In Park County, natural landscapes, cultural history and rodeo come together. For planning your trip, it helps to choose a clear focus: landscapes and routes toward Yellowstone, museums in Cody, Meeteetse and Powell, or summer rodeos. The places and themes you want to prioritize during your stay also make a useful starting point for finding accommodations in Park.
Landscapes and routes toward Yellowstone
East of Cody lies the McCullough Peaks Wild Horse Herd Management Area in Park County; it also includes the McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area. Most of the Shoshone National Forest lies within the county’s boundaries.
The Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway follows U.S. Highway 14-16-20 through the Shoshone National Forest toward the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The east entrance is accessible to visitors from Cody. The road follows the Shoshone River, passes through the Absaroka Mountains to Sylvan Pass, and continues to the northeastern shore of Yellowstone Lake. Because seasonal access can change with the weather and road conditions, check the current situation if this route is part of your plans. U.S. Highway 14 Alternate and Wyoming 120 also provide paved routes through Park County.
Museums: from everyday life to art
The Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Park County is a National Historic Landmark and was one of ten relocation camps during World War II. Through photographs, artifacts, oral histories and interactive exhibits, the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center explains how Japanese Americans were incarcerated there during the war. Personal accounts and the exhibition materials add to the historical context of the site.
In Cody, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West brings five museums together under one roof. Its subjects range from natural history and Buffalo Bill to Western art, Plains Indian cultures and the history of firearms. Old Trail Town offers a different focus: the open-air museum in Cody features authentic pioneer buildings from the 1890s. Also in Cody, the Historic Cody Mural and Museum features a mural completed by Edward Grigware in 1951 and renovated in 2015. It is 36 feet in diameter, is located on the vaulted ceiling of a Mormon chapel, and depicts the early years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Meeteetse Museum focuses on local history. Its exhibits include the black-footed ferret project Made in Meeteetse, the Meeteetse Mercantile, a National Forest cabin and the Grand Slam of North American Sheep. At the Homesteader Museum in Powell, permanent exhibits featuring photographs and artifacts illustrate domestic everyday life in the early 20th century. They are complemented by the original, furnished Bever Homestead and a Burlington Northern caboose, both presented as interactive exhibits.
Summer events and petroglyphs
The Cody Nite Rodeo takes place in Cody every evening during the summer months of June through August. Events include bull riding, barrel racing and team roping. The Cody Stampede Rodeo is another summer event; it has been held every summer since its official founding in 1919. The schedules therefore differ clearly in frequency; check the dates for each event for your travel year.
The Meeteetse Museum offers a guided tour of the Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site, about 37 miles south of Meeteetse. The public can view nearly 300 individual petroglyphs there, some dating back as far as 10,000 years. The museum’s accessibility is also specified: the entrance is ADA-accessible, and all restrooms are accessible to wheelchair users.
Choose accommodations based on your travel focus
Cody combines several different museums with rodeo and access to the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park; Meeteetse adds local history and the guided petroglyph tour, while the Homesteader Museum in Powell focuses on everyday life. During the summer season, commercial transportation to Yellowstone National Park is also available from Cody. Check its availability before traveling.
Discover more destinations: Cody, Powell, Big Horn, Sheridan, Lincoln, Albany, Carbon, Fremont County.
Return to the main travel guide: Wyoming.
