers.

Sure, we have rafting, fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking and more, but it’s the flowers that seem to be the common thread of why visitors love Vail, according to summer survey results.

There are local organizations and governments that have spent hundreds of thousands on studies to figure out how to bring people to town in the summertime and other off-peak times of the year. Turns out people come here for something that grows naturally and costs the town and resort almost nothing.

The flowers this July are flourishing from the depths of the valleys to the heights of the mountains following a cool, wet spring and early summer.

And while it might be tempting to pick a flower or two and take it as a souvenir, the U.S. Forest Service prohibits picking. The flowers often wilt and perish soon after being picked, and the picking triggers a “critical chain of events” for years to come, the Forest Service says.

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“We don’t often realize it, but wildflowers support entire ecosystems for pollinators, birds, and small animals on a micro scale,” according to the Forest Service’s online section about national wildflowers. “Butterflies and other insects, small birds, and animals depend on seeds, nectar, and pollen for their food supply and life support system. In addition, some pollinators are not very mobile or have very small home ranges or depend on just one species of plant and die once their habitat has been destroyed.”

There are hundreds of places where wildflowers can be seen around Eagle County. Vail Ski Patrol director Julie Rust suggests Ridge Route on Vail Mountain, which runs from Eagle’s Nest to Wildwood, for great wildflower viewing.

Vail’s Mountain’s four-by-four mountain tours and horseback tours are also a great way to see wildflowers without breaking too much of a sweat.

Here are a few more suggestions from Vail Nature Center’s Hannah Irwin:

• Gore Creek

There are seven acres of wildflower meadows along Gore Creek. This time of year, the meadows are dominated by scarlet gilia, showy daisies, harebells, lupines, and valerian. The Vail Nature Center offers wildflower walks on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. and on Thursdays at 2 p.m. through Aug. 18.

• West Grouse Creek trail in Minturn has lots of wild geraniums, arnica and penstemons.

• Eagle’s Nest (top of the gondola):

Stop by the Nature Discovery Center to ask questions about wildflowers. Easy hiking trails offer great wildflower viewing.

• Shrine Mountain (access from Vail Pass exit to Shrine Pass) has Indian Paintbrush, Parry’s Primrose, and penstemons, which make for colorful vistas.

• North Trail (Red Sandstone to Spraddle Creek) has wild geraniums, thimbleberries, shady aspen groves and nice views of Vail Mountain.

• Bike trail through East Vail

Ride a bike along the trail and see a large variety of wildflowers.

• Alpine lakes (lakes above 11,000 feet) near Vail are peaking right about now. Common flowers at high altitudes include paintbrushes, elephantheads, heart-leaved bittercress and king’s crown.

Community Editor Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com.