Cody, Wyoming
Day 13 on our national park road trip started out with us leaving West Yellowstone, Montana. We had a long day on the road with a stop in Bozeman, Montana. We took Highway 191 through beautiful Big Sky, Montana. This part of the country is so scenic.
We had about an hour and a half drive to Bozeman.
Logan and Tom are hunters and love Sitka gear and Sitka’s flagship retail store is located in Bozeman. We went to the Sitka store and shopped for a while.
While the guys were shopping, I went across the street to an adorable coffee shop called Daily Coffee & Eatery.
After getting a quick bite to eat in Bozeman, we had another 3 hours on the road to Cody, Wyoming. We crossed the Wyoming state line and the scenery was beautiful.
One of the prettiest parts of Wyoming we went through was Powell, Wyoming. It was a straight, flat drive and absolutely beautiful.
We finally arrived in Cody. Cody, Wyoming was founded and named after Buffalo Bill Cody, one of the most famous and well-known figures of the American Old West.
After a quick stop at Boot Barn, we headed downtown to Sheridan Avenue for dinner. We went to Wyold West Taproom. It had a nice atmosphere with live music, but we weren’t impressed with our meal.
After our meal, we headed to where we were staying while in Cody; the Bill Cody Ranch. The Bill Cody Ranch is about half an hour outside of Cody and is a beautiful drive along the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and Buffalo Bill State Park on the North Fork Highway.
We really couldn’t have picked a more picturesque place to stay. We checked in at the Bill Cody Ranch office.
We got settled into our cabin and it was beautiful, spacious, and very comfortable. The bathroom, however, was tiny.
We were a little disappointed because there is no TV, Wi-Fi, or cell service at the Bill Cody Ranch. As it would turn out, we were really too busy to miss any of those things. We went down to the office area and the guys learned how to rope.
The Bill Cody Ranch provides everything you need to make s’mores around the nightly campfire.
We had a very short walk from our cabin to see the Bill Cody Ranch horses.
The next morning we did a trail ride. I booked this way in advance, but it’s no problem to book after you arrive at the Bill Cody Ranch.
The trail ride was great. We had beautiful scenery, great horses, and awesome guides. The trail took us through small creeks, through the Shoshone National Forest, up a steep mountain, and then down again. I wasn’t a big fan of being on the mountain peak, but my horse gave me a lot of confidence. Logan rode Pete, I rode Chisum, and Tom rode Betty White.
After our trail ride, we drove the half hour to Cody and had lunch at the Silver Dollar Bar. We mainly just had appetizers and watched the UVA baseball game on one of the many TV screens. I really liked the atmosphere and loved the state flags on the ceiling. The service was mediocre and the place was packed. It took a long time to get our food since it was so busy, but it was good. The Silver Dollar Bar is located right in the heart of everything on Sheridan Avenue.
After lunch we walked around Sheridan Avenue, did some shopping, and checked out the famous Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel. Buffalo Bill Cody named the hotel after his daughter, Irma, and stayed in the hotel frequently when he returned from his Wild West Show tours.
The Irma Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service in recognition of its contribution to the cultural foundations of America. The rooms have been renovated and have modern bathrooms and air conditioning. The Irma’s famous cherrywood bar is located in the hotel’s restaurant and is one of the most photographed features in Cody. To read about the history of the cherrywood bar, click here.
Every evening during the summer (June 1 through September 30) there is a free gunfight in the street in front of the porch of the Irma Hotel. The gunfight takes place Monday through Saturday nights from 6 pm to 6:30 pm. We were not available to see the gunfight, but we did explore the Irma Hotel.
One of my favorite things in Cody is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. The Buffalo Bill Center is actually 5 museums in 1. The Center consists of The Buffalo Bill Museum, The Plains Indian Museum, The Cody Firearms Museum, The Whitney Western Art Museum, and The Draper Natural History Museum.
Hours vary depending on the time of year so please go to www.centerofthewest.org to see when the Center is open. Admission prices are $23 for adults, $22 for seniors, $16 for kids, and kids 5 and under are free. Active duty military members are free and admission is $21 for veterans. I went in the Buffalo Bill Museum first and spent a lot of time there.
I visited the Whitney Western Art Museum, The Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Natural History Museum briefly, but spent a lot of time in The Plains Indian Museum. The exhibits were just incredible and I highly recommend visiting the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and seeing all 5 museums.
After visiting the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, we had reservations at the Cody Cattle Company for a Chuck Wagon Dinner and Show. We had a great evening of delicious food with amazing service followed by a great, family friendly music show. We HIGHLY recommend the Cody Cattle Company experience if you visit Cody, Wyoming.
When I booked our dinner and show through the Cody Cattle Company, I bought the trifecta ticket for $62 per person which included dinner, the show, and admission to the Cody Nite Rodeo. The Cody Nite Rodeo at Stampede Park is located a short distance down the road from the Cody Cattle Company.
I can’t even tell you how much we loved the rodeo! It was absolutely incredible and we had the best time. Cody is the only place in the world that has a rodeo performance nightly, making it the Rodeo Capital of the World. The Cody Stampede Rodeo is held every summer over the 4th of July and professional cowboys come from all over the world to compete. It has been named “Best Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year” in past years.
The next morning we had a white water rafting trip scheduled through River Runners of Wyoming. We were a bit apprehensive about white water rafting because it was pretty chilly outside. We ended up having a great time. We met up at the River Runners trailer/office on Yellowstone Avenue in Cody, where we geared up and then took a bus to the river.
I booked our trip months in advance, but payment wasn’t due until the day of our trip. We booked the Family Whitewater Adventure trip. It was a 2 and a 1/2 hour trip on the Shoshone River with good rapids and we even saw some wildlife along the river. The cost was approximately $40 per person. We had a raft to ourselves with our guide, Tristan Miner.
We really enjoyed white water rafting, but we had the most fun meeting and getting to know Tristan. We found out that Tristan is also a bull rider at the Cody Nite Rodeo and we had watched him ride and win the night before when we were at the rodeo.
After our trip down the river, Logan tried on Tristan’s bull riding gear.
We had lunch with Tristan at a great place he recommended called Michael’s Tacos. We had a delicious meal and really enjoyed Tristan’s company.
We said goodbye to Tristan, promised to keep in touch, and headed to Cody’s Laundromat on Beck Avenue to do some laundry. We decided to go to the Cody Nite Rodeo again. We bought our tickets at the gate and paid $25 per person. It was rainy and cold, but the rodeo takes place rain or shine and the seating area in the arena is covered.
We sat in the Buzzard’s Roost seating area and we had a great view of the bulls and horses as well as the rodeo.
The next morning we packed up, checked out of the Bill Cody Ranch and started our drive to South Dakota. We had the absolute best time in Cody and would love to go back again.
