Robert Redford is a retired actor and director, as well as the founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2002, was listed as one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in the world in 2014, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Robert Redford currently resides in Utah, home to his Sundance Institute. Redford and his wife have been living in their primary Utah residence for decades and have previously owned a popular estate in the wine country of California.
The actor, originally from Santa Monica, California, has always been in touch with nature and a fan of Native American art. As someone who frequently camped in the west, studied art in Florence, and attended school in New York, Redford truly fell in love with the peaceful environment and the solitude that was instilled in him when visiting the canyons on Utah. Nothing made him feel more at home.
Robert Redford’s Connection to Utah
As a young boy, Redford found himself in the “semi-wilderness” of Utah quite frequently. He would pass through the canyons on his way home to Los Angeles from ski trips in Colorado and even after college, Redford would come back to camp in the state.
It is no secret that Redford felt “at home” in Utah. As a lover of the outdoors, he tried surrounding himself with nature, no matter where he was. Before owning any property, his acting career was quickly gaining momentum and he dreamed of buying more land for his family in the place he felt so attached to. In 1961, he bought his first acre of land.
His breakthrough role, “The Sundance Kid” in 1969, allowed him to advance his riches and be able to acquire enough property to turn his vision of a resort into real life. After purchasing a few acres of land in the state for around $500, his dreams of establishing the Sundance Insitute were finally within his reach.
In 1969, Redford made Sundance into a ski area. The more roles the actor got, the more land he was able to acquire. By 1981, the Sundance Institute was founded. With three main event locations including Park City, Utah, the ski resort is one of the most popular locations for the Sundance Film Festival.
Redford did not want Sundance to become a huge construction disaster, and one of his priorities was maintaining an “outdoor, unmediated experience”. The canyon, Mount Timpanogos in Utah, was transformed into a beautiful, peaceful retreat, now called “The Sundance Mountain Resort”. It allowed people from all over the world to come to experience the stunning wilderness for themselves. This is where he spends most of his time.
Redford’s Primary Residence
Robert Redford stated in interviews that he has always been more of a mountain person than an ocean person. Although he built an estate in Napa Valley and previously owned another residence in Santa Fe, he has always considered Sundance his main home.
Because of his environmentalist nature, Redford’s home is a “plant-filled solar house” and has a classic cabin-like nature to it. The interior features a multitude of art, fireplaces, and of course, stunning views of the canyons.
Redford’s home in Sundance is said to be the director’s safe space for his large collection of Native American art. He studied Native American art and culture for the majority of his life, and his collection of over 600 artifacts is said to be overflowing in his home.
The actor believes in being one with nature and has always tried to immerse his children into the mountain-atmosphere. Especially after his retirement, Redford typically stays at his main home in Utah.
Previous Real Estate in Wine Country
Although Robert Redford’s primary residence had been in Utah for decades, he and his wife owned a wine-country Napa Valley estate for 14 years. This had become a popular place for the Redford’s to host family and friends, as well as enjoy the wine country environment.
In classic Robert Redford nature, the home was secluded and rustic, sitting on ten acres of land on the outskirts of Napa Valley’s St. Helena, California. The home itself was quite small for Redford’s wealth, having three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the property itself was large.
Redford and his wife purchased the residence, known as “Danza del Sol” in 2004, and have recently sold it for around $7.5 million. The house featured a European-style exterior and wonderful valley views.