BOULDER, November 9, 2026 — Boulder is rolling out a new “BoulderWise” signage campaign to manage the impact of visitors ahead of the Sundance Film Festival, which is expected to draw roughly 50,000 people to the city from January 21 to 31. The posters and pamphlets, which will appear around town and inside Airbnbs and hotel rooms, distill seven principles designed to align tourist behavior with local expectations.
The Calculus of Crowds
The initiative reflects a strategic calculation by a city of 108,250 residents that sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains and serves as a primary gateway to outdoor recreation. Boulder’s population makes it Colorado’s 12th-largest city, but the permanent relocation of the Sundance Film Festival to Boulder starting in 2027 fundamentally alters the calculus of visitor management. The festival is no longer a periodic surge; it is a permanent fixture on the calendar, intensifying the pressure on trails, transit, and downtown corridors.
Partnership and Designation
The signage emerged from a collaboration between Visit Boulder, the city’s tourism agency, and Leave No Trace, the national nonprofit founded in Boulder 32 years ago. In October, Visit Boulder became the first tourism-destination organization to earn Leave No Trace’s “gold standard designation,” a benchmark previously awarded to 70 parks, resorts, and educational programs, including seven national parks. The designation required Visit Boulder to demonstrate a shared vision with the city, the state, the University of Colorado, and Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, including a transportation plan featuring hiker shuttles to trailheads such as Colorado Chautauqua, Hessie Trailhead, and Eldorado Canyon State Park.
Targeting the Friction Points
The seven “BoulderWise” principles address specific behaviors that have sparked backlash from residents. They cover trash and recycling, reusable water bottles, trail etiquette, public-transit use, checking weather, and packing out toilet paper. One rule instructs hikers to step aside for uphill traffic and to take at least 70 steps off-trail when nature calls. A sixth principle, “cultivate kindness,” explicitly targets loud music on trails. “A heavy drum beat blaring from a portable speaker is the last thing I want to hear while I’m out running,” said Julie McHale, Visit Boulder’s marketing manager for visitor and community impact.
Early Reactions and Broader Stakes
Local officials view the signs as a low-cost, educational tool to complement broader regulatory measures. In the November 2026 election, voters approved a vacant-property tax—Issue 2J—with 58% support, imposing roughly $4,000 a year on residential properties empty for more than half the year. Revenue from that tax, set for collection starting in the 2028 fiscal year, will fund general city services. The same election saw voters reject a $400 million bond measure for aging facilities, signaling a reluctance for major capital borrowing even as the “Sundance effect” locks in higher visitor volumes for the decade ahead.
Sources
- New signs in Boulder will instruct Sundance and other visitors how to behave in town and in nature
- Boulder, Colorado
- City of Boulder Voters Support Three Ballot Measures in the Nov. 3, 2026 Election | City of Boulder
- University statement on Oct. 31 shooting
- Boulder’s 2026 election results: Who won, what passed and what failed
- Building Confidence to Live Well at the University of Colorado Boulder
Photo: sbeam (CC BY-SA 2.0)
