13 Best Sights in Cody, Cody, Sheridan, and Northern Wyoming

This extraordinary "five-in-one" complex, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, contains the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Natural History Museum. All are well organized and mount superb exhibitions in their respective subject areas. The flagship Buffalo Bill Museum puts into context the life, era, and activities of its (and its town's) namesake, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846–1917), whose numerous careers included guide, scout, actor, and entrepreneur. If you want to understand how the myth of the American West developed, this is the place to come. The other four museums—there's also a research library—are equally absorbing. Plan to spend at least four hours here—and to discover that this isn't enough time to take it all in. Luckily, your admission ticket is good for two consecutive days.

In 1877 a few members of the Nez Perce tribe killed some white settlers in Idaho as retribution for earlier killings by whites. Fearing that the U.S. Army would punish the guilty and innocent alike, hundreds of Nez Perce fled on a five-month journey toward Canada along what came to be known as the Nez Perce Trail. On the way they passed through what is now Yellowstone National Park, across the Sunlight Basin area north of Cody, and along the Clarks Fork of the Shoshone River before turning north into Montana. To see the rugged mountain area they traveled through, follow Highway 120 north 17 miles to Highway 296, the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. The highway twists and turns for 46 miles, ending at similarly stunning U.S. 212, the Beartooth Scenic Highway, which leads west to the pretty hamlet of Cooke City, Montana and then the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone, or east to the small ski and hiking hub of Red Lodge. Along the way you'll see open meadows, pine forests, and a sweeping vista of the region from the top of Dead Indian Pass.

Begun in 1938 and billing itself the world's longest-running nightly rodeo, this festive, family-friendly summer spectacle at Stampede Park is less flashy and more endearingly intimate than bigger rodeos around the region, such as Cheyenne Frontier Days. Kicking off at 8 pm each evening from June through August, the Cody Nite Rodeo offers kids' competitions, such as goat roping and junior barrel racing, in addition to the regular adult events. Over early July's Independence Day weekend, the annual Cody Stampede features a full long weekend of events at the same venue.

About 6 miles west of downtown on U.S. 14, you'll pass through the Shoshone Canyon Tunnel (the state's largest, at 2.8 miles) and emerge at the northeast end of Buffalo Bill Reservoir, which was formed in 1910 by the construction of a 350-foot-tall dam. The reservoir, which is popular for boating and fishing, forms the heart of Buffalo Bill State Park, which also has a campground and picnic area. Just after exiting the tunnel, you can also stop by the visitor center operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, where you can peer over this immense dam from a viewing platform, and watch a film and explore exhibits on this impressive feat of engineering and the region's natural and human history.

These hour-long tours on vintage trolley–style buses travel 22 miles and cover Cody's history dating back to the late-19th-century era of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. Tours start at the fabled Irma Hotel, named for Buffalo Bill's daughter, and take in historic sites, scenery, and wildlife and other natural attractions. On summer evenings (except Sunday) at 6, stay to watch the amusing if cheesy 30-minute mock gunfights staged outside the Irma. The "Inside & Out Combo" package includes the tour and two-day admission to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The Cody Mural, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presents a larger-than-life artistic interpretation of Mormon settlement in the West. Edward Grigware painted the 36-foot-diameter scene on the domed ceiling in the 1950s. A small museum contains historical artifacts as well as interactive kiosks where visitors can explore their genealogy.

A short drive west of downtown near the Stampede Park rodeo grounds, you can tour this living history museum that comprises about two-dozen historic buildings from Wyoming's frontier days—including a saloon and a blacksmith's shop—many of them housing photos and pioneer and Native American artifacts. The complex is situated on Cody's original townsite, and a small original cemetery serves as resting place for some of the region's famous mountain men, including Liver Eatin' Johnson, and about 100 horse-drawn vehicles are on display.

Established in 1891 as the country's first designated national forest, this 2.4-million-acre tract of alpine woodland, sagebrush flats, and verdant meadows extends west from Cody to Yellowstone National Park (which is roughly the same size). At both the headquarters south of downtown and the Clarks Fork, Greybull, and Wapiti Ranger Districts office on the west side of Cody (E203A Yellowstone Ave., Cody), you can pick up maps, buy permits, and obtain advice on the many activities you can pursue in the forest—hiking, camping, fishing, mountain biking, horseback, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing—and the best places to enjoy them. Some highlights include the well-preserved ghost town of Kirwin, about 65 miles south of Cody, and the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, a designated Wild and Scenic River during its 20½-mile course through the forest about 30 miles northwest of Cody.