When to Go

People come to experience northern Wyoming in all four seasons—sometimes all in the same week. The weather here is notoriously difficult to predict, as warm Chinook winds can shoot January temperatures into the 70s and freak storms can drop snow in July. On the whole, however, Mother Nature behaves herself and gives the area pleasantly warm summers and refreshingly snowy winters. Most travelers flock to the region between June and August, availing themselves of the higher temperatures optimal for outdoor activities. Many more come to ski or snowmobile the pristine powder of the Big Horn Mountains in winter.

Temperatures in both seasons can be extreme, however. Thermometers often register a week of triple digits in August in the lower elevations. Snow begins to blanket the mountain slopes in late September and begins to recede only in late May. Spring, especially in the mountains, is sometimes nothing more than a week or two of rain between the last winter snowfall and the warm sunshine of summer. Autumn, on the other hand, is full of pleasantly warm days, cooler nights, and vivid colors. Additionally, the only crowds to fight are small pockets of hunters, anglers, and local leaf peepers.