Mountains
Eagle County
Property taxes, marriage licenses, vehicle services, and many public records run through Eagle County. Permits and local rules may sit with a town or city instead, so match the office to the exact address.
Official county shortcuts
Take the task to the office that handles it
These links go straight to the official county or regional office shown. Check that page for current documents, hours, appointments, fees, and address-specific instructions. A city may run its own permit office.
Property tax snapshot
Typical property tax in Eagle County
The average total mill levy across Eagle County was about 58.4 mills for tax year 2023 — below the statewide average of about 81 mills. On a $500,000 home, that comes to roughly $1,897 a year, using Colorado's 2026 residential rules: 7.05% on school mills, and 6.8% on the rest after the local actual-value adjustment.
This is the county average across all tax areas. Your parcel's actual mill levy depends on its exact tax area — a metro or special district can add many mills on top — so confirm the real number with the county assessor.
Sales tax: the state charges 2.9% and Eagle County adds 1.5%, for 4.4% before any city or special district. See Colorado sales tax rates ->
Source: Colorado Division of Property Taxation, 53rd Annual Report (2023) — Average Levies by County.
Incorporated places in this county
These cities and towns touch Eagle County. Some cross a county line. Every name opens a direct place page, and selected places include a fuller local guide.
Get to know Eagle County
The history, land, and character behind the place.
Water and land
An Eagle County well is a permit with limits, not an unlimited water supply
Water in Eagle County is administered by the state under Colorado's prior appropriation system, and a well permit comes with conditions on how much you can use and for what.
Read note ->History and culture
Vail started with a seven-hour climb and a view of the treeless Back Bowls
Vail grew into one of the largest single ski mountains in North America, and the story starts with a 1957 climb to a ridge above a string of wide, treeless bowls.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Holy Cross Wilderness has different rules than the forest around it
Many popular Eagle County trailheads lead into the Holy Cross Wilderness, where wilderness rules are stricter than on the rest of the White River National Forest.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Mount of the Holy Cross is reached up a rough road that opens late
Eagle County's 14er, Mount of the Holy Cross, is climbed from a trailhead at the end of Tigiwon Road near Minturn, a rough dirt road that stays gated into early summer.
Read note ->Money and taxes (5)
Money and taxes
In Eagle County, overlapping districts shape the property tax bill
Two similar Eagle County homes can have different tax bills because each parcel sits in its own stack of overlapping taxing districts.
Read note ->Money and taxes
In Eagle County, a value appeal starts with the assessor record
A high Eagle County tax bill is really a value question: check the assessor record and appeal through the Notice of Valuation.
Read note ->Home and property (6)
Home and property
Living near the White River National Forest means thinking about defensible space
Much of Eagle County sits in the wildland-urban interface beside the White River National Forest, where defensible space around the home is a normal part of owning property.
Read note ->Home and property
Eagle County septic work runs through Environmental Health
Septic work in Eagle County needs an Environmental Health permit, a registered engineer's design, and a licensed local installer.
Read note ->Water and land (3)
Water and land
The Eagle River runs two very different rafting trips, so pick the one that fits your group
The Eagle River offers splashy, family-friendly water on the Lower Eagle and a short, steep stretch of harder rapids near Dowd Junction, so it pays to match the section to your crew before you launch.
Read note ->Water and land
On the Eagle River, the fishing rules change from one stretch to the next
The Eagle River is a productive trout fishery on Colorado's Quality Waters list, but limits and rules differ by river segment, so anglers should read the regulations for the exact stretch they fish.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (10)
Outdoors and wildfire
Eagle County backcountry days start with the CAIC avalanche forecast
Avalanche danger in Eagle County's mountains is forecast by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center; much of the county sits in its Vail and Summit County zone, and the forecast map shows the exact zone for your spot.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
In Eagle County, securing trash is the heart of living with black bears
Black bears are common in Eagle County's valleys, and most conflicts trace back to food and garbage, so securing trash and removing attractants is the main way residents and bears stay out of trouble.
Read note ->Cars and driving (2)
Cars and driving
West of Dotsero, I-70 dives into spectacular Glenwood Canyon
At Eagle County's western edge near Dotsero, I-70 drops into Glenwood Canyon, a stunning steep-walled drive along the Colorado River that's worth timing right, since rockfall or storms can briefly close the interstate.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Shrine Pass Road connects Vail Pass to Red Cliff over a dirt route
Shrine Pass Road is a Forest Service dirt road from Vail Pass down to the town of Red Cliff, a scenic drive in summer whose opening and closing shift with the seasons.
Read note ->Local rules (3)
Local rules
Outside the towns, Eagle County's rules are the ones that apply
A lot of Eagle County land is unincorporated, which means county land use, building, and septic rules apply rather than a town's, and unincorporated does not mean unregulated.
Read note ->Local rules
Eagle County land use applications become public after initial review
Eagle County land use files go public once they pass initial review, opening materials, hearing dates, and a comment path to neighbors.
Read note ->History and culture (8)
History and culture
Camp Hale was where the 10th Mountain Division learned to fight in the snow
The Pando valley in southern Eagle County holds Camp Hale, the WWII training base for the Army's 10th Mountain Division and now part of a national monument.
Read note ->History and culture
Each summer, world orchestras play an open-air stage in Vail's Ford Park
The Bravo! Vail Music Festival brings acclaimed orchestras to the open-air Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail's Ford Park each summer.
Read note ->Nearby counties
Other Mountains counties — rules, rates, and districts shift across county lines.