By the Research Editor · Published August 21, 2026 · Updated August 21, 2026

Sundance 2027 Parking in Boulder: Where to Park and What to Avoid

What is confirmed, planned, and still pending

The best strategy for most drivers: park once

Sundance 2027 venues sit across several zones: downtown and Pearl Street, the CU Boulder campus, the Dairy Arts Center and Cinemark Century Boulder near Twenty Ninth Street, Chautauqua, and Boulder High School and Casey Middle School. That footprint is compact compared with the former Park City layout, but it is still too spread out to assume every move will be a five-minute walk.

The City’s own guidance is straightforward: use a garage or a Park-n-Ride, leave the car there, and cover the rest of the day with buses, walking, rideshare, or a shared e-bike or e-scooter. Most visitors staying downtown or near CU Boulder should also ask whether they need to drive at all; our getting around Boulder guide covers DEN airport buses and local transit.

Downtown Boulder garages

City garages are the most predictable option for parking in central Boulder for more than an hour. As of the City’s latest published list:

These are locations, not Sundance reservations. Festival demand could fill them early, and the City has not promised that any garage will be held specifically for ticket holders.

Current standard garage rates

Confirmed baseline, per the City of Boulder, not a special Sundance price:

• Monday–Friday, 1st–6th hour: $1.75 per hour
• 6th–12th hour: $15.00 flat rate
• Enter and exit between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m.: $3.00 flat rate
• Weekends and City holidays: free at City of Boulder downtown garages
• Service fee: $0.99 on paid garage transactions

The weekend-free rule does not apply to the Depot Square garage at 3183 Pearl St, which charges $1.25 per hour ($25 24-hour maximum) seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. Recheck rates before you travel; the City updates them periodically.

On-street parking: fine for short stops, risky for a festival day

Confirmed Boulder’s on-street spaces cost $2.00–$3.50 per hour depending on the block ($2.00 for accessible spaces), enforced 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday–Saturday. Parking is free on Sundays and City holidays. The City also offers 15 minutes free, once per day per license plate, but you still need to start a session at the pay station or in the ParkMobile app.

On-street parking is a poor primary plan for a day with two or three screenings. Posted time limits still apply, meter feeding is prohibited, and moving the car to reset the clock can cost you the buffer you need for lines, weather, and venue entry. For anything longer than an hour, use a garage or a Park-n-Ride.

RTD Park-n-Rides to know

The final Sundance transit plan will determine which Park-n-Rides matter most during festival week. These current RTD facilities already connect to Boulder routes:

Confirmed RTD says in-district vehicles park free for the first 24 hours at these facilities, then $2 per day; out-of-district vehicles pay $4 per day from the start. RTD determines district status from the vehicle’s registration address. These facilities are planning candidates for festival week, not a promise that every current route or fare will hold; the City says transit agencies plan added capacity, with final details to follow.

Parking by festival zone

Downtown and Pearl Street

Use a City garage and walk or take local transit. Do not circle Boulder Theater, Hotel Boulderado, eTown Hall, or Casey Middle School hoping for a venue lot; the City says most festival venues do not have their own parking. The 11th & Spruce, 14th & Walnut, and 15th & Pearl garages are the most relevant current facilities for this cluster, depending on your destination.

CU Boulder campus

Campus parking rules and any festival allocation have not been published. If your screening is at Macky Auditorium, Roe Green Theatre, Muenzinger Auditorium, or Old Main, do not assume a normal university visitor lot will operate as a festival lot. A Park-n-Ride or a downtown garage plus transit may be more reliable until CU Boulder publishes event instructions.

Dairy Arts Center and Cinemark Century Boulder

This cluster sits near the Twenty Ninth Street commercial area, which has substantial parking capacity. Retail parking is not automatically all-day festival parking, though. Follow posted limits and wait for the final festival map before leaving a vehicle in a private commercial lot for several screenings.

Chautauqua Auditorium

Planned Chautauqua sits apart from the downtown and campus clusters. The City has said it plans a Chautauqua Connector shuttle during the festival, but final stops, hours, and parking arrangements are still pending. Do not build a January plan around the summer Park-to-Park shuttle; that is a separate seasonal service tied to Chautauqua’s summer paid on-street parking, not the festival.

Boulder High School and Casey Middle School

These schools are confirmed venues, but their festival entrances, drop-off zones, and parking rules are not yet public. Neighborhood streets may be restricted or permit-controlled. Use the official venue instructions once released rather than treating surrounding residential blocks as overflow parking.

Accessible parking and mobility

Confirmed Boulder provides signed accessible spaces on downtown streets and in public garages for vehicles displaying a valid placard or license plate. On-street accessible spaces cost $2 per hour, the same enforcement hours as standard on-street parking; the fine for parking in a reserved accessible space without a valid placard is $112 on-street and $200 in a City parking garage. The City also says local and regional buses are wheelchair accessible, with ramps or lifts, priority seating, and audible stop announcements.

What is not yet final is just as important: Sundance-specific accessible drop-off points, reserved allocations near each theater, entrance routes, and Chautauqua Connector accessibility details. Visitors who need the shortest possible route should wait for venue-level access instructions before choosing a garage based on a map alone.

Five parking mistakes to avoid

1. Driving between every screening. A nearby venue on a map can still mean a full garage, a queue, and a long winter walk from the space you find.
2. Assuming your venue has a lot. The City explicitly says most festival venues do not have associated parking.
3. Treating a retail lot as public festival parking. Follow private-lot signs and time limits, even when a shopping area looks like it has plenty of spaces.
4. Using a normal timetable as a festival promise. Extra transit service is planned, but final January routes and late-night departures are still pending.
5. Forgetting the last leg after an evening screening. Your daytime bus may stop running before a late Q&A ends. Keep a rideshare or safe-walking backup; see our getting around guide for late-night transit options.

Frequently asked questions

Will Sundance 2027 have free parking?

No festival-wide free-parking promise has been announced. Under standard City rules, downtown City of Boulder garages are free on weekends and holidays, but the Depot Square garage charges seven days a week, and festival-specific changes are still possible. Some RTD Park-n-Rides give in-district vehicles 24 hours of free parking; out-of-district vehicles pay $4 a day from the start.

Can I park at the theater where my film is screening?

Do not count on it. The City says most festival venues do not have associated parking. Use the park-once plan and wait for venue-specific instructions.

Which garage is closest to Boulder Theater?

The 11th & Spruce garage is a practical current downtown option, and 14th & Walnut connects directly to the RTD bus station. Availability during festival week is not guaranteed, so check the City’s live parking map before arriving.

Should I rent a car for Sundance Boulder?

Usually not if you are staying in downtown Boulder or near the CU Boulder venue cluster. A car makes more sense for visitors staying in Longmont, Broomfield, Denver, or elsewhere in the region, but even those visitors should plan to park once and take transit into the festival footprint.

Is the HOP bus free during Sundance 2027?

The City of Boulder says it plans to make HOP-route rides free for Festival attendees, with service hours extended to match the festival schedule. Final eligibility, stops, and hours are still pending, and SKIP and JUMP are not part of that stated plan. See our getting around Boulder guide for the full transit breakdown.

Before you drive: final checklist

• Open the City of Boulder public parking map.
• Confirm whether your planned garage uses the gateless Metropolis system (all six downtown garages do).
• Check the City and Sundance transport pages for temporary festival restrictions.
• Check your final screening’s end time against the last practical transit option.
• Save a rideshare backup for late-night or severe-weather conditions.
• Recheck the forecast and CDOT road conditions if snow is possible.

Continue planning with the Sundance 2027 venues guide, the getting around Boulder guide, the where to stay guide, and the complete 2027 guide.

Sources

• City of Boulder: Getting Around Boulder for Sundance
• City of Boulder: City Parking Garages (rates, locations, space counts)
• City of Boulder: Parking & Access Management (on-street rates, accessible parking fines)
• City of Boulder Public Parking Map
• RTD Denver: Park-n-Ride parking fee policy
• RTD: US 36 / Table Mesa facility
• RTD: 27th Way / Broadway facility
• RTD: Boulder Junction at Depot Square facility
• City of Boulder / Visit Boulder: Sundance Film Festival FAQs (free HOP plan)
• Visit Boulder: Sundance information for businesses (park-once guidance)

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