Wyoming Top Attractions
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.
Wyoming Is Magnificent!!!
Those three words perfectly sum up the great state of Wyoming.
There are so many remarkable attractions and destinations in Wyoming that we could spend the next 5 years trying to put it all together on this website.
The more you discover what Wyoming has to offer, the more you will realize that a person could spend a lifetime trying to experience it all.
Wyoming is jam-packed with amazing things to see and do, and is truly one of the most beautiful and diverse states in America.
And because of this tremendous diversity and seemingly endless supply of top-notch attractions, our task turned into a very ambitious undertaking. Our goal was to not only put it all into one section on our website, but to simplify everything so you and your family would know EXACTLY where to go and what to do in this great state. We feel that we definitely achieved this goal.
Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park... and Much More!
Of course the two obvious Wyoming top attractions are Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. These iconic parks are among the top national parks in the country, and are extremely popular destinations for visitors vacationing in Wyoming. So of course we will be featuring these national parks in detail for your convenience. But there is so much more to discover and explore in Wyoming. You will be amazed!
Oxbow Bend with Mount Moran, Grand Teton National Park.
Choosing the Top Wyoming Attractions...
We've spent many years exploring Wyoming and learning about all this great state has to offer, but there is so much it's really difficult to wrap our arms around it all.
Our goal on this section of our website is to share with you what we feel are the VERY TOP WYOMING ATTRACTIONS... and believe us when we tell you that choosing this list was an incredibly difficult task to undertake.
Keeping It Simple
Of course there are countless opportunities for an array of outdoor activities such as overnight backpacking, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, etc. This section of the site touches on the main areas for these activities, because the last thing we want to do is to "flood" you with so much information that you are more confused than when you started. The bottom line is that we have "simplified" Wyoming for you.
Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
Many attractions that did not make our list should have, but we don't want to overwhelm you as you are trying to plan your Wyoming vacation. This list is the absolute "Must Sees" while touring and exploring the great state of Wyoming, but keep in mind that there's more out there beyond our list!
About Wyoming
Pancake Breakfast at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Wyoming is the least populated state in America, but is the 10 largest state. That means there is a lot of wide open area without a lot of people. 97,814 square miles in size, Wyoming is 365 miles from the eastern to western border, and 276 miles from the northern to southern border.
This square-shaped state is made up of 23 counties, with its capitol city being historic Cheyenne having an estimated population of 62,400 people (2013 census).
Nearly 50% of the entire state of Wyoming is owned by the U.S. government. This amounts to over 30 million acres, and the State of Wyoming owns an additional 6% of Wyoming lands which is another 4 million acres. Most of this public land is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service.
Within Wyoming's borders there are so many opportunities for outdoor activities, scenic drives and top attractions, it truly seems limitless.
Wyoming is mainly a gigantic high elevation plateau, with mountain ranges sprawled throughout the western two thirds of the state. There are an astounding 109 named mountain ranges in Wyoming, with the highest peak in the state being Gannett Peak in the fabled Wind River Range, at 13,804 feet above sea level.
Between these amazing mountain ranges are high elevation prairies, averaging between 6,500 and 8,000 feet above sea level. This is a stark difference from the geography of Montana, which does not sit on a high plateau and whose overall elevation is much, much lower than Wyoming. In Montana, the average prairie elevation is between 3,500 and 4,500 vertical feet, which is thousands of feet lower than Wyoming's typical prairie elevation.
All of the mountain ranges of Wyoming are part of the Rocky Mountains, and are all wonderful places to discover and explore. And of course with this type of terrain, comes hundreds and hundreds of rivers, lakes and streams that all help make Wyoming one of the most beautiful states in the Union.
Proud Native American Heritage
Wyoming not only has a remarkably proud Native American Heritage and history that spans thousands of years, but there are many places throughout Wyoming where you can learn about and actually "see" the greatness of the Native American Culture.
Wyoming has an extremely proud Native American Heritage that runs very, very deep throughout the history of the region. For tens of thousands of years Native Americans have called Wyoming home, and through this vast time frame, there is still evidence of these early inhabitants as you look at the incredible pictographs and petroglyphs that are found throughout Wyoming.
Castle Garden Petroplyphs, Pilot Mountain Petroglyphs, Cedar Canyon Petroglyphs and Legend Rock Petroglyphs are but a few of the incredible history that is found on the cliffs of Wyoming.
Today, visitors can still see how the Native American Culture is still alive and well in Wyoming as you visit many of the state historic sites and present day cultural events such as the Eastern Shoshone Indian Days and Pow Wow at Fort Washakie and Cheyenne Frontier Days that are major events that are held annually.
Eastern Shoshone Indian Days and Pow Wow
Wyoming was "front and center" during the development of the Great American West. First came the mountain men who trapped fur throughout the area, and then came the hundreds of thousands of pioneers heading West along the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail in covered wagons. The only place in the Rocky Mountains where wagons could cross the Rockies was at South Pass, which is now a National Historic Landmark.
This amazing westward migration between the 1840s and 1860s changed everything, as military forts such as as the U.S. Army's Fort Phil Kearny sprung up along the trails to protect these brave pioneers from Indian raids. With this began the Indian Wars which reshaped Wyoming and the entire West, as well as the great "Cattle Era" of the 1880s that followed.
Then the mystique and magic of the Old West went worldwide when Wyoming's Buffalo Bill Cody took his "Wild West Show" throughout not only America, but to many places across the globe.
Visitors can learn all about this amazing man and his adventures at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody Wyoming. Vacationers can also visit the historic Irma Hotel in downtown Cody, which was built by Buffalo Bill in the early 1900s and named it after his daughter... and you can even watch an Old West gunfight in front of Irma every afternoon.
The "lure" of the Great American West has ever since remained a world-wide sensation. And let's not forget the iconic legends of the outlaws such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as they rode and shot their way into the history books.
Today's cowboys and cowgirls continue this classic Old West tradition and culture of the Old West, with their ranches, farms and of course rodeos such as the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
The Great American West remains legendary world-wide, and is one of the pieces of this great country that is as American as you can get. And as you travel throughout Wyoming and the west in general, you'll see that The Great American West is still very much alive and well.
State Historic Sites
There are countless Wyoming attractions that preserve this amazing time in history, such as the Oregon Ruts National Historic Landmark, where the covered wagon ruts were actually cut into the rock during the Western Migration of the 1840s through the 1860s.
Visitors can also see the hundreds of these pioneers' names carved into the cliffs at Register Cliff and Independence Rock.
The Old West comes to life in Wyoming, and as you explore all the historic attractions found throughout this amazing state, you'll develop a deeper understanding and respect for the brave men and women who dared to "Go West".
The Wildlife
Wyoming has some of the most diverse wildlife found anywhere in North America...and also has some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities found anywhere in the world.
Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are home to remarkable wildlife...including grizzly bears, black bears, elk, moose, buffalo (bison), bighorn sheep, mountain goats, wolves, pronghorns, mule deer, whitetail deer, mountain lion, bobcats and river otters just to name a few.
The list is endless, and both Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park provide outstanding opportunities for you and your family to see these amazing animals from your car.
But not only are these and many additional species of animals found in the national parks of Wyoming, but they are also found throughout the entire of Wyoming. Therefore, we highly recommend that you always have your camera ready because you just never know what you'll see around the next bend!
Grizzly bear cubs, Yellowstone National Park.
Endless Outdoor Activities
What can we say about the outdoor activities that the great state of Wyoming offers its visitors. The opportunities are limitless. From whitewater rafting to hiking, from horseback riding to mountain climbing, from fly fishing to water skiing...the list goes on and on and on. All we can tell you is that if you just about any outdoor activity you can think of, more than likely Wyoming has the perfect spot for you!
Snake River Canyon whitewater rafting near Jackson Wyoming.
Back country camping in the Wind River Range.
Fly Fishing on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park.
Wyoming Scenic Byways
Wyoming provides its visitors with a tremendous number of magnificent scenic byways. These scenic byways take travelers through some of the most beautiful landscapes in North America, and we feature many of these Wyoming Scenic Byways throughout this section of our website.
From the Snowy Range Scenic Byway to the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, we will show you the highlights of these fantastic highways.
Teton Park Road, Grand Teton National Park.
Wyoming Top Attractions...
Wyoming is literally "filled to the brim" with unbelievably incredible attractions...... It's really remarkable and quite overwhelming. Our goal on this section of our vacation website is to show you the very TOP ATTRACTIONS in Wyoming.
These attractions will be geared toward vacationers as they tour the great state of Wyoming. We will not get into the whole mountain climbing/multi-day hiking/water sport world. Rather, the Top Attractions we will discuss here are directed toward vacationers wanting to take in the top tourist attractions throughout Wyoming.... and hopefully this section of our site will simplify this incredibly complicated undertaking.
Wyoming has so many things to offer vacationers.... it's rather overwhelming to the vacationer trying to figure out where to go and what to do. So even though we had a rather difficult time trying to narrow down all of the possibilities, we feel we've done our job of helping vacationers know exactly where to go during their Wyoming vacation.
Pilot Butte Wild Horses.