Sundance Resort: a unique combination of skiing and culture in Utah
By Eileen Ogintz
Tribune Content Agency
Taking the Kids
Alessia Adriazola knows she’s one lucky vacationer. It’s not that she got a free trip somewhere, it’s that her experience at Sundance Resort in Utah was just as wonderful a few weeks ago as she remembered when she was an exchange student in Utah from Italy some 25 years ago.
“I wanted my husband and kids to see why I loved this place so much,” said Adriazola, now a military wife and mom of twins living in San Diego. “It was my favorite place,” she explained.
Certainly, it isn’t a given for a vacation spot to elicit the same happy memories many years later, but Sundance Resort, just an hour from Salt Lake City, has had the same mission since Robert Redford bought the land in 1969 to prevent development in the valley. Redford’s first wife was from nearby Provo, and he had fallen in love with this valley and built a simple house here before he became famous. From the beginning, he aimed “to develop a little and preserve a great deal.” The Redford family owned the resort until 2020 and still have homes here. Redford died last year. The Sundance Film Festival had its roots here, and the mission has remained the same.
“People come here to connect with the land and the land in turn inspires the creative spirit,” suggests Megan Ah You who oversees the Art Studio and its programs. The studio, in fact, is moving this spring to a far more visible location next to the brand-new 63-room Inn at Sundance Resort where Redford’s movie memorabilia, even a 1971 motorbike, is displayed., There are also some 90 well-appointed cottages, ideal for families, scattered in the trees. Guests are encouraged to leave their cars and either walk on the pathways or take advantage of the complimentary resort shuttles to get around, leaving their ski gear at the base. (Inn rates start at just under $1, 000, cottages less. Some guests also find more affordable lodging in nearby Provo, home of Brigham Young University.)
“This is the only snow resort where you can make pottery or watch glass blowing at the base of a ski resort,” says Nick Como, the Sundance Resort executive who oversees marketing. He joked that half the guests probably don’t even ski. That number might be higher this year with the s now drought impacting ski areas across the West.
You can take classes here in everything from jewelry making to pottery to painting – there are hour-long classes for young children 3 to 6, watch the local artists in residence create their work and purchase works made by the instructors. Take home a glass witches bowl, and hang it in the window for good luck and to ward off evil spirits. You can also gift your family ceramic mugs made here and imprinted with the resort’s most popular runs, some named for Redford’s iconic movies like “The Sting”.
Later this winter, assuming there is more snow, 60 more acres, including a new 1,800-vertical-foot ridge run, Storyteller, are expected to open. The Electric Horseman lift is expected to debut next season on the back mountain offering an additional 105 acres of terrain. The year-old Mountain Camp Day Lodge and parking lot only reduces crowds at the base but makes the Snowsports School here easily accessible.
Como noted that the inn could have been double the size, but the idea was to maintain the intimacy of the resort, reminiscent of a European ski lodge, complete with a “Living Room” that serves a robust continental breakfast and is ideal for those who need to work. It’s a great place to cozy up by the fireplace with a good book, too.
Families love Sundance because it is small and not frenetic and crowded like major Utah resorts. (No lift lines, wide open slopes, though more snow is desperately needed here as across the entire western United States right now.) There is also night skiing several evenings a week.
“We like the small-town feel,” said Jenny Copeland, here with her family from Chicago. “There were just my two daughters in their ski class,” boasted her sister, Michelle Monhaut, noting the cost was a lot less than at the Park City resorts.
“You get a lot more bang for your buck,” agreed her husband, Jacob Monhaut.
“It’s easy to navigate and great with kids,” said Shannon Jones, stopping for a break with two 4-year-olds and her brother.
There are heated pools and a spa that has been voted among the top ones in the world by Vogue. (We enjoyed a fantastic pre-Valentine’s hot stone couples massage.)
In summer and fall, people come to hike, mountain bike, zipline (the third longest in the US), horseback ride and flyfish. There are concerts in winter as well as later in the year, one series produced with the famous Blue Bird Café in Nashville. The resort boasts the longest summer season in Utah, from Memorial Day until Halloween and those coming from sea level will be comforted to know that the base is just 6,000 feet above ski level and the summit 8,200 feet – considerably lower than other major snow resorts in the West.
Besides the spa and fitness center, there are daily yoga classes, sound bath healing sessions, Pilates classes, even après post-slope recovery stretching rituals designed to ease tired muscles.
There is a focus on locally sourced food here, as well. All of the tabletops at the Tree Room – the building was constructed around a live tree – have been sourced from a single tree. Think bison short ribs, tagliatelle with prosciutto and mushroom Alfredo.
The kid-friendly Foundry Grill is known for its steaks and Sunday brunch (order the Parmesan rolls). The portions were so big we were more than satisfied with sharing.
And the Owl Bar, named for the one the real Butch Cassidy frequented in Wyoming, features the restored 1890s bar that was moved here in 1994. There is live music, terrific burgers, loaded tots, fried pickles and local brews.
Alessia Adriazola and her family, meanwhile, are already talking about a return visit next year. “It’s absolutely the same feeling here,” she said.
That would make Robert Redford proud.
(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)
©2026 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.