7 Most Welcoming Towns In Wyoming's Countryside

Home to the country’s first National Park, first National Monument, and largest outdoor rodeo, Wyoming promises a vacation like no other. These friendly small towns in cowboy country are the best way to experience the true Wild West, offering unique activities amid spectacular scenery that has witnessed centuries of American history. Take a ride with a rancher, hike the backcountry, drink in one of Buffalo Bill’s favourite saloons, catch a rodeo in the badlands. Adventure awaits in these rustic, hospitable Wyoming communities.

Cody

Founded by the legendary showman, Colonel William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the town that bears his name is a true Wild West gem in northwest Wyoming. Your first stop in Cody has to be the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a museum complex dedicated to the famous entertainer. The center is affiliated with the Smithsonian Museum and is actually five museums on one site, giving visitors insights into Buffalo Bill’s life, Plains Indian cultures, the area’s diverse natural history, and more.

To see Wyoming as Buffalo Bill saw it, take a wander through Cody’s Old Trail Town, where the streets are lined with original 1890s buildings. This replica frontier town includes a 1901 carpenter’s shop, homesteader cabins, an 1884 school, and the oldest saloon in northwest Wyoming - built in 1888 and with bullet holes in the door.

Cody is also the gateway to some of Wyoming’s most stunning scenery. Yellowstone National Park’s east entrance is 55 miles from town, along the beautiful Buffalo Bill Scenic Highway. Closer to town lies the beautiful Shoshone National Forest, which covers over 2.4 million acres of pristine backcountry and was America’s first designated national forest. There are over 1,300 miles of trail in the Shoshone, giving hikers of all levels plenty to choose from. You can also stretch your legs at the Buffalo Bill Dam & Visitor Centre, 6 miles west of Cody, where you can walk the top of the dam to enjoy breathtaking views of the Shoshone River, 280 ft below.

Encampment

As the name suggests, the tiny town of Encampment began as a mining camp to service the copper mines along the Encampment River. The town quickly grew as its industry expanded from copper mining to ranching and logging. Visit the Grand Encampment Museum to see 15 historic buildings that represent the different eras in Encampment’s long history.

Nestled at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains and near Medicine Bow National Forest, Encampment has transitioned from a lively mining town to a welcoming destination for outdoor adventurers. Medicine Bow National Forest has hundreds of miles of trails as well as fishing, biking, and horse riding facilities. For a true Wyoming experience on horseback, visit A Bar A Ranch, first established in 1922 and now a nearly 100,000-acre guest ranch where you can ride, hike, or go fly-fishing with expert local guides.

If you’d rather enjoy the gorgeous Wyoming scenery from the road, take the Battle Pass Scenic Byway, which begins in Encampment and runs 57 miles over the Sierra Madre range, along Highway WY70. The drive is especially beautiful in the fall when the trees put on a dazzling autumnal display.

Ten Sleep

Ten Sleep is a friendly little town in the foothills of Wyoming’s towering Bighorn Mountains. The town gets its unusual name from its history as a rest stop for Native Americans travelling between Laramie and Yellowstone.

Get a taste of the town’s legendary hospitality and some tasty craft beer at Ten Sleep Brewing Company, where you can sip a refreshing brew while enjoying live music and sweeping alpine views. To pick up a souvenir and see some local history, visit Dirty Sally’s General Store. Housed in a 1918 bank building, the store sells old-fashioned malts and ice cream along with handmade crafts and gifts.

Being in such close proximity to the mountains and Bighorn National Forest, Ten Sleep is popular with nature lovers, hikers, climbers, anglers, and campers. Ten Sleep Canyon is a legendary destination for climbers from all over the country who come to explore its jagged limestone outcrops. Nearby is the scenic recreation area of Meadowlark Lake, a pretty destination for a wander or a family picnic.

Dubois

Dubois in central Wyoming prides itself on being an authentic Wild West town. Located amid the remote landscape of the Wind River, Absaroka, and Owl Creek mountain ranges, this is a close-knit and friendly community in a picture-perfect setting.

If you’re visiting in summer, you’ll have a chance to hang out with the locals and enjoy a very traditional celebration. From mid-June to mid-August, Dubois hosts Friday night rodeos where you can experience some old-style Wild West entertainment.

Take a turn on horseback yourself with a tour from the Longhorn Ranch which offers two hour trail rides through the red hills of the Dubois badlands with an experienced guide. The ranch also offers fly-fishing trips and river rafting adventures.

The Wind River is famous for its petroglyphs, and you can view these ancient markings for yourself on one of the area’s many hiking trails. Visit the Dubois Museum and Wind River Historical Center to learn about the ancient peoples who lived in the mountains, the geology of the region, and the early days of dude ranching. While at the museum, you can book a guided tour of the petroglyph sites and/or pick up a self-guided walking tour of downtown Dubois.

Sundance

Sundance is where Butch Cassidy’s iconic sidekick earned his nickname after stealing a local rancher’s horse. The Sundance Kid wasn’t the only outlaw to come through this quaint town in Wyoming’s Black Hills region.

Nestled at the base of Sundance Mountain, this hospitable rural community has a rich history, which is on full display at the Crook County Museum and Art Gallery. Here you can take a picture with the Sundance Kid, browse over 7,000 artifacts, and view an antique gun exhibit.

Sundance is just 28 miles from the country’s first National Monument, Devil’s Tower, which was established in 1906. An ancient geological wonder, the rock rises 867 ft out of the prairie and sits in a 1,347-acre preserve of ancient boulders, grasslands, rocky bluffs, and rivers. The site is popular with climbers and hikers. There are four trails in the park; the most popular and accessible is the Tower Trail, which is a paved 1.3-mile walkway through forest and boulder fields with several tower viewpoints. Visit Devil’s Tower at night to marvel at the breathtaking views of the starry canopy. The park offers night sky programs throughout the year so you can identify the constellations and learn some of the history of this sacred spot.

If the crowds are bad at Devil’s Tower, head to the local’s favourite recreation spot, Keyhole State Park along the southeastern edge of the Keyhole Reservoir. The park has plenty of opportunities for fishing, boating, swimming, and camping. There are also two hiking trails, the 1.5 mile Marina Trail which offers stunning waterfront views and a longer, more challenging 2.8 mile route.

Meeteetse

Billing itself ‘Wyoming’s best kept secret’, Meeteetse is sandwiched between the Absaroka Mountains and the Wyoming badlands, with plenty of pristine wilderness on its doorstep.

Mingle with locals and step back into the past at the Cowboy Bar which dates back to 1893 and was once a favourite haunt of infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy. Rumour has it that the bar still carries the marks of old whiskey spills and bullet holes from wild gunfights.

You might think cowboys and chocolates are an odd mix, but that’s exactly what you’ll find at Meeteetse Chocolatier, a boutique confectionery store started by local cowboy and master chocolatier Tim Kellogg, who originally began the business to raise money for a new saddle.

The wilderness around Meeteetse has some of the best hiking trails in the state, but be sure to bring bear spray as you may encounter some large wildlife. Notable routes include the 4.7 mile Bald Mountain Trail and the more challenging 7 mile Kirwin to East Fork Pass Trail.

Fort Laramie

In the pioneer era, Fort Laramie was a key fur trading point, located where the North Platte and Laramie Rivers met. Founded in 1834, it became the first military garrison in Wyoming and is now the Fort Laramie National Historic Site.

The town itself is just three miles east of the original fort compound which includes 22 restored structures. Park rangers give guided tours of the fort and there are regular living history reenactments throughout the summer months. There’s also a 1.6 mile hiking trail, the Confluence Trail, which takes visitors through a cottonwood and willow forest, down to where the rivers meet.

For more beautiful scenery, head to the Army Iron Bridge. This 19th century structure spans 400 ft across the North Platte River and is the perfect backdrop for vacation photos. In its heyday, the bridge was the main thoroughfare connecting Cheyenne and Fort Laramie with the Black Hills of South Dakota.

To immerse yourself in Fort Laramie’s fur trading past, visit the Fort Laramie Frontier Trading Post, one of the largest cowhide dealers in Wyoming. This quirky gift shop doesn’t just sell furs and handcrafted leathers; it also offers beadwork, Civil War clothing, mountain-man hats, Indian artifacts, and more.

A Wild West Welcome

Rural Wyoming has seen its fair share of visitors over the centuries. Nomadic Native American tribes, gold rush prospectors, Oregon Trail pioneers, Civil War soldiers — the state has welcomed a lot of traffic through its towns and settlements. Today these fledgling communities have grown into welcoming and vibrant small towns with some of the country’s most incredible scenery on their doorstep. Mountains, plains, prairies, grasslands, and forests all offer world-class recreational activities easily accessible from quaint hamlets where you can find a warm, Wild West welcome.