CodyWyoming

Cody: An old Western town with big history

Just 84 kilometers from the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, at the foot of the Absaroka Mountains, you’ll find William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s namesake town. The intrepid Western showman moved through this area in the 1870s and loved it so much he came back 20 years later to wrangle a town out of the rugged Rocky Mountain landscape, and what a town it is for you to explore. You’ll find Cody just a six-hour drive from other popular Western U.S. destinations including Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Visiting Cody’s Historic Sites

Today, the self-proclaimed “Rodeo Capital of the World” is a vestige of all-things pioneer, a spirited community that preserves its history and celebrates its position as a gateway to Yellowstone. Steer yourself to downtown’s Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill himself. CatchThe Wild Bunch reenacting a shootout in front of the hotel in summer, which is Cody’s most vibrant season. Take aCody Trolley Tour to see theBuffalo Bill Reservoir, pioneer homes and the historic district. Stroll throughOld Trail Town, which features 25 restored historic buildings just off the Yellowstone Highway. The structures, furnishings and artifacts you’ll see are authentic. Learn more about a different side of local history atHeart Mountain Interpretive Center, a World War II-era Japanese American confinement site.

All About the Wild West

Buffalo Bill Center of the West is home to five museums documenting the saga of the Wild West: the Draper Natural History Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum and Plains Indian Museum, which hosts a traditional powwow every June. Explore galleries includingSimpson Gallagher Gallery andBig Horn Galleries, which feature art from both local and big-name Western artists. After dinner in town, get a side of laughs atDan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue, where the Empty Saddles Band regales with bluegrass, comedy and cowboy poetry. TheCody Cattle Company puts on a traditional Western show with a chuckwagon dinner that ends in time for those attending to also go to the nightly rodeo. Cody’s rodeo scene can’t be beat, whether you visit theCody Nite Rodeo, an amateur series running through summer, or theCody Stampede Rodeo, one of the largest professional rodeos in the USA, established in 1919.

Outdoor Adventures Abound

If you want a little more grit on your visit, stay in a cabin on one of 13 guest dude ranches nearby and go hiking inShoshone National Forest. Rent a rod and reel and cast a line for trout, abundant in over 2,400 kilometers of streams. Engage an outfitter to take you on a river float trip or on a horseback trail ride through scenic locales. Want a major thrill? Fly through the trees on theSleeping Giant Zip Line. Take the Meeteetse Museums’Kirwin Ghost Town Tour of an abandoned mountain mining town from the 1880s that was wiped out by a snowstorm in 1907. See more of the surrounding landscapes by driving one offive scenic byway loops surrounding Cody. Take your pick from Beartooth, Bighorn Basin, Bighorn Mountain, East Yellowstone and South Fork.