Camping 101
It was love at first sight for my daughter and the Riverside Campground near Dubois. She ran to the centrally located playground, instantly making new friends on the tire swing while smaller children dug in the sandbox nearby. more...
The Secret Spot
Hiding six miles from the nearest "road" (a barely-discernable dirt track narrow enough to make spelunkers claustrophobic), I'm thinking the fish I am in search of aren't as stupid as I've been told. If they were stupid they'd be right off the road, where even the laziest of fishermen could toss a line in. more...
The Ball Does Go Further Up Here
While there are close to 100 courses scattered throughout the state (and new ones seem to open every year), Jackson Hole and Sheridan are the epicenters. Here's what you'll find in each. more...
Things to See & Do
Dogsledding in Bridger-Teton National Forest
Here I am in Bridger-Teton National Forest with six feet of snow on the ground. I’m on the back of a 60-pound sled behind eight Alaskan huskies. And these dogs love to run. I started off my morning the toughest way possible – rolling out of 400-thread-count sheets in my room at the Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, flicking on the gas-burning fireplace and drawing back the shutters to look out on the mountain. more...
Wild Horses Loop Tour
Galloping across the prairie with manes and tails flying and hooves kicking up dust, there is nothing more iconic in the West than a wild horse. Whether you spot them racing like the wind, clustered around a waterhole or grazing contentedly, wild horses evoke a bit of the Old West, erasing the 21st and 20th centuries and shuttling you back to the 1800s. more...
Dining in the Parks
It wasn't too awfully long ago that dining in national parks left much to be desired, with entrees built primarily, and unceremoniously, around chicken, beef and trout. That's not to say a good meal can't be built around these base ingredients. But after a long, sun-filled day hiking Yellowstone National Park's geyser basins or trekking into Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park, a meal that's as stunning as the landscape. more...
Tale of Two Tribes
The Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Indians share the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming, but these two tribal nations have distinct histories and cultures. more...
Heritage & the High Life
The L.A.-area family we met on our sleigh ride had just flown in for a few days of frosty fun in Jackson. They'd heard Jackson Hole offers everything from big-time skiing and snowboarding to world-class wildlife viewing, shopping and culture, and they weren't disappointed.
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The Power of Powwows
Powwow is the steady thump of beaters on a hide-covered drum, a cadence of mixed voices singing in Arapaho, Shoshone, Crow, or Lakota, and the sweep and swirl of men and boys wearing brightly colored regalia, of young girls with fringed shawls, older women dressed in buckskin, even tiny tots in beaded moccasins and creamy white buckskin outfits. Begun as a ritual gathering of spiritual leaders and medicine men, powwow is now a social event. more...
Mountain Peaks and Flowing Creeks
Known to the Arapaho Indians as "Land of the Earthborn Spirit," the rock formations of Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) attract experienced climbers, campers and hikers. more...
Calling All Powder Hounds
Whether you ski the steepest slopes or have never carved more than a snow angel in the stuff, snow – and plenty of it – is one thing you’re certain to find in Wyoming every winter. And while there’s something to be said for appreciating the soothing backdrop of our snowscapes from inside a warm place, you’re not going to hear the phrase “snowed in” often around here. More snow means more excuses to get out in it. Here are a few good ways. more...
Interstate 80: Ride with the Legends
Give or take a few, it is 400 miles across Wyoming on Interstate 80. By anybody’s standard that is a solid day’s travel. But hey, don’t just buzz through the state. There is a lot to see and do along the way. So much, in fact, that it’s best done in sections. So instead of hitting Wyoming at Pine Bluffs, putting the cruise control on 75 mph, and blowing out of the state around eight hours later at Evanston, set your sights on just some of the towns.
Begin your trip in Laramie, about 1/4 of the way across. This is cowboy country. more...
Tetons
Tetons for Two
While national parks have been a favorite family vacation for years - my family made sure to hit at least a few every summer - they can be surprisingly couple-compatible too. If you know where to go. more...
Discover Wyoming
Birding in Wyoming
With some-400 species overhead, the word's out about birdwatching in Wyoming. Local birders are happy to share their knowledge of the sport and the state's avian attractions – pick up one of their books or scan our primer; then take to the self-guided nature trail at the Audubon Center in Casper. Too, the National Wildlife Refuge and national park systems host several sites across the state for birding expeditions. more...
Jackson's Other Mountain
Jackson's Town Square is in the heart of one Wyoming's best-known towns. Snow King, with a 1,571-foot vertical, is just a few blocks from the center of town. When I ski at Snow King, I am sharing trails with locals. Little wonder. Instead of hanging out at a non-existent mall, kids grow up skiing there after school. Supporting “the King” doesn't cost much. Because residents can buy a $99 adult season pass, even big-mountain riders often also purchase a Snow King pass for mid-day ski breaks. more...
2007 snowmobiling
Snowmobiling Adventures on the Continental Divide Trail
Of Wyoming's roughly 2,000 marked (and often groomed) snowmobile trails, the 675-mile Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail has been called the top snowmobile route in the West by SnoWest magazine. Arguably the best part is between Lander and Dubois, threading through the scenic Wind River Range and flirting with the Continental Divide itself. more...
CFD
Following Pioneer Trails
Fort Laramie is a great place to begin any journey on Wyoming's trails. As one of the earliest permanent frontier posts, Fort Laramie served the Oregon, Mormon, California, Pony Express and Bozeman trails; was a stop on the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Route; and was near the north-south Texas cattle trail. Now a national historic site, Fort Laramie's recreated and restored buildings depict the site's colorful history. more...
A Look at Cheyenne Frontier Days
There is no event in all the land more Western than Cheyenne Frontier Days. This 10-day celebration of Western traditions has been going strong since 1897. more...
Secret Yellowstone
Yellowstone entertains nearly three million guests annually, but some 99-percent of them never venture more than 200 feet away from a road. Much less deep into the backcountry. more...
Places to Stay
Dreaming of a Wyoming Christmas
While I love Wyoming's mountains, wide open spaces, wild animals and infinite skies, most of all I love the state's pretty much guaranteed white Christmases. more...
Winter Sports
Backcountry Snow Sports
In snowriders' parlance, "backcountry" means a place beyond ski area boundaries, and any on-the-edge skier or snowboarder will tell you that the snow is best and adrenalin quotient highest there. Beyond the thrill of the ride, there is the sense of pride in earning your turns by hiking up before skiing or riding down. more...
DT
Devils Tower Centennial
Writer M. Scott Momaday once waxed poetic about Devils Tower, proclaiming "There are things in nature that engender an awful quiet in the heart of man." President Theodore Roosevelt showed his love of preservation (and an economy of words) when he declared this "lofty and isolated rock" a national monument 100 years ago. Thirty years ago, Steven Spielberg celebrated the monument's otherworldly appeal by choosing Devils Tower as the UFO landing site in his movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.more...
