January 21 – 31, 2027 • Boulder, Colorado
THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
Guide to Boulder
Rental Regulations • Tickets • Economic Impact • Dining • Real Estate
The 2027 Sundance Film Festival runs January 21 through January 31 in Boulder, Colorado, marking the festival's first year in its new permanent home after 40 years in Park City, Utah. The 11-day festival will use 11 screening theaters and 4 talk venues across downtown Boulder and the CU Boulder campus.
Boulder created a new Festival Lodging Rental License ($190 application fee) that allows homeowners to rent their property for up to 29 days during festival periods, even if it is not their primary residence. Properties in unincorporated Boulder County and the Town of Lyons follow different, often more restrictive rules.
The total incentive package bringing Sundance to Boulder was approximately $70 million ($34M local, $34M state tax credits). The festival generated $196 million in economic impact in its final Utah year (2025) with over 85,000 attendees. Colorado projects over $2 billion in cumulative impact over the 10-year agreement.
Tickets are not yet on sale for 2027. Based on prior years, packages go on sale in October and single tickets (~$35) in mid-January. festival.sundance.org
Last updated March 2026
In March 2025, the Sundance Institute selected Boulder as the permanent new home for its annual film festival, ending a four-decade run in Park City, Utah. Boulder is the new location for Sundance starting in 2027. The 10-year agreement brings one of the most recognized cultural events in the world to Colorado's Front Range, beginning January 2027.
The decision followed a national search that also considered Cincinnati and a continued partnership with Salt Lake City. Sundance cited Boulder's proximity to the Rocky Mountains, its established arts and tech community, the CU Boulder campus, and the city's walkable downtown as deciding factors. Robert Redford, who founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, attended the University of Colorado from 1954 to 1956.
The relocation was backed by a combined incentive package of nearly $70 million over 10 years. A coalition of the City of Boulder, Visit Boulder, the Boulder Chamber, and CU Boulder committed $34 million in direct support. Separately, Governor Jared Polis signed HB25-1005 in April 2025, authorizing an additional $34 million in state tax credits for qualifying film festivals that relocate to Colorado.
This is not a one-year event. Boulder is now the home of Sundance for the foreseeable future. If you own property in Boulder County, that matters.
Screenings, panels, conversations, and events will be spread across downtown Boulder, the CU Boulder campus, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Boedecker Theater (Dairy Arts Center), Boulder High School Auditorium, Boulder Theater, Casey Middle School Auditorium, Chautauqua Auditorium, Cinemark Century Boulder, eTown Hall, Gordon Gamm Theater (Dairy Arts Center), Macky Auditorium (CU Boulder), Muenzinger Auditorium (CU Boulder), Roe Green Theatre (CU Boulder).
Canyon Theater (Boulder Public Library), Dairy Arts Center, eTown Hall, Old Main (CU Boulder).
Sundance is one of the largest annual cultural events in the United States. The economic footprint is substantial and, for Boulder, arrives during January, traditionally the slowest month for tourism and local business.
In its final year in Utah (2025), the festival generated approximately $196 million in economic impact with over 85,000 in-person attendees. The prior year's figures showed 72,840 unique in-person attendees, 24,200 out-of-state visitors who spent an average of $4,411 each, and $132 million in total economic impact including $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue.
Colorado officials project the festival will generate over $2 billion in cumulative economic impact for the state across the 10-year agreement. The state also expects $16 million in net new tax revenue over and above the $34 million tax credit provided to the festival.
For Boulder specifically: The festival is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors in a month when Boulder's tourism is typically at its lowest. The gap between demand and hotel capacity is exactly what creates the opportunity for residential property owners.
Beyond the direct economic numbers, the festival puts Boulder in front of national and international media every January. Creative-industry professionals who have never been to Colorado will come here first for Sundance. Some of them will come back. That kind of sustained visibility changes how a place is perceived, and it will influence visitor traffic and real estate interest well beyond the festival window.
Hotel capacity in Boulder will not come close to meeting demand. Private home rentals are expected to fill the gap, and Boulder has created a new licensing framework specifically for this purpose. But the rules differ dramatically depending on where your property sits.
The festival's 11-day window (plus setup and wind-down periods) creates a concentrated burst of rental demand. In Park City, homeowners regularly earned 3 to 5 times their normal nightly rate during Sundance, with some covering a full year of mortgage payments from the festival period alone. Boulder's market will find its own pricing level, but the demand dynamics are similar.
The critical first step for any property owner: determine your jurisdiction. The rules for a home inside Boulder city limits are different from a property in unincorporated Boulder County, which are different again from a home inside the Town of Lyons or the City of Longmont. Each municipality sets its own short-term rental regulations.
Start now, not later. Licensing applications take time. The best corporate bookings happen well in advance. Properties that are prepared, licensed, and listed early will capture the most demand. If you are considering participating, the time to begin the process is today.
Colorado has no statewide short-term rental law. Boulder short-term rental rules are set locally, and they vary widely across the Boulder County area.
Note: Regulations are evolving rapidly. Always verify current requirements directly with the relevant licensing office before listing a property. This summary reflects publicly available information as of March 2026 and is not legal advice.
Boulder has created two pathways for short-term festival rentals.
Key neighborhoods: Downtown (walkable to Pearl Street and most venues), University Hill (close to CU screening spaces), Chautauqua (scenic, near the auditorium), Whittier (quiet, walkable), Mapleton Hill (large homes, historic character).
Separate system: Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting.
STR Ordinance (2018). No festival lodging exemption.
Lyons and Sundance: Seventeen miles from downtown Boulder, along the scenic corridor to Estes Park. Visitors looking for a quieter, mountain-town experience may seek lodging here. Watch for updates from the Board of Trustees.
The Sundance Film Festival is open to the public. Tickets for the 2027 Boulder debut are not yet on sale, but the purchasing process follows a well-established pattern.
| Type | What You Get | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Single Film Tickets | One screening. ~$35 in 2025. | Mid-January. General public. |
| Ticket Packages | 10-ticket bundles with early screening selection. | October. Members first. |
| Passes | Multi-day access. Priority entry. | Limited. Donors/members first. |
| Day-of Waitlist | Standby access to sold-out screenings. | During festival. |
Official tickets: festival.sundance.org. Visitor planning: Visit Boulder. Campus details: CU Boulder.
Boulder has over 400 restaurants and several MICHELIN Guide-recognized spots. Pearl Street was named one of the 10 Best Foodie Streets in America by Food and Wine. Most of the places worth knowing source locally and change their menus with the season. A few to start with:
Co-founded by master sommelier Bobby Stuckey and chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson. The wine program alone is worth the reservation. frascafoodandwine.com
Wood-fired steaks and a rooftop that looks straight at the Flatirons. One of the best views in town. Full write-up in the Dinner with a View section below.
Run by Top Chef winner Hosea Rosenberg. A restaurant and working butcher shop sourced from Colorado ranchers. blackbelly.com
Chef Steve Redzikowski builds a menu around the wood-fire oven. A local favorite. oakatfourteenth.com
Taiwanese beef noodle soup and pork bao. Started as a tiny noodle joint, earned a James Beard nod. zoemama.com
A gift from Boulder's sister city in Tajikistan. Handmade ceramic tiles, carved cedar columns, a menu that spans continents. Nothing else like it. boulderteahouse.com
Behind a condo building, easy to miss, impossible to forget. Sourdough from Dry Storage next door. bastaboulder.com
On Pearl Street since 1994. Colorado's first Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch certified restaurant. The raw bar is serious. Monday happy hour is an institution. Loud, no pretense, three million oysters shucked and counting. jaxfishhouse.com
Sister to the original in Aspen. Housed in an early-1900s building with Carrara marble bar, velvet seats, and a fireplace centerpiece. Prime bone-in filet, cowboy ribeye, bison. The tableside Caesar is the move. Open nightly from 4:30. steakhouse316.com
Brunch: Snooze on Pearl Street is the default. Show up early or expect a wait. Bramble and Hare and Lucile's are strong alternatives.
Full directory: Visit Boulder's Pearl Street restaurant guide.
Boulder's dining scene does not stop at the table. Several of the best restaurants in town put the Flatirons, the city lights, or both directly in front of you.
Built into the mountainside at 6,000 feet. The Monette family has run this restaurant since 1971. Seasonal tasting menus, a 16,000-bottle wine cellar, and a panoramic view of Boulder that gets better after dark. Forbes Four Star. Wine Spectator Grand Award every year since 1983. Reserve well in advance. flagstaffhouse.com
Fourth-floor rooftop with a direct line to the Flatirons. Dry-aged steaks, wood-fired seafood, a gin-and-tonic cart. The winter alpenglobes on the patio are one of the better cold-weather dining experiences in Colorado. Tapas hour from 3 to 5 PM is the way to go if you want the view without the full commitment. corridarestaurant.com
Six rotating food stalls and a rooftop bar with nearly 360-degree views. Detroit-style pizza, bao buns, Mediterranean bowls, tacos. The vibe is loud, social, and unpretentious. A good place to end up after a screening without a reservation. The rooftop is open year-round. avantifandb.com
A Pearl Street fixture since 1987. Burgers, burnt ends, skillet cornbread with honey butter. The rooftop sits hidden among surrounding buildings but still delivers a clear line to the Flatirons. Extensive bourbon list. No pretense. The kind of place where you stay longer than you planned. thewestendtavern.com
Note: Flagstaff House is typically closed the first week of January. Confirm hours before the festival. Corrida and Avanti are reliable for walk-in rooftop access during the week.
The festival runs 11 days. You will not be watching films every waking hour. Here are 10 things to do in Boulder in January between screenings.
The 1.2-mile Chautauqua Trail is manageable in winter boots. For a harder climb, the Royal Arch Trail rewards with a sandstone arch framing the city below. chautauqua.com
Four blocks of pedestrian-only downtown. Independent shops, galleries, street performers. January means fewer crowds and winter lights. boulderdowntown.com
Twenty-one miles from downtown. Ten lifts, every level. RTD Ski-N-Ride bus runs from Boulder. A half-day between screenings is doable. eldora.com
Avery, Upslope, Finkel and Garf, Mountain Sun. All within city limits. January is a good time to be indoors with a stout.
Over 45 kilometers of groomed trails. Equipment rentals available. Indian Peaks views the whole way. eldora.com/nordic
Disassembled in Tajikistan, shipped across the world, rebuilt by hand. Carved cedar, hand-painted ceilings, a reflecting pool inside. Lunch here is an experience. boulderteahouse.com
Paved trail through the center of town. Flat, easy, scenic in any season. Good for clearing your head between screenings. boulder creek path
Fifteen minutes south. Towering sandstone walls, a creek through the canyon floor. The views from the road alone justify it. cpw.state.co.us
One of the most advanced planetariums in the country, right on campus between festival venues. colorado.edu/fiske
Seventeen miles north. A small sandstone town at the confluence of two forks of the St. Vrain. Good restaurants, a walkable downtown, a quieter pace. If Boulder feels busy during the festival, Lyons will feel like the opposite. I can tell you more about it. lyonscolorado.com
Getting around: Boulder plans to offer free bus transit on the HOP route and up to 5,000 shared e-bike passes during the festival. Most venues are walkable. For Eldora, take the RTD bus. For Eldorado Canyon or Lyons, you need a car.
Boulder is not a ski town. It is a town where you can ski in the morning and make a 4 PM screening. If you are looking for skiing near Boulder, Eldora is 35 minutes from downtown. The Summit County resorts and Winter Park are a manageable day trip. No other Sundance host city has offered this.
Boulder's backyard mountain. 680 acres, 10 lifts, terrain from beginner greens to Corona Bowl double blacks. RTD runs a Ski-N-Ride bus from Boulder so you do not need a car. Half-day laps between screenings are realistic. The Nordic Center has 40+ kilometers of groomed cross-country and snowshoe trails. eldora.com
Colorado's longest continually operated ski resort. 3,000+ acres, 166 trails, seven territories. The drive goes through Boulder Canyon, Nederland, and over Berthoud Pass. Scenic, not congested. A full day trip, but doable if you plan around evening screenings. winterparkresort.com
On the Continental Divide, just before the Eisenhower Tunnel. 1,800 acres across two areas (Loveland Valley and Loveland Basin), free snowcat skiing, no resort village markup. The most snow of any Front Range-accessible area. Free parking. A no-frills mountain for people who just want to ski. skiloveland.com
The I-70 corridor resorts. Big mountains, big terrain, but the drive is weather-dependent and weekend traffic on I-70 can be unpredictable. Leave early, come back late, and check CDOT conditions before you go. Weekday trips during the festival will be far easier than weekends. breckenridge.com
I-70 warning: Weekend ski traffic on I-70 westbound can double or triple drive times to Summit County. The Eisenhower Tunnel is a bottleneck. Traction laws apply in winter. Eldora and Winter Park avoid I-70 entirely. For festival visitors on a tight schedule, those two are the safest bets.
Boulder has roughly 4,800 hotel rooms within 10 miles of the festival footprint, with more than 5,000 expected by January 2027. Demand will outpace supply. Book early or explore short-term rental options through the licensed platforms below.
Boulder's top full-service hotel. Spa, restaurant, rooftop terrace, and a location two blocks from Pearl Street. Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. This will book out fast. stjulien.com
Victorian landmark one block from Pearl Street. Stained glass canopy in the lobby, License No. 1 speakeasy in the basement. Ask for a room in the historic wing. boulderado.com
Outdoor-lifestyle hotel near Pearl Street and campus. Climbing wall, hot tub, fire pits, free parking. Younger energy. A good fit for festival visitors who do not need a spa. basecampboulder.com
Two-room suites, free breakfast, evening reception. Rooftop pool. Mountain-view suites face the Flatirons directly. Walking distance to CU venues. hilton.com
Cottages and lodge rooms at the base of the Flatirons. The only continuously operating Chautauqua west of the Mississippi and a National Historic Landmark. Walking distance to the Chautauqua Auditorium screening venue. Reserve months in advance. chautauqua.com
Overflow options: Neighboring Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, and Broomfield will absorb significant demand. Short-term rentals via Airbnb and VRBO will fill the gap between hotel capacity and festival attendance. If you are a property owner considering renting, see the Rental Guide above.
Full lodging directory: Visit Boulder's lodging guide.
Most festival venues are within a 15-minute walk of each other. Boulder is a compact, bikeable city with a transit system built for a car-free day. Getting to Boulder from Denver airport takes about 45 minutes by car and roughly an hour by bus.
January weather: Expect daytime highs in the low 40s and overnight lows in the teens. Dry cold, intense sun at 5,430 feet. Dress in layers. Sunscreen matters even in winter. If you are heading to Eldora (9,200 feet), altitude can affect visitors from sea level. Hydrate, take it easy the first day, and give yourself time to adjust.
Sundance does not stay inside the theater. A globally recognized annual event reshapes how people see a place, and that reshaping shows up in property values, buyer interest, and rental income.
In Park City, the festival directly influenced the housing market over four decades. Short-term rental income during festival weeks became a real factor in what people were willing to pay for homes. Values in walkable, centrally located neighborhoods reflected that demand.
Boulder's dynamics are different. It is not a resort town, and its economy is anchored by the university, the tech sector, and the federal labs. That diversified base makes it more resilient than a market dependent on tourism and seasonal events alone. But the Sundance effect will still register.
Supplemental rental income. For homeowners in walkable neighborhoods, the festival window represents a real income opportunity. A well-managed rental during the 11-day festival could generate multiples of a normal January rental, repeated annually.
Broader market visibility. Tens of thousands of visitors will see Boulder for the first time. Some are high-net-worth individuals, creative professionals, and industry executives. Some will come back to buy property.
Surrounding communities benefit too. Visitors who cannot find or afford lodging in central Boulder will look outward. Lyons, Longmont, Louisville, and the mountain corridors all stand to benefit.
If you want to understand what Sundance means for your property or your neighborhood, I can help you think it through. That is a conversation worth having now, not in December.
If you want to know what Sundance means for your property, your rental potential, or your neighborhood, I can help. That is a conversation worth having now.
Contact Laura Levy#1 Coldwell Banker Realty Agent in Colorado • Global Luxury Property Specialist • Official Realtor of the Colorado Buffaloes
303.931.8080