Cody

Steer yourself to downtown’s Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill himself. Catch the Cody Gunfighters reenacting a shootout in front of the hotel in summer, Cody’s most vibrant season. If you want a little more grit on your visit, stay in a cabin on one of 13 guest dude ranches and go horseback riding, hiking or just explore the Shoshone National Forest.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West is ground zero for cowboy culture. The center’s five museums include: Draper Natural History Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum and Plains Indian Museum, which puts on a proper powwow every June. Take a Cody Trolley Tour to see the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, Crow Indian territory, pioneer homes and the historic district. To get your history with a side of laughs, head to Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue, where the Empty Saddles Band regales with bluegrass, comedy and cowboy poetry. The Cody Cattle Company puts on a traditional Western show with a chuckwagon dinner to boot.

Cody’s rodeo scene can’t be beat, whether you visit Cody Nite Rodeo, an amateur series running through summer, or Cody Stampede Rodeo, one of the largest professional rodeos in the U.S., established in 1919. Follow up the action with a visit to Old Trail Town, which features 25 restored historic buildings just off the Yellowstone Highway. The structures, furnishings and artifacts you’ll see are authentic. If your next stop is Yellowstone, be sure to take the I-90 Shuffle to get there. There’s no substitute for this path through the mountains and canyons of Yellowstone Country. Or just lay low in town, exploring galleries like Mountain Valley Artistry, Simpson Gallagher Gallery or Big Horn Galleries, all of which feature local art as well as the work of big-name Western artists.