Vail is the rare mountain town where you can ride a gondola to a wedding deck at the top of the ski area, or walk out of a Vail Village hotel and be on a national forest trail within a few minutes. Beaver Creek and Avon sit a short drive west, with their own on mountain ceremony sites. For a small elopement the paperwork is light. What takes planning is the season, because the resort decks are summer only and I 70 over Vail Pass decides whether your guests from Denver arrive on time.
Your marriage license from Eagle County
Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon and Edwards are all in Eagle County. You can use a license from any Colorado county, so if Denver or Summit County fits your route better, that works too; our Colorado marriage license guide compares the options.
Eagle County runs a two step process:
- Apply online no more than 90 days before the day you want the license issued. Write down the number you get when you submit.
- Book an appointment to pick it up. Both of you must be there with valid ID. The county warns that licenses are not issued the same day you apply unless an appointment happens to be open.
The fee is $30, certified copies are $1.25 each, and the county takes cash, check or card. Acceptable ID includes a current U.S. driver’s license, a passport, a military ID, or a certified birth certificate with a photo ID. The county’s office hours list the Eagle office at 500 Broadway, Suite 101, weekdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; an Edwards office at 410 Miller Ranch Road, Wednesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and El Jebel on Tuesdays. Hours change, so confirm on the county page or at 970 328 8723 before you drive.
The license is valid for 35 days. You need no witnesses, and you can marry yourselves; see self solemnization. Return the signed certificate by mail to the Eagle County Clerk, P.O. Box 537, Eagle, CO 81631, or in person, within 63 days.
White River National Forest rules
Nearly everything around Vail outside town and the ski areas is the White River National Forest, managed locally by the Eagle Holy Cross Ranger District in Minturn (24747 U.S. Highway 24, 970 827 5715). The forest’s events page says that uses involving extended occupancy, improvements, or any commercial activity need written authorization, and that the local district office is the place to start.
In practice, two of you, a photographer and a few guests standing on a trail is ordinary visiting. The Forest Service’s national threshold for a noncommercial group permit is 75 people, which our national forest and BLM guide explains. Call the district if you plan chairs, an arch, a larger group, or anything that looks like an event. Commercial photographers on forest land need their own authorization, so ask yours how they handle it. Wilderness areas such as Eagles Nest carry stricter group size limits; the district can tell you the number for your trail.
Where couples elope around Vail
| Site | Who manages it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Vail Wedding Deck | Vail Mountain | Short walk from the Eagle’s Nest gondola; June to September |
| Event Deck at The 10th | Vail Mountain | Top of the Vail Village gondola |
| Beaver Creek Wedding Deck | Beaver Creek Resort | Stone amphitheater by gondola; mid June to mid September |
| Shrine Pass | National forest | Dirt road off the Vail Pass exit; summer and fall only by car |
| Booth Falls | National forest, Eagles Nest Wilderness | 60 foot falls on a steep trail; take the bus |
| Betty Ford Alpine Gardens | Nonprofit in Ford Park | Elopement garden use, no chairs |
Shrine Pass is the wildflower and big view option. The road climbs from the top of Vail Pass toward Red Cliff, and the ridge walks off it look straight at Mount of the Holy Cross. It is a Forest Service road that closes to cars in winter, and snow can linger on it into early summer.
Booth Falls starts in East Vail. The Forest Service describes the trail climbing through aspen to the 60 foot falls, inside the Eagles Nest Wilderness. In recent summers the town has posted no parking at the trailhead or in the neighborhood, with towing enforced. Park in the Vail Village or Lionshead structures and ride the free town bus, which leaves from the top level of the Vail Village Transportation Center.
Vail Village itself works for a quick ceremony with a few people. The Town of Vail says its parks are open for gatherings on a first come, first served basis, and personal alcohol is allowed in town parks but not on most public streets. Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Ford Park offers an elopement garden use permit for $300: no chairs, no vendors beyond a photographer and officiant, and no promise of quiet, since the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is next door.
Resort ceremony sites
Vail Mountain lists two ceremony sites. The Wedding Deck is a short, paved, ADA accessible walk from the top of the Eagle’s Nest gondola, with views of the Gore Range. The site fee begins at $2,000, every guest needs an $18 lift ticket, and it is booked in 90 minute slots at 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., June through September. The 2:30 and 4:30 slots carry an on mountain food requirement. The Event Deck at The 10th, at the top of the gondola from Vail Village, starts at $3,250 for 90 minutes.
Beaver Creek lists five venues. For a small wedding the most useful are the Beaver Creek Wedding Deck, a stone amphitheater reached by gondola with packages from $5,000, and Allie’s Cabin, which seats up to 75 on its deck with a $7,000 venue package plus a food and beverage minimum. Beano’s Cabin, Saddleridge and Spruce Saddle Lodge are full reception venues. Beaver Creek says its venues suit groups from two people up, and it books through a request for proposal form.
For receptions and hotels across the valley, see our Vail wedding venues.
Seasons and Vail Pass
Summer is resort deck season and wildflower season on Shrine Pass, typically July. Plan on afternoon thunderstorms and pick a morning slot if you can.
Fall brings the aspens, usually late September. Our fall elopement guide covers timing.
Winter closes the resort decks and the dirt roads, but the villages stay beautiful. The real constraint is I 70 over Vail Pass. CDOT applies traction and chain laws in storms, and it calls the chain law the final safety measure before a highway is closed. Check COtrip.org the morning of your ceremony, build a buffer into your timeline, and have a backup spot in town. Our winter elopement guide has more.
Plan it
Ask any photographer you interview which roads they will drive in your month, how they handle forest land permits, and whether they know the gondola schedules. We list Vail Valley vendors below this guide, and you can browse photographers, officiants and planners across the region. The Vail and Aspen guide covers the neighboring valleys, and our Aspen elopement guide picks up on the other side of Independence Pass. Keep your license window, slot times and vendor shortlist in the free planner.
