USA TODAY 10Best
Wyoming's best attraction? Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center!
Best Wyoming Attraction (2017)
Wyoming, most famously home of Yellowstone National Park, has no shortage of natural wonders waiting to be explored. Amid all the state's wild places and open spaces, its cowboy culture and Western heritage are alive and well, particularly in towns like Cody and Laramie. Ski gear and cowboy hats coexist in Jackson Hole, while Cheyenne, the state's largest city, is home to museums, galleries, historic architecture and the annual Frontier Days festival. So what is Wyoming's best attraction?
We asked 10Best readers to vote daily for their favorites, and the results are in. The top 10 winners in the category Best Wyoming Attraction are as follows:
Photo courtesy of S. Carter/NPS
No. 10: Devils Tower National Monument - Devils Tower
Long before Close Encounters brought this natural monument to the surface of the collective American consciousness, it already ranked as one of the most visited attractions in the nation. President Theodore Roosevelt declared the 1,267-foot-high rock formation the first national monument in 1906. Once a sacred Native American site, it today attracts rock climbers and geology geeks.
Photo courtesy of Paul Hermans / Wikimedia Commons
No. 9: The Occidental Hotel - Buffalo
Stepping through the front door of the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo is a bit like stepping back in time to the days when Calamity Jane or Butch Cassidy might have walked its halls. The embossed ceilings in the lobby and the back bar are originals, so even those not staying in the hotel will find it worthwhile to swing by for a drink in the restored 1908 saloon (while keeping an eye out for bullet holes).
No. 8: Grand Teton National Park
Towering over Jackson, in the Snake River Valley of Wyoming, the peaks of Grand Teton National Park seem all the more dramatic due to the lack of any foothills to ease the transition. Twelve summits rise above 12,000 feet, and with extensive hiking trails and sparser crowds than nearby Yellowstone, it's easy to get off the beaten path, where bald eagle, elk, bear and moose sightings are possible.
Photo courtesy of NPS photo / Neal Herbert
No. 7: Yellowstone National Park
America's first national park is also one of its most iconic. Home to the world's largest collection of geysers, including the famous Old Faithful, Yellowstone attracts some 3 million visitors a year to its bizarre geological formations and teeming wildlife, including bison, bear, bighorn sheep, trumpeter swans, moose, elk and river otter.
Photo courtesy of Travel Wyoming
No. 6: Hot Springs State Park - Thermopolis
Every 24 hours, some 8,000 gallons of mineral-rich waters flow from the ground over the colorful terraces of the Big Horn River within Hot Springs State Park. While the spring water maintains a temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit, the park operates a bathing house where visitors can soak in 104-degree water before or after exploring the park's 6.2 miles of trails.
Photo courtesy of NPS Photo / John Collins
No. 5: Fossil Butte National Monument - Kemmerer
The limestone within Fossil Butte National Monument contains one of the world's richest deposits of freshwater fish fossils – a testament to the time when a great lake once covered the land. More than 300 specimens are on display in the visitor center, while several scenic drives and interpretive trails guide visitors through the park.
Photo courtesy of Buffalo Bill Center of the West photo by Nancy McClure
No. 4: Buffalo Bill Center of the West - Cody
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West comprises five smaller museums, each covering a facet of the American West: the Draper National History Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum and Cody Firearms Museum.
Photo courtesy of Wyoming Office of Tourism
No. 3: Sheridan
Historic Sheridan is the quintessential American West town, where legendary cowboys and outlaws once walked the streets, still to this day surrounding by the wild Bighorn Mountains. Visitors can grab a drink at the Mint Bar, a 1907 saloon, or browse cowboy memorabilia at the King's Saddlery museum.
Photo courtesy of Wyoming Office of Tourism
No. 2: The Brinton Museum - Big Horn
Located on the grounds of Quarter Circle A Ranch in Big Horn, the Brinton Museum features a collection of Western and American Indian art from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, Matt Dillon
No. 1: Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center - Lovell
In the Pryor Mountains just outside of Lovell, wild horses still roam freely. This herd, derived from the horses of Portugal and Spain, have lived in the region for nearly two centuries. At the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, visitors learn about the historic significance of the horses and view live mustangs in the surrounding natural scenery.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Flash Parker and Carter G. Walker (Moon Montana & Wyoming) were chosen based on their knowledge and experience of travel in Wyoming.
Congratulations to all these winning attractions!
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Carter G. Walker
Carter G. Walker is the author of Moon Montana &... Read More
Carter G. Walker is the author of Moon Montana & Wyoming, the third edition of which was released in May, 2017. She has guided in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park and in Montana's Crazy Mountains. She writes stories and raises two fearless girls who love and defend wild places.
Carter G. Walker
Carter G. Walker is the author of Moon Montana & Wyoming, the third edition of which was released in May, 2017. She has guided in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park and in Montana's Crazy Mountains. She writes stories and raises two fearless girls who love and defend wild places.
Flash Parker
Originally from Toronto, Flash Parker escapes to... Read More
Originally from Toronto, Flash Parker escapes to his adopted home in the Wyoming wilderness as often as he can. Flash has spent more than a decade working as an author, photographer and journalist; his work has been published by Afar, Outside Magazine, Lonely Planet, Conde Nast, Canadian Living, USA Today, Food & Travel, Get Lost Magazine, GQ Magazine, Asian Geographic, Escape Magazine, Vacations + Travel, Voyeur Magazine, Groove Magazine, Reader’s Digest, American Cowboy and more. Flash has worked on assignment in more than 50 countries, across six continents, and has been named the 2016 Society of American Travel Writers Photographer of the Year, and the 2017 SATW Action and Portrait Photographer of the Year.
Flash Parker
Originally from Toronto, Flash Parker escapes to his adopted home in the Wyoming wilderness as often as he can. Flash has spent more than a decade working as an author, photographer and journalist; his work has been published by Afar, Outside Magazine, Lonely Planet, Conde Nast, Canadian Living, USA Today, Food & Travel, Get Lost Magazine, GQ Magazine, Asian Geographic, Escape Magazine, Vacations + Travel, Voyeur Magazine, Groove Magazine, Reader’s Digest, American Cowboy and more. Flash has worked on assignment in more than 50 countries, across six continents, and has been named the 2016 Society of American Travel Writers Photographer of the Year, and the 2017 SATW Action and Portrait Photographer of the Year.