Cody

Buffalo Bill's Wild West cowboy town and the east gateway to Yellowstone, with nightly rodeos, a cluster of Western museums and the Beartooth Highway.

Cody lies on the western edge of the Bighorn Basin in northwestern Wyoming. The seat of Park County, with about 10,000 residents, it was co-founded in 1896 by William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and named after him. About 80 km from Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance, the town is known for its cowboy culture: professional-level rodeos run almost every night in summer, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is the country's foremost complex of Western museums, and the Irma Hotel and Old Trail Town preserve the feel of the frontier era.

Sights fall into three areas. Downtown (the Center of the West, the Irma Hotel, Sheridan Avenue, Old Trail Town and the rodeo grounds) takes 1–2 days. To the west, the Wapiti Valley scenic byway follows the North Fork of the Shoshone River to Yellowstone's East Entrance, passing Buffalo Bill Dam, the quirky Smith Mansion and Pahaska Tepee. To the north, the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway climbs over Dead Indian Pass and can be linked with the Beartooth Highway to make a loop (the Beartooth Highway is covered under the Yellowstone destination). To the northeast are the Heart Mountain WWII Japanese American incarceration site and the McCullough Peaks wild horse area.

The best season is Jun–Sep: the nightly rodeo runs every evening Jun–Aug, the Cody Stampede on July 1–4 is the liveliest event, and Yellowstone's East Entrance is open from about early May to early November. Winters are cold and the East Entrance closes, but you can ice climb on frozen waterfalls nearby or ski at a small local ski area. Getting there: Yellowstone Regional Airport (COD) has flights to and from Denver and Salt Lake City; there's no public transit, so you'll need a car. Plan on 2–3 days, and use Cody as your base for entering and leaving Yellowstone from the east. Bears roam the backcountry, so carry bear spray when hiking.

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