Guide

What to Do in Boulder During Sundance (Winter Guide)

Published June 2026 · Updated July 2026

The festival is packed, but you'll want breaks between films. Boulder is compact, walkable, and made for it — here's how to spend the in-between hours in January.

Stroll the Pearl Street Mall

The four-block pedestrian Pearl Street Mall is the heart of downtown: independent shops, bookstores, cafes, street performers (weather permitting), and dozens of restaurants and bars within a short walk of several festival venues.

Warm up indoors

Museum of Boulder — local history and rotating exhibits, a few blocks off Pearl.
CU Boulder — the Fiske Planetarium and CU Art Museum are on campus near several venues.
Boulder Public Library — the main branch (a festival venue) sits on Boulder Creek and is a pleasant place to warm up and work.

Boulder's beer & coffee scene

Boulder is a craft-beer town: Avery Brewing, Upslope, Sanitas Brewing, and the historic Mountain Sun are all local favorites. For coffee, Boxcar, Ozo, and Trident are Boulder staples. See our dining guide for more.

Relax & recover

Altitude plus long film days can wear you out. Boulder has excellent spas and hot-yoga studios, and the St Julien and Boulderado hotels have well-regarded spas open to visitors — worth booking ahead during festival week.

January in Boulder is cold and can be snowy, but it's often sunny. Dress in layers, hydrate for the altitude (~5,400 ft downtown, higher on trails), and check event hours during festival week.