8 Wyoming Towns That Rival Europe's Best

Travelers looking to enjoy a scenic mountain getaway where they can delve deep into the depths of a unique history or get away from the hustle and bustle in a scenic alpine arcadia don’t have to look as far away as Europe to find what they are looking for. Theres plenty of perfect getaway places within easy reach, even where one might not expect. An oft-overlooked treasure trove is the grand state of Wyoming, as while some might think it’s just empty space between isolated, lonely mountains, the “Equality state” has an unequaled beauty which rivals even the beating heart of the Alps. Its many small towns include a wide variety to keep even the most eager travelers busy, or not-so-busy if they are looking for that mountain retreat to recharge.

Alpine

While the word “alpine” derives from the Alps, you don’t have to go all the way to Europe to have an alpine retreat when Alpine, Wyoming more than lives up to its name. Nesting where the Greys River and the Snake River meet, Alpine offers a perfect base camp for a medley of mountainous activities. Alpine is not even 40 miles from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, a ski resort which includes 2500 acres of prime skiing across the Après Vous and Rendezvous mountains and includes over one hundred named trails, perfect for advanced skiers.

For those travelers looking to day trip into the mountains, Alpine offers plenty of accommodation at the Bull Moose Lodge. This cozy wooden wonder includes not only a cozy room at the Bull Moose Motel, but also a saloon which offers a perfect place to wash away the road dust or snow and listen to live music. The Bull Moose Lodge is popular with motorcycle enthusiasts in the Summer and snowmobilers in the winter, so you can enjoy the ride no matter whether your ride has wheels or treads.

In the morning before you head for the hills, you can enjoy a uniquely patriotic caffeine-hit at Yankee Doodle’s Café. Besides offering locally roasted coffee from Snake River Roasting Co., this all-American avenue of dining has a robust breakfast and lunch menu to give you plenty of fuel for your adventures or to keep you warm and cozy while you relax.

Sheridan

Wyoming is known as the Cowboy State, and its place in Western history shines brightly in Sheridan. Located just south of the Wyoming-Montana border and northeast of Big Horn, Sheridan is close to many historical sites and even has a few of its own. Visitors looking for a deep dive into history as wide and varied as Wyoming itself will find plenty to enjoy. Many visitors enjoy touring the many nearby forts and battlefields, including the Little Bighorn National Monument. Located in Montana, just 70 miles north of Sheridan, this site memorializes the lives lost in one of the most infamous battles in American history.

Within city limits, Sheridan has several intriguing historical experiences, chiefly the Trail End Historical Site. The seat from which Texan cowboy-turned-Wyoming politician John B. Kendrick ran a large cattle empire, this stately estate is a rare example of a Flemish revival architecture in the West and offers visitors a closer look at early 20th-century architecture.

And if you want to really immerse yourself in history, it’s hard to go wrong with the Sheridan Inn. Built as part of the railway expansion in 1892, this hotel served as a popular place for none other than the famous Buffalo Bill himself, who was even a co-owner. The Inn has seen many notable guests since, from writers to US Presidents and even Western TV stars. Renovated and reopened in 2013, the Sheridan Inn is the perfect place to stay and soak in Sheridan’s history without losing modern amenities.

Pinedale

Braced in a high valley between three different mountain ranges, Pinedale is a prime position for adventurous explorers and offers a wide (mountain) range of possibilities. The three mountain ranges surrounding Pinedale each offer their own unique opportunities. Perhaps the most bountiful of the three, the Wind River mountain range includes places where you can experience both tall tales and big fish stories for yourself. The Wind River range includes many of the tallest mountains in Wyoming, over 40 of which are more than 13,000 feet tall, including the tallest mountain in Wyoming, Gannett Peak, and with more than 1,000 lakes, you could spend a lifetime casting your line out into serene waters.

Many of the mountain men who first explored this part of America did, and visitors can learn more about them at the Museum of the Mountain Man. Sitting close, but not too close, to the eastern edge of Pinedale like the wild wanderers it honors, the museum offers visitors a chance to learn more about these rugged fur traders, wilderness guides, and explorers, as well as the Native Americans who called the region home; it even offers prime stargazing space. And if you work up an appetite learning about the brave pioneers who blazed the Oregon trail, or blazing trails of your own, you can always take a break and enjoy a fresh-made mini-doughnut and espresso at Bison’s Bounty.

Thermopolis

If you hear the name “Thermopolis” and think of the film "300," you are closer to the mark than you may think — and in for even more fun. While sounding similar to Greece’s Thermopylae, this burning heart of Wyoming is unique. Thermopolis’ name is a portmanteau of “thermal” and “-opolis,” which is Ancient Greek and means “city.” Thermopolis gets its name from the many hot springs around this small town located near the center of Wyoming, making Thermopolis the warm, cozy center of Wyoming.

Visitors can enjoy the hot springs for themselves at the Tepee Pools and Spa. This waterpark-style establishment takes advantage of Thermopolis’ cool, semi-arid climate, and its hot springs provide visitors with a great way to relax. For those travelers looking for a wide-open, natural way to swim in the hot springs, the nearby Hot Springs State Park includes not only a free bath house, but also stunning summer flower gardens. It even has its own state-maintained bison herd, whose feedings are a great off-season attraction.

And if the bison are not big enough for you, there’s always the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Featuring over 70 dinosaur skeletons excavated in Wyoming and hundreds of other exhibits, the Dinosaur Center offers visitors a pathway into the paleontological past. Visitors can even help excavate fossils on one of the 130 sites the center’s experts have located, a perfect prehistoric day trip.

Mammoth

While Mammoth is not quite the textbook definition of a small town, being a small village within Yellowstone National park, this special gem makes up for it with a bountiful abundance of wildlife, natural wonders, and historic landmarks to experience. Formally known as Mammoth Hot Springs, visitors can find something to make their trip unforgettable in Mammoth, no matter what they are into.

History enthusiasts can explore the historic Fort Yellowstone. Originally built to protect the new-born park from poachers, this 35-building area makes up a significant portion of the Mammoth Hot Springs Historical District. Many of the structures are still in use as Yellowstone Park’s headquarters. A great starting place for a tour is the Albright Visitor Center. Once quarters for bachelor cavalry officers, the Visitor’s Center offers information on the park and serves as a perfect landmark for exploring not only Mammoth, but all of Yellowstone. Children can even become junior park rangers, an exciting element for youngsters.

Once you have oriented yourself, you can start your trip by exploring the nearby Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. These travertine terraces are gorgeous rock formations formed by calcites deposited by hot springs soaking through limestone and resemble gorgeous frozen waterfalls.

Evanston

Situated in the southwest corner of the state, Evanston is a subtle station not only in the history of the Pacific Union, but also on the itinerary of visitors looking for a wild Wyoming time and a look at the less-celebrated parts of railroad history. The first stop on the track to explore Evanston’s historical highlights must be the Roundhouse and Rail Yards. The last of this sort of structure still standing on the line, this 63,000-square-foot storage lot for train cars was built in 1912, when Evanston served as a major maintenance and repair hub for the Union-Pacific Railroad. Today, the Roundhouse is still undergoing restoration but is open to the public with tours available on request.

Once you’ve seen the former beating heart of Evanston, you can wander down to the Depot square where you can see a recreation of a spiritual center for the Chinese immigrant population, the Chinese Joss House Museum. Joss Houses served as temples for the Chinese railway workers, and while this Joss House is a recreation of the original which burned down in 1922, it is still packed with archaeological finds from where the Chinatown district was located, as well as giving visitors horizon-broadening immersion into the lives of the immigrants who built the railways from the 1870s into the 1930s through an incredible collection of photographs and artifacts.

But China isn’t the only land whose influence can be found all the way in Wyoming. Located within the Historic district, the St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church is based on an Irish church and has been in service since 1935.

Buffalo

Sitting just south of Sheridan and the Big Horn, Buffalo is a treat for artists and authors both. Home to an eclectic mixture of mediums, Buffalo offers sensational local color in its many murals. A good way to take in several murals at once is to wander Crazy Woman Square, which has plenty of boutiques and restaurants to enjoy. For TV fans and bibliophiles, Buffalo offers an even more wild ride. Serving as the stand-in for the fictional Durant, Wyoming in the hit TV series "Longmire," Buffalo is home base for the series and the novels it is based on.

While you cannot slip into the Red Pony Bar and continual soiree you can stop in for lunch at the Busy Bee Cafe, favored stomping ground of the series’ protagonist, Sheriff Walt Longmire. Take in the buzz of friendly conversation while enjoying the atmosphere of this 1927 soda fountain. If your Longmire longing is still pulling on you, saddle up at the Bucking Buffalo Supply Company, which is run by author Craig Johnson’s wife, Judy. The couple lives on a nearby ranch, and the store offers signed merchandise, Western wear, and authentic turquoise jewelry. In addition to signed merchandise, the Bucking Buffalo also offers a plethora of Western wear and even authentic turquoise jewelry.

Cody

While Europe has nearly unparalleled museums, Wyoming has its answer. Located between the Absaroka and Beartooth mountains along the roaring Shoshone river, Cody has its origins in a giant of the Wild West, and the legends and lore of the era loom large in it even today, making it an excellent place to immerse oneself in the Old West.

Cody gets its name from its founder, Colonel William F. Cody, better known by his nickname: Buffalo Bill. The famed frontiersman passed through the territory and, seeing potential for growth due to its natural features and proximity to the nascent Yellowstone Park, returned some years later to found a town which to this day carries the legacy of the West. Nowhere is this more open to travelers than the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. A complex comprising five different museums, visitors can find something to inspire and entertain themselves no matter what their passions are. Visitors can start with the centerpiece of the complex, the Buffalo Bill Museum to learn more about its namesake historical figure and his Wild West Show, then hit the Plains Indian Museum to learn about the lives of the original inhabitants of the Great Plains.

Those with a taste for action can mosey to the Cody Firearms Museum, which houses more than 7,000 pieces that have shaped history, while nature lovers can bone up on Yellowstone’s ecology in the Draper Museum of Natural History. Finally, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art has something for everyone from old hands to greenhorns, with art and activities for all ages.

While some might look at Wyoming’s wide-open plains and rugged mountains and see only an undeveloped wilderness only appealing to hardened frontiersmen, the itinerant traveler wandering even briefly into the Cowboy State will find a unique culture influenced heavily by not only its deep historical roots, but also its natural bounty.

A traveler setting out to explore Wyoming not only follows in the footsteps of centuries worth of Native Americans, frontier settlers, and prosperous industrialists, but opens themselves to a landscape unmatchable in its variety and abundance, making the Equality State an equal to many of Europe’s alpine and historical wonders. With its immersive museums, breathe-taking mountains, and inspiring monuments, Wyoming welcomes visitors with open arms and lets them find their own trail.