Edwards

Top image: the Eagle River valley with Edwards in the distance. Photo by Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).

Edwards is where much of the Vail Valley lives, eats and shops. It is Eagle County’s largest community, with 10,266 residents, yet it is unincorporated. Restaurants and shops cluster at walkable Riverwalk, beside the Eagle River, and at Edwards Corner, a center of nearly 50 local businesses.

On this page: The town · Where to eat · Things to do · Where to stay · Getting around · When to come · Events · Good to know

• What it is: an unincorporated community. The Edwards Metropolitan District looks after its parks, open space, sidewalks and snow plowing.
• Elevation: about 7,220 ft.
• From I-70: exit 163.
• Vail: about 13 miles east on I-70, from exit 163 to Vail’s main exit, 176.
• Buses: fare-free Core Transit routes to Avon and Vail.
• Best for: dinner out, browsing local shops, river walks, and a quieter base for Beaver Creek and Vail.

Coming from the airport or driving I-70 in winter? Visitor Essentials covers both.

The town

Riverwalk at Edwards

• This is the heart of Edwards: shops and restaurants along the Eagle River, with a riverside path and picnic tables.
• It is also home to:
  • The Bookworm of Edwards, an independent bookstore and café;
  • Riverwalk Theater, a community movie theater;
  • Alpine Arts Center, a studio and gallery;
  • Village Market, the grocery store.
• From I-70 exit 163, head south through the roundabouts and across the river.

Edwards Corner

• A mixed-use center on Edwards Village Boulevard at US 6, built in 2004. It has nearly 50 local businesses, and many of them are places to eat.
• More restaurants are nearby on Edwards Village Boulevard.

Along US 6

• In the 1960s and ’70s, the Gashouse on US 6 was about the only commercial business in Edwards.
• Edwards West Plaza, home of the summer farmers market, is at 57 Edwards Access Road.

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Where to eat

Restaurants cluster in two walkable areas:

• Riverwalk at Edwards: restaurants and shops along the Eagle River, plus the café inside The Bookworm of Edwards. Village Market, the grocery store, is here too.
• Edwards Corner and Edwards Village Boulevard: many of Edwards Corner’s nearly 50 local businesses are places to eat, and more restaurants line the boulevard.

Hours change between seasons, so check a restaurant’s own site before you go. ECL adds individual restaurant listings only after confirming they are open.

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Things to do

Eagle River Preserve

What it is:

• Edwards’ “Central Park”: about 72 acres of county open space on the west edge of town, along the river and near mile marker 165.5 on US 6.
• It used to be a gravel pit and ranch. Restoration started after the county bought the land in 2005, adding wetlands, ponds and irrigation ditches. It opened to the public in 2009.

What you’ll find:

• graveled trails, restrooms and parking;
• an off-leash dog area on the east side by the river (dogs must be leashed everywhere else);
• birds including bald eagles, ospreys and red-tailed hawks.

Rules:

• No motorized use, including e-bikes.
• No camping, hunting, private parties or weddings.
• The west section closes Dec. 1 – Apr. 15. In winter, groups of 25 to 50 elk feed there. The upper parking lot stays open year-round.

On the river

• Lake Creek Boat Ramp (Eagle County, 3000 Lake Creek Village Dr.) is a popular put-in and take-out for Eagle River floats. It is open sunrise to sunset, with no motorized access.
• Fishing:
  • Anglers fish the preserve, the boat ramp and Miller Ranch Open Space.
  • Vail Valley Anglers at Riverwalk is a fly shop and guide service.
  • In hot, low-water summers, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) can ask anglers to stop fishing parts of the Eagle River. In 2026 it asked anglers to stay off the river from Lake Creek in Edwards down to the Colorado River from July 17 to Sept. 23. Check CPW’s fishing closures before you fish.

Parks for families

Freedom Park (Mountain Recreation, 450 Miller Ranch Rd.):

• two grass fields and a turf field;
• a skate park;
• a splash park.
• Access can be limited during leagues and events.

Edwards Field House (same address):

• reopened in December 2025 after a renovation;
• gymnastics, trampoline and ninja features;
• a court for basketball, volleyball and pickleball.

Books, art and a movie

• The Bookworm of Edwards opened its first shop in 1997 and moved to Riverwalk in 2007. It is now a 4,000-square-foot bookstore with a café, and it hosts author events.
• Alpine Arts Center offers drop-in paint-your-own pottery, kids’ classes and camps, and gallery shows.
• Riverwalk Theater is the neighborhood movie theater, with special showings and pop-ups.

Conservation Center

• The Eagle Valley Land Trust’s Conservation Center opened in 2025 in a reclaimed log building just west of the Eagle River Preserve (33601 Hwy. 6). It hosts workshops and programs.
• Contact EVLT (evlt.org or 970-748-7654) to arrange a visit.

Golf

• Edwards’ golf courses are private.
  • Sonnenalp Club offers preferred tee times to guests of the Sonnenalp Hotel in Vail.
  • The Club at Cordillera is a private club with three courses.

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Where to stay

The Inn at Riverwalk:

• At 27 Main St., on the Eagle River. It calls itself Edwards’ only independent hotel.
• It offers rooms and condos, a year-round riverside pool and hot tub, and free loans of gear such as snowshoes.

Nearby: for more choice, Avon and Beaver Creek are one exit east. See the Avon and Beaver Creek guides.

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Getting around

By car:

• I-70 exit 163. Avon and Beaver Creek are the next exit east.
• Riverwalk is just south of the exit, through the roundabouts and across the river.

By bus:

• Core Transit’s Highway 6 Route links Edwards with Avon, EagleVail and Vail. Its Edwards stops include Freedom Park, Riverwalk and Lake Creek Village.
• The Valley Route links Edwards (Freedom Park) with Eagle, Gypsum, Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) and Vail.
• Fares: most rides are fare-free. Fares apply only to trips to or from Gypsum, the airport or Leadville. Riders 18 and under ride free through the 2026–27 winter season.
• Schedule: the winter 2026–27 schedule starts Sunday, Nov. 22, 2026. Check coretransit.org for timetables.

Airport transfers:

• Epic Mountain Express runs shuttles to Denver and Eagle airports.

Parking:

• Riverwalk’s day parking is time-limited where posted.
• At the preserve, the upper lot is open year-round. The lower lot is open from mid-April to early December, as conditions allow.

On foot or by bike:

• The paved Eagle Valley Trail does not yet connect Edwards with the towns to the west. The Horn Ranch-to-Edwards section is still unbuilt.

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When to come

Summer:

• Summer brings the Saturday farmers market and free Friday concerts by the river.
• Fishing and floating are popular.
• The preserve is fully open.

Fall:

• Quieter, after the summer events end.
• The preserve’s west section stays open until Dec. 1.

Winter:

• A practical base for Beaver Creek and Vail.
• You can snowshoe or cross-country ski on the open parts of the preserve.

Spring:

• Wildlife closures run until Apr. 15. Some restaurants shorten their hours between seasons.

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Events through the year

Edwards Farmers Market:

• Saturdays in summer at Edwards West Plaza, with more than 30 vendors. In 2026 it ran June 13 – Sept. 19.

Band by the River:

• Free summer concerts, mostly on Friday evenings, at Riverwalk’s outdoor amphitheater. They are presented by the Edwards Metropolitan District.

Bookworm author events:

• Readings and launch parties throughout the year.

Colorado Mountain College (CMC) Edwards:

• Guest speakers, community events and non-credit classes.

ECL’s own Edwards event coverage appears under Latest from ECL below.

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Good to know

Medical care:

• Vail Health’s Edwards Medical Campus (320 and 322 Beard Creek Rd.) has physical therapy, a surgery center, the Shaw Cancer Center and a pharmacy.
• It has no emergency department. The nearest emergency room is Vail Health Hospital, 180 S. Frontage Rd. W., Vail.

Grocery:

• Village Market, at Riverwalk.

Library:

• There is no branch in Edwards. The nearest Eagle Valley Library District branch is in Avon.

College:

• Colorado Mountain College’s Vail Valley campus is at 150 Miller Ranch Rd.

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A little history

Early years:

• Ute bands spent summers hunting in the Eagle River valley before they were removed from western Colorado by 1882.
• Ranchers settled the site that year, and it was known as Berry’s Ranch until 1887. It was then renamed for Melvin Edwards, a Red Cliff resident who later became Colorado’s secretary of state.
• In 1887 the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad set up a station here.

Growth:

• For decades, Edwards was ranch country.
• As prices rose in Vail and Avon, growth moved west. Edwards became the county’s largest community.

The 1909 cabin:

• A restored 1909 cabin stands on the Eagle River Preserve. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad built it. It later served as a stage stop and a ranch home, and was moved to the preserve in 2012.

Colorow Creek:

• The creek flowing into the Eagle River near Edwards was renamed Colorow Creek, after the Ute leader Colorow, in the 2022 federal renaming effort. It was formerly Squaw Creek.

Last checked October 25, 2026. See something out of date? Tell us.