Our family (with 2 boys, ages 3 and 5) will fly into Denver and spend 5 days in Vail in July. I would appreciate any recommendations on age-appropriate activities for the kiddos in the Vail area (including any easy hikes).

Vail has an area called "Adventure Ridge" at the top of the gondola. You can take hikes from up there; there's a dinosaur dig, where kids can dig up fake bones (it's like a large sandbox); laser tag; and there's a restaurant area, and I'm sure other stuff I can't remember. At the base of the gondola, there's usually a mini-golf. There's construction in that area this year, so I don't know if the mini-golf is there right now.

We hike in the area a lot (though more in Summit County, just to the east of Vail), but as I recall, when our kids were 3, we had them in a pack some/most of the time. For a very easy, but scenic walk, there's a footpath along the river right through Vail. The hikes from the top of the gondola will be short and scenic, so that's a good bet. Booth Falls is a very popular Vail hike, but I wouldn't call it easy with kids of that age (or, IMO, for adults either; to the falls, it's only 2 mi., but 1500 feet gain in elevation). In Silverthorne, about 1/2 hour east, there's a wooded hike to Lily Pad Lake that's pretty level, and the lake is cute. It's 1.6 mi. each way to the lake and back.

The river in Vail will probably be running too high for the kids to play in. If it's not too high, there's a place in the middle of town where kids can wade around. Also, a bunch of the fountains in town are made (I assume) for kids to wade around in them.

Outside of Vail, the town of Leadville has a narrow-gauge railroad that kids seem to love. I think it's very dull, but I think that's just me. Leadville also has a mining museum, which is interesting mostly to people (like me) who are interested in local history.

If you want to spend some time at Lake Dillon and Frisco, you could rent bikes (and trailers or tag-alongs for the kids) and bike along the lake. You can ride along the very scenic south end of the lake; pretty level. Or you could bike all the way from Frisco to Breckenridge and back (9 miles each way).

In addition to the gondola ride, which your kids will love even if there's nothing to see at the top, my kids have always loved to ride the free shuttle around town. Something about transportation, I guess.

Here's a link to the "Family Fun" page of the Vail summer website:

http://vail.snow.com/summerhome.asp#a=ae|b=familyfun

Look also at the "Recreation and Relaxation" page for even more ideas for kids.

Let's try that link again:

http://vail.snow.com/summerhome.asp#a=ae|b=familyfun

I don't know why it cuts off, but you can go to the website and find these pages. Lots of info.