Walking in the footsteps of Buffalo Bill in Cody, Wyoming

I didn’t expect to spend much time in Cody, Wyoming. When I was studying options for our Yellowstone trip, I had decided that Cody would be a good place to stay while we were visiting Yellowstone National Park. I was wrong in that regard. Nevertheless, upon our arrival I found Cody to be an interesting and worthwhile place to spend some time. It’s not a place just to pass through on the way to Yellowstone but is a worthy destination in its own right.

Cody is named after the famous cowboy William Frederick Cody better known as Buffalo Bill. He is best known for his touring Wild West show which toured the United States and was even popular in Europe. From that financial success, one of his ventures was to build an irrigation system on the banks of the Shoshone River in Wyoming. While this did not turn out to be that successful of a venture, one of its outcomes was the development of the town of Cody.

To make the town a success, Buffalo Bill lobbied hard to get the Burlington Railroad to come through Cody. When it did, that improved the town’s prospects. Buffalo Bill continued his efforts to attract people to his town and helped to build up the tourist industry including tourism to Yellowstone National Park.

Today the legacy of Buffalo Bill can be seen in a number of ways around the town. The rodeo which is held each summer is in some ways a throwback to the days of the Wild West Show which William Cody had been so involved in. During our visit to the town in late September, the rodeo arena was empty, perhaps as much because of COVID this year as anything else.

Another part of his legacy is the Buffalo Bill dam. The dam was completed in 1910 in an effort to provide irrigation water to the region. It was the largest arch concrete dam in the world. Located in a canyon of the Shoshone River, it was built in part after Buffalo Bill gave up his water rights to the government. The dam’s original name was the Shoshone Dam. In 1945 the dam was renamed Buffalo Bill Dam in honor of the 100th birthday of William Cody and his commitment to irrigation.

The dam is just west of town on the highway traveling to Yellowstone. Visitors can check out the dam for themselves. It’s a quick but interesting stop. The dam creates the Buffalo Bill Reservoir which has become a recreation area named appropriately Buffalo Bill State Park. While the water looks like a good place to swim or boat, the area around the water is barren and uninviting to me.

Another legacy of William Cody is the Irma Hotel. It opened in 1902 to great fanfare. Buffalo Bill named the hotel after his daughter, and it became an important part of the life of Cody. When Buffalo Bill would return from his season of shows, he would throw a party at the hotel and celebrate what was happening in his namesake town.

Today the hotel is still an important part of the Cody scene with a restaurant and shows. We went in to a small portion of it. What I remember was the large number of bighorn sheep heads on the hallway walls. Most of them were from other parts of the world, certainly a unique hotel decor.

Today the main street of Cody boasts a number of older building with unique facades reminiscent of its former glory days. There are a variety of gift shops and souvenir places along the main drag which seem to focus on one of two themes. Some focus on the western/cowboy theme of the town while others focus on nearby Yellowstone National Park. That means there’s something for everyone.

During our day in Cody, we decided to drive northeast to visit the Bighorn National Forest. The forest area covers parts of both Montana and Wyoming. To get there we drove through some small towns. The largest was Powell. We drove through the downtown section of Powell and might have stopped to wander a bit, but there was no place to park. I don’t mean there were no parking spots. I mean cars filled all the parking spots. The town seemed quite active. I was a bit surprised to see that.

Continuing on our way, we eventually arrived at our destination, Devil Canyon Overlook. This is a site where one can look down into the deep canyon created by the Bighorn River. It is a sort of mini Grand Canyon. It is not as deep or as wide, but it offers some beautiful views of the canyon and is well worth visiting. The parking lot is right at the overlook so it’s not difficult to enjoy the wonderful views.

It is in this area that we saw the mountain goats I mention in my post on Yellowstone. They were eating very close to the parking area. Apparently there are also bighorn sheep in the area, but we didn’t see any. We did see a raptor in the vicinity flying high in the sky.

On the way back to Cody we enjoyed the red earth hillsides and stopped at a small park on a lake. The challenge here is that there are so few trees in this terrain. For me trees are a necessary part of a lake providing shade in the summer. I think it could be very uncomfortable to come here in the heat of the summer to enjoy the lake.

There is one more prominent place in Cody, and that is the Buffalo Bill Museum. It is an interesting and educational place. Due to its size I think it deserves its own post which I will share next week.

So there you have it, from western style fun to the enjoyment of nature, Cody has something for most families. If you are in the neighborhood, don’t just drive by. Take the time to stop and see what Cody has to offer.

Have you visited Cody? What were your favorite experiences there? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comment section below. Also be sure to subscribe if you haven’t done so already. You won’t get anything but a weekly post from me.