You Can Stay in an Over-The-Top, Town-Sized Hotel in Wyoming

Somewhere between the high desert sprawl of Rock Springs and the endless wind-whipped literal nothingness between Rawlins and the Utah border, there’s a penguin on a billboard promising you a 75-cent ice cream cone. That's your first clue you’re approaching Little America, Wyoming—one of the strangest and most oddly charming towns in the American West.

But ... is it a small town, a travel center, or a hotel?

Believe it or not, it's all of the above.

Technically, Little America isn’t a town so much as it is a giant truck stop with its own zip code. However, according to the paperwork, it’s also officially a census-designated place with a population that hovers around 50 (mostly consisting of employees and the occasional lost hitchhiker) because here, the massive gas station-turned-roadside institution is the town. But while Texas has its infamous Buc-ee's, Wyoming's Little America is even cooler because it also has comfy beds and clean sheets. Yes, please!

The ironically gigantic Little America Hotel & Travel Center rises out of the Wyoming void like a desert oasis dreamed up by a long-haul trucker with a taste for 1950s neon and soft-serve. With around 80 motel rooms, a 24-hour diner, over two dozen gas pumps, plus laundry rooms, a conference center, and the kind of bathroom facilities that make RVers weep with joy, this isn't your average roadside hotel. Nor is it a bland truck stop. Bonus: it's been recently updated!

If Buc-ee’s is the Disney World of gas stations, Little America is its welcoming, oasis-like cousin up north. It’s strangely elegant, and it all started with a sheepherder and a dream.

As the story goes, in the 1930s, Little America founder Stephen Mack Covey got caught in a brutal Wyoming blizzard. After barely surviving, he vowed to build a haven in the middle of nowhere—a place for weary travelers to rest, refuel, and ideally, not freeze to death. Inspired by Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic outpost “Little America,” Covey opened his first version of the now-iconic hotel with just 12 rooms, a café, and a gas station. It was built for the highway traveler long before long-haul semis dominated the country's interstate system.

Since then, Little America has expanded into something far more massive: a high plains hotel-palace and trucker mecca with full-service dining options, pristine floors, and oodles of vintage personality.

On the accommodations side, rooms in the Little America Hotel are clean and comfy, with just a hint of retro motel styling, but with mini fridges. You'll find an assortment of family-sized rooms, ADA rooms, and even pet-friendly rooms, so no matter who you are or who you're traveling with, you'll find a warm spot to rest your head. If you have kiddos with you, they'll love the on-site playground and kitschy statues dotting the property. The whole family will also love the seasonal outdoor pool and plentiful shaded green space (leashed pets only, please).

And truly, this hotel is for everyone. There's a post office, a notary public, wi-fi, picnic tables, and so much more.

For RVers and trailers, the amenities are just as plentiful, with dozens of back-in spaces to choose from, complete with full hook-ups. Some even have their own private seating and firepit area too. Hot (private) showers, laundry rooms—everything you could hope for to rest up and clean up before heading out on your next adventure.

Inside the Travel Center, you’ll find a gift shop that’s part Americana souvenir stand and part travel snack emporium. You can buy everything from cowboy hats and adorable rubber duckies to electronics, board games, and flannel shirts that seem like they were made for this exact stretch of I-80. There are also penguins (the unofficial mascot of the hotel) plastered on everything from trucker hats to coffee mugs.

However you show up and however long you choose to stay, you won't go hungry because food is everywhere you turn. In the main hotel, the Lobby Restaurant and Bar serves up big American plates of comfort food, like chicken-fried steak, meatloaf, and diner-style hashbrowns. But if you'd like to get back on the road ASAP, you'll also find hot-and-ready eats in the Travel Center, more filling options at the Penguin Deli and Grill, plus convenience store snacks and to-go beverages. And yes, the infamous soft-serve cones are real, and every bit as refreshing as advertised.

Truckers love Wyoming's Little America for the massive pull-through lots, clean facilities, and on-site auto shop. Solo travelers will love the endless selfie opportunities. Families love it because the rooms are clean, the beds are soft, and the kitsch is just enough to keep the kids entertained. This is definitely the most unique hotel stay in this corner of Wyoming! You can even book in advance to reserve your room or RV spot.

Depending on your next destination, drive west and you’ll hit the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in about an hour and a half, which is the otherworldly red canyon carved by the Green River and is easily one of Wyoming’s best-kept secrets for fishing, hiking, and boating. To the east, you’ll find the historic mining town of Rock Springs and, beyond that, the Red Desert—home to wild horses, ancient petroglyphs, and a sea of pronghorn.

If you’re itching for a scenic drive, check out the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop, about 45 minutes away, where wild herds roam under massive Wyoming skies. Or just grab a cone, sit in one of the wooden rockers outside the Travel Center, and watch behemoth freight trucks roll in from all over the country.

Since Little America's inception, the Little America Hotel family has grown. You'll find an even more lavish stay over in Cheyenne, complete with a golf course (although, sadly, no official zip code). But for the original, middle-of-nowhere hotel oasis experience, head to Little America, Wyoming, instead. Come for the ice cream, stay for the freshly-laundered towels, and leave with a penguin mug and a vintage postcard proving that you just visited a 1934 Wyoming roadside icon.

Craving even more roadside Americana? Check out Only In Your State's AI Travel Planner for more hidden gems.