Cody

Buffalo Bill Cody didn't stumble onto this town, he built it on purpose. He platted a first townsite in 1895; the town you visit today was laid out two miles away in 1896 by the Shoshone Irrigation Company he organized to bring water to the Bighorn Basin, and it incorporated in 1901. The plan worked almost too well to sound believable: a population of 1,132 in 1910 has grown to just over 10,000 today, still the largest town for a long stretch of highway in any direction.

Cody built the Irma Hotel in 1902 specifically to catch travelers heading to Yellowstone, and named it for his youngest daughter. The grand opening on November 18, 1902 drew press from around the country, and the hotel's cherrywood back bar — still standing, still in daily use — was a personal gift from Queen Victoria. The Irma anchors the two-block Downtown Cody Historic District along Sheridan Avenue, listed on the National Register since 1983, where most of the brick and local-sandstone storefronts date to the same 1901–1930s boom the hotel started.

Everything about Cody points one direction: west, toward Yellowstone's East Entrance, 52 miles up the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway (US-14/16/20) through the Shoshone National Forest — the first national forest the U.S. ever designated, in 1891. The route climbs over Sylvan Pass before dropping into the park, and Cody's own tourism board credits Theodore Roosevelt with calling it “the most scenic 50 miles in the world.” Cody also calls itself the Rodeo Capital of the World, and it backs the claim up: the Cody Nite Rodeo has run every single night, June through August, since 1938 — by the town's own account, the only place in the country that does.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is really five museums under one seven-acre roof: the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Draper Natural History Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum, plus the McCracken Research Library. The Buffalo Bill Memorial Association founded it in 1917, the year Cody died; the first museum opened in a log cabin in 1927 and grew from there into a Smithsonian Affiliate holding more than 50,000 artifacts. Nobody sees all five wings in one visit, and the ticket is built around that.

*Fees subject to change, please check centerofthewest.org for updated information.

The Irma Hotel's dining room sits behind the same cherrywood bar Queen Victoria gave Buffalo Bill in 1902 — he called the place “just the sweetest hotel that ever was,” and the bar is still the first thing you see walking in. Prime rib is the specialty, and on most summer evenings the free Cody Gunfighters show plays out on the street right outside before dinner.

The Proud Cut Saloon, a few doors down at 1227 Sheridan Avenue, spent 39 years as Cody's rowdiest bar, the Wonder Bar, before becoming the Proud Cut in 1985. Bullet holes from the Wonder Bar days are reportedly still in the walls, and the name is a ranching term nobody explains until you ask.

4 breweries within 10 miles of Cody, 2 of them brewpubs with a kitchen.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

No baseball, football or big-league franchise plays in Cody — the junior hockey team above is the only game in town, literally, and it shares its arena with public skating most of the year.

*Fees subject to change, please check nps.gov for updated information.

*Fees subject to change, please check heartmountain.org for updated information.

5 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Cody in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• Yellowstone National ParkWyomingabout 85 mi
• BillingsMontanaabout 90 mi
• JacksonWyomingabout 110 mi
• BozemanMontanaabout 130 mi
• CasperWyomingabout 180 mi

Budget a full day in Cody itself before you ever point the car toward Yellowstone — the Center of the West alone can eat half of one. If the park's on the itinerary, plan a night in Cody first rather than pushing over Sylvan Pass at the end of a long driving day.

The Yellowstone route is seasonal. The East Entrance over Sylvan Pass is projected open May 1–October 31, 2026; outside that window, Cody isn't a gateway to anything but the town itself. Check the entrance's status with the Park Service before you leave — its recorded road line is (307) 344-2117, and it says all opening dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions.

Know the two big-ticket prices going in. Yellowstone entry is $35^* per vehicle for seven days or $70^* annually; the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is $23^* for adults and good for two visit-days.

One public campground within 25 miles of Cody, first-come rather than bookable. Public campgrounds run by federal agencies. State-park and private campgrounds are not included.

*Fees subject to change, please check nps.gov for updated information.

*Fees subject to change, please check centerofthewest.org for updated information.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Address

720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414

Hours

Daily 8 a.m.–6 p.m., May 1–Sept 15; hours shorten through fall and winter, down to Thursday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. in December–February

Price

$23 adult general admission, good for two visit-days within 7^*

Link

centerofthewest.org

*Fees subject to change, please check centerofthewest.org for updated information.

We checked fees, seasonal opening, closures, contact details and operating status on 2026-09-22. These change without notice — confirm with nps.gov, centerofthewest.org, heartmountain.org and codystampederodeo.com the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Cody, not drive time.

• Yellowstone Regional (COD) — 2 miles
• Worland Municipal (WRL) — 67 miles
• Billings Logan International (BIL) — 92 miles