Cheyenne, Wyoming is a gem of a town that everyone hears about during Frontier Days (going on now from July 
19-28) – but you forget about the rest of the year! “The Daddy of them all”, Frontier Days is indeed a huge draw, but the prices for hotel rooms, crowds and general chaos might stop you from visiting during that week of activities. So, why go to Cheyenne any other time of the year? Because they have a lot to offer, reasonable prices and fun stuff for families!
Here are just a few reasons that we had time to squish into a two day trip (more attractions at the bottom that we didn’t have time for!).
Terry Bison Ranch – This historic ranch where Roosevelt stayed at the Terry Ranch as a guest of F.E. Warren, the first Territorial Governor of Wyoming, in 1903 and 1910 and where famed chef Bobby Flay and the Food Network called the burger served at the Senator’s Restaurant, the Best Burger in Wyoming The highlight of the ranch is their our own private train where you can ride out to the middle of our bison herd and feed the bison as well as cross the state line! This was so fun I wrote a separate post for it!
Next stop on our itinerary was Downtown shopping, with a variety of cute stores, some practical and some with a wild west theme, there are lots of fun shops to browse and find bargains in! Highlights are The Wrangler and Wyoming Home. We ate at The Capitol Grill in the Plains Hotel, but Sanford’s Grub and Pub is also great (cajun food) and a fun atmosphere for families.
One of the highlights of the trip was watching the Gunslingers, who perform in historic downtown Cheyenne in Gunslinger Square located just south of the intersection of Lincolnway and Carey Avenue. They perform Mon-Fri at 6PM and Saturdays at high noon but only June and July. This fun reenactment of fun shootouts of the wild west also includes a lecture about gun safety!
There are concerts in the park in the summer which are a lot of fun! We stayed at the historic Plains Hotel, where the kids loved the history as well as the large rooms! And don’t forget to take a carriage ride downtown!
The next day we took the Trolley – the great fun about this is that with your pass, you get into all the museums in Cheyenne and it provides transportation between them! There are so many museums, but the highlights are:
- Cheyenne Depot Museum – relive the romance of the railroad!
- Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum – one of the nation’s largest collections of horse drawn vehicles and trace the history of Cheyenne Frontier days! The kids room is fabulous here!
- Botanic Gardens – volunteers maintain these gardens including 9 acres of exterior grounds. the children’s village is so fun with interactive outdoor plantings and installations for the kids to enjoy! They’re planning a huge expansion over the next three years, so be sure to check back on the progress!
Check out our review over on Mid-Century Style for Little America – what a great place to stay!
We didn’t even make it to these points of interest (I suspect we have a second trip in our future!)
- Nelson Museum of the West – Native American and Cowboy art.
- Wyoming State Museum – Ten galleries tell the story of Wyoming past
- Wyoming State Capital
- Historic Governor’s Mansion
- Vedauwoo Recreation Area
- University of Wyoming Geological Museum
What a fabulous destination if you want to just drive up the road and “get away from it all!”
For more info on upcoming events see Cheyenne.org!
