The short answer
If you are wondering where to stay for Sundance now that it has moved to Boulder, the honest answer is: wherever you can still get a room on a bus line. Boulder is a small city and festival week is not a normal week.
| If you want | Look at | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| To walk to screenings | Downtown Boulder and Pearl Street | Highest prices, least availability |
| To be near the campus venues | University Hill and the 28th Street corridor | Student-area noise on the Hill; chain hotels on 28th |
| A quieter base with a short commute | Louisville, Superior, Lafayette | You are on a bus or in a car every day |
| More rooms to choose from | Broomfield, Longmont, Westminster | Longer ride; plan around the bus schedule |
| A big-city trip with festival days | Denver | About 28 miles each way |
The area-by-area guide goes deeper on each of these.
Why lodging is tight: the numbers
- About 2,900 hotel rooms in Boulder, according to reporting by The Salt Lake Tribune.
- About 85,000 in-person attendees at the 2025 festival in Utah, spread across the event's run.
- 1,848 short-term and festival lodging licenses issued or pending in Boulder as of October 2026, per city officials quoted by Denver7.
- Some private homes were listed at more than $5,000 a night for festival week in mid-2026 reporting.
Local officials have said plainly that most attendees are likely to stay outside the city limits. That is not a problem so long as you pick your base with transportation in mind.
Your four options
1. Hotels
Hotels give you a front desk, predictable cancellation terms and, often, a shuttle or bus stop. Search by map view and sort by distance from downtown.
2. Vacation rentals
Boulder created a festival lodging license so residents can legally rent their homes during the event, and neighboring towns such as Louisville have launched or expanded their own short-term rental programs. For groups, a house can cost less per person than several hotel rooms.
3. The festival's own lodging page
The festival publishes partner hotel rates on its official site and has said more inventory will be released as the event approaches. Check it alongside the travel sites: official festival website.
4. Stay one town over
This is where the value is. Each of these has its own hotels or rentals and a way into Boulder that does not require parking downtown.
- LouisvilleAbout 10 miles. Historic main street, DASH bus.Hotels · Rentals
- SuperiorAbout 8 miles. Right on US 36 with a Flatiron Flyer stop.Hotels
- LafayetteAbout 12 miles. Small-town feel, DASH and JUMP buses.Hotels · Rentals
- BroomfieldAbout 14 miles. Business hotels along US 36.Hotels
- LongmontAbout 16 miles. More than 1,300 hotel rooms, BOLT bus.Hotels · Rentals
- WestminsterAbout 18 miles. Halfway to Denver on US 36.Hotels
- DenverAbout 28 miles. Flatiron Flyer from Union Station.Hotels · Expedia
- NederlandAbout 17 miles up Boulder Canyon. Mountain town, NB bus.Hotels · Rentals
Distances are approximate road miles to downtown Boulder. Check a map for your exact address.
Seven booking tips that save money or grief
- Book refundable first. Lock in something with free cancellation now, then keep looking. Inventory is still being released.
- Decide which half you are attending. World premieres run January 21–26. The festival sells a separate second-half ticket package for January 27–31, so a shorter, later trip is a real option.
- Find the bus before you find the bed. A cheaper room that needs a rental car and downtown parking is not cheaper. The city describes festival week as a park-once experience.
- Read the cancellation and minimum-stay terms. Festival-week listings often have stricter rules than the same property in February.
- Ask a rental host for the license number. Boulder requires a license for short-term and festival rentals. A licensed listing is less likely to be cancelled on you.
- Check the final price. Compare totals with taxes and cleaning fees, not nightly rates.
- Insure the trip. January weather can delay flights into Denver. See the travel insurance notes or compare policies.
Residents
Thinking about renting out your place, or putting up friends? The locals' guide covers both.
Information checked November 2026. Festival plans are still being finalized, so confirm anything time-sensitive on the official festival website.