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

Big Horn is an access point to the 1.1-million-acre area, which has lush grasslands, alpine meadows, rugged mountaintops, canyons, and deserts. There are numerous hiking trails and camping spots for use in the summer, and it's a popular snowmobiling area in the winter.

The Medicine Bow National Forest, Douglas District, southwest of Douglas in the Laramie Peak area, includes four campgrounds ($5–$10 for camping; campground closed in winter) and areas where you can fish and hike.

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.