10 Places In Wyoming You Must See Before You Die

Yellowstone is a national treasure. It holds a variety of different ecosystems, unique geographical features, and is a refuge to our state’s native wildlife.

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is an attempt to interpret the role that significant trails played in the Culture of the United States. It’s also a good way to teach yourself or your family about the culture of Wyoming’s first native inhabitants. Pictured above is an exhibit from the museum.

A medicine wheel can best be thought of as a man-made physical feature that acts as a metaphor for a spiritual concept. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel dates back to 3200 B.C., and while we don’t know the exact purpose for its construction we do know that it is capable of tracking a handful of different cosmic cycles (equinoxes, phases of the moon, and eclipses). To be fair, without a lot of context it’s not all that impressive. But if you consider its age and its ability to track astrological cycles it’s really impressive and an interesting part of Wyoming’s past.

If you take Highway 30 (or the Lincoln Highway, depending on how old you are) east out of Medicine Bow you’ll eventually come across a non-descript cabin just past an archaeological dig site. Now cabins really aren’t all that impressive, especially out in the boonies, but this cabin in particular is definitely more than meets the eye. It’s literally made from dinosaur bones. Which is both crazy interesting, and crazy metal. It’s like the sort of house an aging rockstar would retire to after he got too old to rock anymore.

The sight of Wyoming’s first state prison, Wyoming’s Frontier Prison Museum is an integral part of showing people a part of Wyoming’s history that isn’t as highlighted as our western roots or geography. The museum allows visitors to tour the cells where more than 13,500 prisoners served time. It’s also considered to be haunted and was featured on the show Ghost Adventures.

The Lincoln Monument lets visitors know that they’re heading to the Summit Rest Area and Visitor Center. Get it? Heading? Because it’s a giant head.

Overlooking the National Elk Refuge and situated just 2.5 miles north of Jackson, the National Museum of Wildlife Art exhibits wildlife art. The design of the building was actually inspired by the Slains Castle in Scotland.

The Fort Laramie National Historic Site is the remnant of the original Fort Laramie. If you haven’t seen it yet, you owe it to yourself as it’s one of the most illustrative looks at the life of a frontier-era soldier.

Cheyenne Frontier Days is how Wyoming’s capital celebrates its cowboy history. The rodeo is one of the largest in the world and annually attracts more than 200,000 people. If you live in Cheyenne and aren’t really a fan of cowboy culture (there are at least a handful of us) you still owe it to yourself to at least check out the Daddy of ‘Em All once.