Attending a rodeo as part of Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne is just one way to connect with the city’s Western heritage. Museums unpack frontier history, shops reinterpret Western style, and public art continues to shape the region’s identity. You can explore the Wyoming capital’s deep Western roots beyond the arena for a richer, more hands-on understanding of Cheyenne’s heritage and a chance to engage with it meaningfully. Here are seven ways to immerse yourself in Cheyenne’s living, ever-evolving Western culture.
Visit Cheyenne’s Western heritage museums
Exhibits at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
Courtesy of Visit Cheyenne
To understand the history behind Cheyenne’s rodeo culture, start at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. Founded in 1978, the museum explores the heritage behind Cheyenne Frontier Days, which has earned the title of the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration.
Exhibits of rodeo memorabilia, Western art, and pioneer artifacts trace how the event grew from a local gathering into an internationally known festival, while also offering a broader look at life on the frontier. Highlights include a collection of more than 150 historic horse-drawn carriages and wagons, among the largest of its kind in the country. The Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame honors rodeo legends like Lane Frost and Chris LeDoux.
For insight into women’s roles in Western history, stop by the Cowgirls of the West Museum downtown. Opened in 2001 by five local women, the museum showcases the stories of ranchers, rodeo riders, entertainers, and pioneers whose contributions were often overlooked. Through artifacts and photographs, visitors can learn about iconic cowgirls like Ruth Roach, Mary Carter, and Annie Oakley, who helped shape ranching communities across Wyoming and the West. Plus, admission is free, making it an easy and worthwhile stop while exploring downtown.
Attend a live rodeo
Cowboys at Cheyenne Frontier Days
Courtesy of Visit Cheyenne
Perhaps Cheyenne’s most famous draw is Cheyenne Frontier Days, often called the “Daddy of ’Em All.” First launched in 1897, this 10-day festival brings the city’s frontier heritage to life each July with professional rodeo competitions, parades, concerts, and community events. This year’s celebration runs July 17–26, and even without a rodeo ticket, you’ll feel the energy throughout the city, as downtown fills with boot-clad crowds, saloons host live music, and parades roll past cheering spectators almost daily.
For a more intimate rodeo experience, check out the Hell on Wheels Rodeo, held this year on select Fridays in June, July, and August at the Laramie County Fairgrounds. These lively night events feature classic competitions like bull riding, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, team roping, and steer wrestling, with a mix of local riders and rising talent. Arrive early for the Chuck Wagon Dinner, a hearty pre-rodeo meal inspired by the campfire cooking once served on cattle drives, including slow-cooked brisket, beans, and roasted potatoes, before the arena action begins.
Shop for Western gear and goods
A display at the Westward boutique and gallery
Courtesy of Visit Cheyenne
Western traditions extend into design, fashion, and functional gear found at Cheyenne’s independent stores. Start at Wyoming Home, a longstanding downtown shop where you can browse Western-inspired handcrafted furniture, wall art, and turquoise jewelry.
For a part boutique, part gallery experience, stop by Westward, a contemporary Western art space founded by local painter, muralist, and graphic designer Bria Hammock. Her bold, nature-inspired paintings appear alongside work from other regional artists and a curated selection of handcrafted goods, jewelry, and home décor.
Another rewarding shopping destination is 307 Made, a shop named after Wyoming’s statewide area code and dedicated to supporting local small businesses. The store makes it easy to browse a wide range of items that are proudly Wyoming-made by bringing together goods created by makers across the state, including candles, jewelry, bath products, pastas, and sauces. You’ll even find gourmet dog treats.
To fully embrace Western style, head to the Wrangler. Housed in a historic red brick building on Capitol Avenue dating to the late 1800s, this 13,000-square-foot, three-level outfitter has been equipping ranchers, rodeo riders, and visitors since 1943. With walls of cowboy boots and hats, shelves of denim, and racks of workwear and Western accessories, it’s the place to go if you want to dress the part for Cheyenne.
Eat at ranch-to-table restaurants
The exterior of the Bunkhouse Bar and Grill in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Courtesy of Visit Cheyenne
A taste of Cheyenne nightlife awaits at the Bunkhouse Bar and Grill, a longtime local favorite that leans fully into its cowboy roots. Originally built as a ranch bunkhouse, the restaurant today serves hearty Western comfort food, such as steaks, burgers, prime rib, and house specialties, including the Bunk-Nut, featuring fried Rocky Mountain oysters on Texas toast and American cheese.
Inside, you’ll find swinging saloon doors and taxidermy-lined walls. And an added draw is the energy on Friday and Saturday nights, when the Bunkhouse Band plays classic country and Western tunes while locals two-step on the wooden dance floor.
Or settle in for a steak dinner at Little Bear Inn, Cheyenne’s original steakhouse with deep frontier roots. The site once served as a stagecoach stop along the Cheyenne–Deadwood trail in the late 1800s, and local lore holds that outlaws occasionally passed through when it operated as a saloon and gambling hall. At its current location since 1958, the menu focuses on classic steakhouse fare, like T-bone steak and filet mignon, alongside regional specialties like Rocky Mountain oysters and frog legs.
Visit Cheyenne galleries and public art
Cheyenne is full of art experiences. Start at the Cowboy Emporium, a gallery-style shop celebrating Western heritage through the work of artists and makers who live the lifestyle. Admire striking photography, handcrafted leather goods, silverwork, boots, and home décor that blend fine art with functional craftsmanship.
Next, go on a citywide scavenger hunt for Cheyenne’s Big Boots, a collection of more than 35 eight-foot-tall sculptures throughout downtown and in public spaces. Hand-painted by local artists, each boot reinterprets the region’s culture and history with bold, contemporary designs.
One example is Licensed to Boot, located outside the Wyoming State Museum. Created by the Carey Junior High School Art Club, it features decades of Wyoming license plates donated by the community.
Check out the Davissa Horse Refuge
Horses at the Davissa Horse Refuge
Courtesy of Visit Cheyenne
For a closer look at Wyoming’s ranching culture, head just northwest of Cheyenne to the Davissa Horse Refuge, a nonprofit sanctuary focused on lifelong care and gentle human interaction. Retired and displaced working horses spend their later years grazing in open pastures at a slower, more peaceful pace.
Schedule a guided visit to meet the herd and hear their stories, or step into ranch life with the Rancher for a Day experience, helping with daily tasks to care for the horses. The Horse Encounter offers a grounding experience thanks to unhurried time in the pasture, designed to encourage reflection, emotional connection, and stillness alongside these gentle animals.
