It is nearly 350 Interstate miles from the Colorado border just south of Cheyenne to the Montana line just north of Sheridan. En route, it provides inspiring vistas of wide-open rolling prairie and skirts the western edge of the Powder River Basin, a booming region where energy development is driving the state's vibrant economic engine.
Day 1
Enter Wyoming from the south, and visit the Terry Bison Ranch (Exit 2), where some 2,500 head of American bison (commonly called buffalo) are raised. Back on the road, stop at the Wyoming Travel Information Center (Exit 7) for brochures and maps.
Just north of the Union Pacific tracks is Cheyenne, Wyoming's capital and largest city (Exit 9). Stops in Cheyenne include the restored Union Pacific Depot (1887), grandiose State Capitol (also 1887), Historic Governor's Mansion (1905) and the modern Wyoming State Museum. Big Boy 4004, a gargantuan steam locomotive that hauled freight trains over the Rocky Mountains, is on view in nearby Holliday Park.
Pony Express exhibit at the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center
These attractions are within a few blocks of each other and are either free or inexpensive to visit.
The city really rocks for 10 days in July during the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days, the nation's biggest outdoor rodeo and entertainment extravaganza. In the warm months, enjoy a narrated trolley tour, a performance by the famous Cheyenne Gunslingers or a horse drawn carriage ride
From Wheatland (Exits 78 and 80), detour to Fort Laramie National Historic Site, an important garrison along the Oregon Trail, and the nearby ruts etched into the earth by westward-bound pioneers. Return to I-25 via Guernsey. North of Glendo, I-25 parallels the North Platte River. Press on to Casper (Exits 186 or 188) for the night.
Day 2
Casper, now Wyoming's second-largest city with a vibrant downtown, was called "the crossroads of the West" in pioneer times. The California, Mormon, Oregon, Overland and Pony Express Trails passed through, as documented by the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.
Northeast Wyoming The Occidental Hotel
A few miles east of I-25 is the Teapot Dome, the rock formation that lent its name to the biggest oil-fueled political scandal of the 1920s. Get closer via Hwy. 250 (Exit 210), a 25-mile loop that re-enters I-25. Kaycee (Exit 254) boasts a strong Western (and even Wild West) heritage. Butch Cassidy and the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang hid out nearby.
Today, this traditional farming and ranching community is also a gateway into the Powder River Basin. From there northward, increasingly magnificent mountains loom west of the freeway. I-25 ends when it joins Interstate 90 at Buffalo (Exit 300), splendidly situated just east of the Bighorn Mountains. Stop for the night.
Day 3
Explore historic downtown Buffalo, where Owen Wister's fictional "Virginian" got his man at the Occidental Hotel. The Jim Gatchell Museum houses more than 15,000 Old West artifacts. Continue on I-90 to Sheridan (Exit 15). The present boom has added an energetic and upbeat glow to the town's fine 19th- and early 20th-century buildings. Residents and visitors alike fan out for hiking, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling and skiing – depending on the season – in the beautiful Bighorns.
A quick lesson in Wyoming's art history reveals that Conrad Schwering, Thomas Moran and Archie Teater, among others, all lived and painted here. Teater came to Jackson Hole in a covered wagon in 1928 and was one of the few Western artists to enjoy fame during his lifetime. Since then, his studio/shop has moved around Jackson's Town Square several times. It's now JC Jewelers, where you can stop by for a look and imagine Teater sitting inside, painting away. read more
The pioneers of the 1840s entered “Oregon Country” when they crossed the Continental Divide at South Pass along the Oregon Trail. read more
