Magic. It’s the first word that comes to mind whenever a friend from afar asks what summers are like in the Vail Valley. Like many locals, I migrated here in the winter, powder-hungry and intending to stay for just a few months before moving on to the next paradisiacal place. And yet. Each spring the lifts stop spinning, the snowfields yield to wildflower meadows, and on the longest day, here I still am, doing my best to milk the magical moments from our brief but glorious summer.

Over the long winter, to help you make the most of your summer, we surveyed our readers and asked them to recommend the places, people, and things that represent the magical moments of our valley during the summer season. Should you discover that there’s simply not enough time to do it all—or that you need to do it all over again—join the crowd. We’ll see you again next summer. And maybe the one after that. And the next....