Sundance Mountain Resort

The Escape

Every summer there comes a point where the smart move is simply to leave the valley for a few days — and this year, we pointed the car toward Utah.

Founded by Robert Redford in 1969 on the principle of “develop a little, preserve a lot,” Sundance Mountain Resort sits beneath the 12,000-foot silhouette of Mount Timpanogos, tucked into 5,000 protected acres of Provo Canyon. It's an easy drive from Salt Lake, but it feels a world away from anywhere — part ski mountain, part artist's retreat, part nature conservancy. We came for the cool air and the quiet. We stayed for the history.

A Piece of the Old West

The historic Owl Bar

Where an 1890s outlaw haunt found a second life

The highlight, for me, was the Owl Bar — and the story behind it is even better than the drinks. The bar itself is the original 1890s Rosewood Bar, which began its life not in Utah but in a rough saloon in Thermopolis, Wyoming, where it served as a watering hole for Butch Cassidy and his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.

Decades later, Redford discovered it in a Wyoming biker bar — buried under Formica and shag carpet — bought it, and spent roughly eighteen months restoring it before hauling the pieces down to Sundance in the mid-90s. Look closely and you can still find the original bullet holes in the wood. Today it's a cozy, low-ceilinged mountain tavern with a stone fireplace, a streamside patio, and live music on select nights. You are, quite literally, having a drink at the same bar the Wild Bunch once bellied up to.

Where We Stayed

A first night at The Inn

The resort's first new hotel in over half a century

We stayed at The Inn — and the timing felt a little lucky. Opened in early 2026, it's the resort's only hotel and its first new lodging development since Redford broke ground on Sundance itself. Set at the base of the Outlaw Express lift, it spans two wings joined by a footbridge over the North Fork Provo River, and true to the founding ethos, nothing rises above the surrounding trees. The mountain, not the building, stays the star.

Inside, it's warm and quietly luxurious — natural woods, a saturated forest palette, local art on every wall, and a genuine sense that each detail was considered. The rooms were designed with a sleep specialist: crisp cotton sheets, humidifiers for the dry mountain air, blackout shades, and a window seat made for morning coffee with the summit right outside. Mornings start with a complimentary European-style breakfast in the Living Room lounge, and a short walk away, The Springs — a tucked-away trio of soaking pools, a sauna, and a cold plunge — is the correct way to end a day on the trails.

Between Meals

Air, altitude, and trails

Sundance keeps more than ten miles of alpine trails, and in summer the lifts run for scenic rides and mountain biking rather than skiing. We hiked, we breathed actual cool air, and we did a fair amount of pleasant nothing on the porch. If you want the postcard, the trail toward Stewart Falls delivers it. If you want to do less, the wrap-around decks and the sound of the creek are a complete itinerary on their own.