How one can Go Out (and Ski) in Style

With the Sundance Film Festival in its ultimate Utah season earlier than relocating to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027 — and Park City set to welcome the 2034 Winter Olympics — the ski city is at a momentous juncture. The Hollywood door closes, the sports activities door opens (and ain’t that the story of leisure today?).

Making this closing chapter all of the extra poignant is the current passing of fest founder and indie movie pioneer Robert Redford, who reworked Park City into a worldwide cultural vacation spot.  

“On a personal note, Mr. Redford’s vision ignited my own journey when I made my way to the Sundance fest for the first time in 1993,” says Eugene Hernandez, pageant director and head of programming. “The experience changed my life, so I join all of us who celebrate Utah and this dynamic home for independent, global storytelling that he built.”

This week’s cinematic celebration is essentially bittersweet. “I’m very sad to see the festival go,” says movie producer Steve Richards, whose movies have been featured on the fest. “To me, Park City and the Sundance Film Festival are in the DNA of one another, and I hope they cross paths again.” 

To benefit from the curtain name, Richards and fellow trade insiders, who’ve second houses in Park City, share their high suggestions for the place to remain, dine and play throughout Sundance and past. 

Ski Secret 

Despite an unusually sluggish begin to winter throughout the Western United States, current storms helped ship a stable base, giving option to open runs and uncrowded on-mountain eating, one of many pageant’s perks.  

“Main Street is packed during Sundance, and the slopes are empty,” says Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Meredith Marks. “The usually chaotic venues on the mountain in upper Deer Valley and Silver Lake become the peaceful, quiet spots, unless there happens to be a Sundance party.” 

If you’re squeezing in just a few runs pre- and post-premieres, there’s a lot to savor. Having greater than doubled in dimension, the skiers-only paradise, hailed for pristinely groomed terrain, underwent the most important enlargement in ski trade historical past. 

The East Village Express, a brand new 10-passenger gondola linking the East Village to Park Peak is debuting alongside six new chairlifts, together with the Pinyon Express, a contemporary heated bubble. With 31 lifts in whole, 202 designated runs together with the expansive “Dream” and almost five-mile “Green Monster,” together with 4,300 skiable acres, Deer Valley cements its standing because the mecca for powder hounds. And due to a brand new high-tech, automated snowmaking system (particularly helpful throughout this atypical winter), anticipate constant snow protection. 

Deer Valley East Village is the most recent hub and residential to the Grand Hyatt, with Four Seasons and different lodges slated to open in 2028. Easily accessible from Main Street, that is additionally one of many few spots the place Richards suggests for a last-minute lunch or dinner. “You have a better chance of getting into the bars and restaurants at Grand Hyatt than anywhere in or around Main Street.” 

Set mid-mountain, Stein Eriksen Lodge reigns because the gold customary. “Stein is an industry favorite and always fun for après ski and afternoon hangs,” says Tiffany Kuzon, Mosaic Talent Manager. Between the real alpine ambiance, ski-in/ski-out entry, ski butlers, and European fashion breakfast and lunch buffets, it’s a Hollywood mainstay. “The festival has been one of our most meaningful moments of the year to connect with our partners, from our home base at the iconic Stein Eriksen Lodge,” provides Kim Kelleher, CCO of AMC Networks. 

For Kuzon, Canyons Village has a particular attraction, too. “The secret is that it’s a little less crowded and there’s a village with shops and restaurants,” she says. “The Pendry is fun and Drafts at Westgate is great for burgers.”  

The enclave is a skier’s dream, leaning in the direction of intermediate and superior terrain together with just a few simple greens, breezy cruisers and a revamped youngsters and rookies space studded with magic carpets and kooky kid-centric eating at Red Pine Lodge. And with the new 10- passenger Sunrise Gondola, zipping as much as the motion is quicker than ever.  

Après + Main Street Musts 

The après scene spans from the Troll Hallen lounge at Stein Eriksen and Silver Lake’s nostalgic Sticky Wicket to the Vintage Room at St. Regis, the place uncooked bar delicacies and cocktails circulation amid essentially the most raise-the-roof vibe on the town.  

Marks provides up different must-visits on Main Street. “I love Kemo Sabe; I do the caviar for their events and buy lots of hats from them,” she says. A hybrid buying and social vacation spot, friends design customized cowboy hats and belts and may slip away for a toast inside their hidden speakeasy. 

Craving Japanese? Yuki Yama is her different go-to. “It’s always fab sushi,” she provides. The ambiance is intimate and buzzing, drawing locals, celebrities, and execs. 

Tinseltown Treasure 

Eager to commerce Main Street mayhem for a dose of serenity? Perched throughout 3,500 acres in Wanship, The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Collection is a mogul and Real Housewives-frequented hideaway 25 minutes from Park City. Along with new personal residences underway, the resort is internet hosting a Noah Cyrus live performance on February twenty seventh.

Whether between movie premieres or a post-Sundance reprieve, titans flock to the lodge for backcountry exploits like sporting clays, horseback using, axe-throwing, and fly fishing — or choose to be whisked off to the personal ski lounge. Decked with outsized sofas, selfmade cinnamon buns and a sizzling chocolate bar, it’s steps from a discreet Park City chairlift. Afterward, a High West whiskey therapeutic massage at Edge Spa or visiting the rescue horses at Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation awaits.