Park: Landscape, History and Rodeo

When looking for hotels in Park, it may help to start with the focus of your trip: scenery, museum visits, history or a summer event. Cody is a point of reference for several of the topics mentioned; other museums are in Powell and Meeteetse. You can therefore organize the different places and activities around the reason for your trip.

Scenery and getting there

The McCullough Peaks Wild Horse Herd Management Area lies east of Cody in Park County and includes the McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area. Shoshone National Forest also shapes the county’s landscape: most of the national forest lies within Park County’s boundaries. Three paved roads serve the county: U.S. Highway 14-16-20, U.S. Highway 14 Alternate and Wyoming 120.

For a Yellowstone-focused trip, Cody is a starting point for visitors who want to reach the national park’s east entrance. The road follows the Shoshone River, passes through the Absaroka Mountains to Sylvan Pass, and then continues to the northeastern shore of Yellowstone Lake. The Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway follows U.S. Highway 14-16-20 through Shoshone National Forest toward the east entrance. Seasonal access may depend on weather and road conditions; check them before you travel. During the summer season, commercial transportation from Cody to Yellowstone National Park is also available. If you plan to use it, check seasonal availability before your trip.

Summer events in Cody

The Cody Nite Rodeo takes place every evening in Cody during the summer months of June through August. The program includes events such as bull riding, barrel racing and team roping. Since dates should be checked for the year you plan to travel, it is worth consulting the current event calendar before finalizing your trip.

The Cody Stampede Rodeo also takes place every summer; it was officially founded in 1919. The two events have different scheduling details: the Cody Nite Rodeo takes place daily during the summer months, while the Cody Stampede is held every summer. Check the schedule for the year of your trip.

Museums and historic sites

The Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Park County, Wyoming, is a National Historic Landmark and was one of ten World War II relocation camps. The Heart Mountain Interpretive Center explains how Japanese Americans were incarcerated there during the war. Photographs, artifacts, oral histories and interactive exhibits offer different ways to explore the subject.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West brings together five museums under one roof. Their topics range from natural history and Buffalo Bill to Western art, Plains Indian culture and the history of firearms. This combination is useful if you want to explore different subject areas during a museum visit.

In Cody, Old Trail Town displays authentic pioneer buildings from the 1890s in an open-air museum. The Historic Cody Mural and Museum offers a different perspective on history and design: it features a mural completed by Edward Grigware in 1951 and renovated in 2015. It is 36 feet in diameter, located on the vaulted ceiling of a Mormon chapel, and depicts the early years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Meeteetse Museum focuses on local history. Its exhibits include the Made in Meeteetse black-footed ferret project, the Meeteetse Mercantile, a National Forest cabin and the Grand Slam of North American Sheep. The museum entrance is ADA accessible; all restrooms are wheelchair accessible.

A tour offered by the Meeteetse Museum goes to the Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site, about 37 miles south of Meeteetse. The public can view nearly 300 individual petroglyphs there, some of which are up to 10,000 years old. Museum visits in Meeteetse therefore offer different options: you can explore local exhibits or plan a guided tour to the rock art.

In Powell, the Homesteader Museum’s permanent exhibits use photographs and artifacts to show the domestic daily life of the early 20th century. The museum also includes the original, furnished Bever Homestead and a Burlington Northern caboose, both set up as interactive exhibits. The Park County Archives offers the public an opportunity to conduct historical or genealogical research. Check current access arrangements before planning an archive visit.

Discover more destinations: Cody, Powell.

Discover more destinations: Niobrara County, Washakie, Sweetwater County, Johnson County, Teton, Lincoln.

Back to the main travel overview: Wyoming.