In 1969 Robert Redford played the leading roles of the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Ritchie in Downhill Racer. That same year he combined both personas off camera in his own version of Sundance.  After falling in love with the land tucked under breathtaking 12,000-foot Mount Timpanogos in Utah’s Wasatch Range, he purchased the small ski resort of Timphaven that had operated since 1944 with one chair lift, a rope tow and a burger joint named Ki-Te-Kai, Maori for “Come and get it!”

Rejecting advice from New York investors to fill the beautiful canyon with an explosion of lucrative hotels and condominiums, Redford saw his newly acquired land as an ideal locale for environmental conservation, artistic experimentation, and yes – some downhill racing. Although the evolution over the following four decades of experimentation and refinement has ultimately defined Sundance, it is the majestic natural surroundings that continue to inspire.

Today, those who experience Sundance discover a resort that is framed in the same serenity that the Ute Indians found as they retreated to the area centuries ago intertwined with the creative present of world-renowned artistic endeavors including the Sundance Institute and Film Festival, the Sundance Preserve, the Sundance Channel and the Sundance Catalog. Sundance offers the unique ability to blend process and place resulting in an unmatched resort experience with artistic, environmental and recreational opportunities for every guest, family and group.

Since Sundance’s humble beginnings in 1969, Robert Redford has allowed the creative process to unfold leading to what is now a world-class destination resort. Listed in Conde Nast Traveler’s Fifteenth Annual 2009 Gold List, ranked ninth in the magazine’s 2008 Top 50 Best Places to Ski and Staym second for the 2008 Gold List Best of Food, named one of the top ten resorts for environmental practices by SpaFinder readers, and the resort stayed true to Redford’s original vision as it also ranks third in the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition for Environmental Stewardship. 

As Sundance reflects on 40 years of art, nature and recreation, guests enjoy the inspired path the years have taken. The year-round lodging, dining, conference facilities, spa, art shack, nature center and mountain recreation opportunities intertwine with a full calendar of events to make Sundance a place to celebrate.