Parks & Places in Wyoming
The places worth your time in Wyoming, from headline parks to the towns you will actually base in.
Yellowstone National Park
About 96 percent of Yellowstone sits in Wyoming, including Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the wildlife valleys. Wyoming reaches the park through the East Entrance from Cody and the South Entrance from Jackson and Grand Teton. The park does not require timed entry, but summer lodging and campgrounds book out months ahead, and most roads are closed to cars from early November to late April.
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Grand Teton National Park
The Tetons rise straight off the valley floor with no foothills, about 20 minutes north of Jackson. Jenny Lake, the Teton Park Road, Mormon Row barns, and the Snake River float trips are the core. Connected to Yellowstone by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway; the inner Teton Park Road closes to cars in winter.
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Jackson Hole
The valley and the town of Jackson are the state's most-visited base: the elk-antler arches on the town square, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Snow King above town, the National Elk Refuge, and the only commercial airport inside a U.S. national park (JAC). Expect resort-town prices.
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Cody
Buffalo Bill's town and the practical east base for Yellowstone, 52 miles from the East Entrance. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is one of the best museums in the West, and the Cody Nite Rodeo runs every evening June through August.
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Devils Tower
The country's first national monument, declared in 1906: an 867-foot volcanic column rising out of the pine and prairie in the northeast corner near Sundance and Hulett. A sacred site to many Northern Plains tribes, a classic crack-climbing destination, and an easy 1.3-mile loop at its base.
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Wind River Range
Wyoming's wildest mountains: more than 40 peaks over 13,000 feet, Gannett Peak (the state high point), and Cirque of the Towers. Backpacking and alpine climbing from Pinedale and Lander, plus Sinks Canyon and Popo Agie Falls for day trips. No crowds, no shuttle, real wilderness.
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Hot Springs State Park
Free to enter in Thermopolis, home to one of the largest mineral hot springs in the world. Soak for free at the State Bath House, walk the travertine terraces along the Bighorn River, and pair it with the nearby Wyoming Dinosaur Center.
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Sheridan
A polished ranch town at the foot of the Bighorns with a working Main Street, the historic Sheridan Inn, and the WYO Rodeo each July. The base for the Bighorn Scenic Byway, Cloud Peak Wilderness, and the cattle-country lodges to the south.
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Cheyenne
The state capital and rail town in the southeast corner, 90 minutes north of Denver. Home to Cheyenne Frontier Days each July, the largest outdoor rodeo in the world, plus the Old West Museum, the Big Boy steam locomotive, and the Wyoming State Capitol.
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Laramie
A high-plains college town (University of Wyoming) at 7,200 feet off I-80. The launch point for Vedauwoo's granite domes, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, the Wyoming Territorial Prison, and Medicine Bow National Forest.
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Flaming Gorge
A 91-mile reservoir straddling the Wyoming and Utah line, named by John Wesley Powell for its red sandstone walls. Trophy lake trout and Green River tailwater fishing, boating, and the Sheep Creek Geological Loop, reached from Green River and Rock Springs.
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