Cody, Wyoming

If you are looking for a celebration of the American West, Cody, Wyoming is the place you’ll want to visit. Founded by Buffalo Bill himself, the city bears his name, and its culture bears his stamp. That’s because in Cody, the spirit of the American West is neither indefinable nor dead. Its crazier-than-fiction history and its complex legacy are still alive and well.

This is nowhere more apparent than at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This is a set of five museums which, taken together, provide a very full and fascinating view of the American West as it existed for those who called it home, from white settlers and Native Americans to the creatures of natural history. A museum of Western art and another of Western firearms round out the story.

But what would a trip out West be without a rodeo? If your visit falls between the beginning of June and the end of August, you will definitely want to attend a Cody Nite Rodeo. Here you’ll witness the legacy of Buffalo Bill Cody embodied by horsemen and women, bull-riders, and calf-ropers. The event is held nightly for three months, and it features just the sort of entertainment that Buffalo Bill popularized in the course of his eventful career. 

Worth Checking Out

• Buffalo Bill Center of the West
• The Cody Nite Rodeo