Wyoming is sprawling, with more than 100 named mountain ranges—and as it’s the least populous U.S. state, there’s plenty of room to roam. Thousands of years before pioneers set foot here, the land was home to more than a dozen Indigenous tribes, including the Arapaho, Bannock, and Shoshone. Today, the Equality State entices visitors with a mix of sacred Indigenous sites, sprawling national parks, and rodeo culture. Whether you want to ski, hike, or be awed by the unique scenery of national parks Yellowstone and Grand Teton, base yourself in one of the four best Wyoming mountain towns.
Cody
This small northwest Wyoming town of 10,300 residents dates to 1896, when Colonel William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and fellow investors saw the area’s promise and put down roots. Even now, it’s a gateway to some of the country’s best hiking, fishing, and ice climbing.
Old Trail Town is a collection of 28 log cabins dating from 1879 to 1901, all open to visitors. Each has been faithfully recreated to look as it did in the 19th century—the general store has boxes of creamed wheat and prunes, a homestead shows how a family in rural Wyoming would have lived around 1900. Cody’s Smithsonian-affiliated Buffalo Bill Center of the West houses five museums under one roof, among them a natural history museum where you can learn about Yellowstone’s diverse ecosystems, and Plains Indian Museum, which focuses on the Indigenous people of the Great Plains.
Fifteen minutes northeast of Cody is a reminder of more recent history. The Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, on the site of a detention camp for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, introduces visitors to what daily life was like for detainees.
Cody is under four hours from Grand Teton National Park and one hour’s drive from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park—a stretch of road that Teddy Roosevelt called “the most scenic 50 miles in America.” Or follow the North Fork Highway 30 minutes west to the oft-overlooked 2.4-million acre Shoshone National Forest.
Where to eat
Most places in Cody are casual and family friendly. Carnivores can sit at the picnic tables outside Fat Racks BBQ and tuck into Texas-style baby back ribs or pulled pork. Sitti’s Table serves healthier fare, like a roasted cauliflower and kale grain bowl and lescho, a Hungarian dish of stewed peppers, served with labneh. For pub grub, or just a pint, head to one of the half dozen breweries here, such as Cody Craft Brewing, which also serves pizza.
Where to stay
Check into Buffalo Bill’s early-20th-century hunting lodge, Pahaska Tepee Resort, where he passed the time with Teddy Roosevelt. The green-roofed A-frame log cabins are dated in decor—expect sturdy wooden furniture and 1990s Wild West–leaning bedspreads—but the lodge is in an unbeatable location, five minutes from the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park. Thirty-five minutes east of Pahaska is 16-room Rimrock Ranch, which offers on-site horseback riding and whitewater rafting trips.
Related: Where to Find Yellowstone’s Captivating Wildlife, Indigenous Heritage, and Uncrowded Places
Jackson
Jackson, Wyoming is surrounded by three ski resorts and has plenty of diversions in town, including galleries and breweries.
Photo courtesy of Visit Jackson Hole
Down in the valley of the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges, Jackson is a buzzing Wyoming mountain town near ski resorts Snow King, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and Grand Targhee. It’s also very well situated for visiting two top U.S. national parks, just 10 minutes’ drive from the south entrance to Grand Teton and about an hour from Yellowstone’s southern entrance.
Grand Teton National Park is open for year-round outdoor adventure, including hiking, biking, rafting, climbing, and skiing, and Jackson is full of outfitters that can lead the activities (such as Teton Mountain Bike Tours or Dave Hansen Whitewater). Another draw is the National Elk Refuge, which is open all year for hiking, biking, and bird-watching but is most popular mid-December through early April. This is when the elk are typically most visible and when visitors can book a winter sleigh ride for wildlife viewing.
Beyond outdoorsy pursuits, visit a few of Jackson’s art galleries (try Diehl or Maya Frodeman Gallery) and the National Museum of Wildlife Art with works by Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe. The 525-seat Center for the Arts has a calendar packed with film screenings, concerts, and talks from big names like Colson Whitehead and Fran Lebowitz.
Where to eat
Glorietta Trattoria serves Italian fare from the entire length of the boot, raclette with Idaho potatoes to Calabrian sausage. Stillwest Brewery is known for its beers of course (the Wake Up! blonde ale is made with Alpine Air Coffee from Victor, Idaho), alcoholic slushies, and a short menu of pub grub.
Stop by Creekside Market for a sandwich to eat on your hike; once back in town, lean heavily into the Wild West theme with a covered wagon dinner ride past Cache Creek Canyon.
Where to stay
The grand dame of Jackson, Wyoming, hotels is the 40-suite Amangani, where you might see a wild moose foraging in the parking lot or a trio of red-tailed hawks dipping and hovering off the deck. But the property is currently closed for renovation, so while you’re waiting, opt for a convenient stay right in town.
The 55-room Hotel Jackson is walking distance to shops and restaurants. After a day of hiking, though, you might prefer to soothe aching muscles in the rooftop hot tub or at the newly opened spa.
Related: This Popular National Park Now Has the Country’s First Dark Sky Airport
Sheridan
The Mint Bar is Sheridan’s oldest watering hole, dating to 1907.
Photo by Sandra Foyt/Shutterstock
This charming arts city sits halfway between Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore, at the base of the Bighorn Mountains, where inspiration comes in the form of pristine lakes and rivers. Nearby is the 2,500-foot-deep Bighorn Canyon and the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, where wild horses roam across 31,000 acres. Join one of the center’s full-day tours from May 15 through October, during which you’ll see these majestic animals.
Stroll through Sheridan‘s historic downtown, which has a handful of boutiques and galleries. Check out the Mint Bar, a staple since 1907 (aside from a short hiatus during Prohibition). Prefer to earn your libation? Take a bike ride along 13 miles of trails that connect to the celebrated Black Tooth Brewing Company, known for its live music and food trucks. Check the concert and theater listings at WYO Performing Arts & Education Center inside a restored 1923 theater.
To learn more about the history of the Indigenous people who first called Wyoming home, there are two easy side trips. The first is just 15 minutes southwest, in Big Horn. Here, the Brinton Museum‘s permanent collection showcases a range of of Crow/Apsáalooke, Lakota, and Cheyenne tribe clothing and accessories, some adorned with beautiful beadwork. The second, Medicine Wheel/Mountain National Historic Landmark, within Bighorn National Forest, is 90 minutes west in the direction of Cody. The drive from Sheridan to Yellowstone National Park’s east entrance is about four hours on US-14 W; to Grand Teton National Park, the drive is about six hours to the Moran (east) entrance.
Also known as Bighorn Medicine Wheel, the site is one of spiritual significance to many Native American tribes and is open to outside visitors from mid-June through mid-September only. The Medicine Wheel is 75 feet in diameter, composed of 28 radial rows of rock running outward out from a central cairn. It’s part of a larger complex of interrelated archaeological sites believed to date back 7,000 years. The Medicine Wheel may close periodically for private ceremonies, in which case visitors should keep a respectful distance from the participants and refrain from taking photos.
Where to eat
Visitors to Sheridan have four Tex-Mex joints to choose from for burritos, enchiladas, and tacos: Los Tacos, El Tapatio Dos, La Herradura, and Las Delicias. The P.O. News & Flagstaff Cafe, an early 1900s former post office, now serves breakfast and lunch.
Where to stay
The historic, 22-room Sheridan Inn is another stomping ground of Buffalo Bill, who held auditions for his Wild West Show on its classic wraparound porch. Nearby at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Canyon Ranch offers a home base to try fly fishing.
Cheyenne
Each July, Cheyenne hosts the world’s largest outdoor rodeo.
Photo by Lincoln Rogers/Shutterstock
Wyoming’s capital is full of history, from the original 1886 Union Pacific Depot , a stop on the first transcontinental rail line in the U.S. ( itsrelics arenow at Cheyenne Depot Museum) to the Cowgirls of the West Museum, honoring the groundbreaking female pioneers of “the Equality State.” In December 1869, Wyoming was the first state to codify women’s right to vote and later to elect a female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross.
Come in July for the world’s largest outdoor rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days, or at any time of the year to see downtown’sfunky nature-inspired murals and scrap-metal sculptures that mimic the area’s wildlife and natural landscapes. Cheyenne is far from Wyoming’s national parks but is less than two hours northeast of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and two hours east of Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, At this 2.9-million acre rocky mountain sanctuary, you can hike, go skiing at Snowy Range, or try your hand at rock climbing (book a lesson with Wyoming Mountain Guides).
Where to eat
Cheyenne locals recommend getting everything on the three-item-menu at Best Tacos & Burritos and taking it across the street to Blue Raven Brewery. For more global flavors, try Destination Taiwan for all things Formosan or warm up with kimchi jjigae at Korean House.
Where to stay
Victorian-era bed-and-breakfast Nagle Warren Mansion B&B has 12 rooms in the 1888 original mansion—once home to the first indoor bathrooms in Cheyenne—and carriage house. Past guests at this adults-only inn include 27th U.S. president William Howard Taft and Buffalo Bill Cody. Expect late 19th -century period furniture, wallpaper, and light-fixtures, but also modern air-conditioning and Wi-Fi.
This article was originally published in 2024 and most recently updated on May 1, 2026, with current information. Sophie Friedman contributed to the reporting of this story.
