Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Help me plan a trip to Cody

We spend 2 weeks in Cody almost every spring. Between Cody and the E. entrance to Yellowstone is the North Fork of the Shoshone River. Spectacular country w/ tons of wildlife to be seen from the road or while hiking[lots of bears] Almost every campground is at the base of a trail or a system of trails which are spectacular w/ amazing scenery and enough variety for anyone. The Proud Cut has great food, Cassie's has good food and great music on the weekends. The food at the Irma is mediocre but the bar on a Friday or Saturday afternoon is a local hangout and a real slice of Wyoming. I could live in Cody, great people w/ mountains to the West and Antelope country to the East. Breakfast at Grannie's or Bubbas. You will love it.


mike r

Go check out Atlantis..... Mount Zion....

You will need AT LEAST two days and more is better to take in Cody. Two days for sure at the museum. There are actually 5 museums in one building: firearms, western art, plains indians, natural history and Buffalo Bill. You simply cannot absorb it all in one day, you cant even absorb the firearms in one day. Make reservations early, like NOW, do not underestimate the demand for rooms etc during June, July and August. We were just up there for a couple of days in early October, I wanted one last trip through the firearms museum, it has recently been overhauled and is better than before IMHO. We stayed at the Irma Hotel, was kinda fun, even had flush toilets.

I have lived in Wyoming since 1940, minus my time in the service. I would rather someone beat me with a stick than make me go to Jackson.

Several times in the last few years we have had people post here on the Fire that they wanted to travel from somewhere back East , see Yellowstone, Jackson Hole and Cody all in the same 7-10 day trip.
Please dont try to do that, you will spend at least half your time staring at the back end of the car in front of you. Traffic moves very slowly in places and it is a LONG ways between stops, people who have never been to the West before are always amazed at how far it is from point A to point B. Have a nice relaxing time, see some sights, have a good time without dashing madly about trying to see it all in one swoop. Cant be done.

Drive the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway from the Yellowstone NE gate to Cody. Awesome drive. After 2 days in Cody, we made the loop back into Yellowstone through the east gate.

If you fly into one city and out of another, what do you do about your rental car?

We did a whitewater rafting trip down the Shoshone River while in Cody. Rapids weren't huge which was easily handled by the family. It was another good way to see nature around Cody.

Not sure how much you're willing to drive. However, the Bighorn Mountains are worth the drive as is Devils Tower. That might stretch you for one week. However, we enjoyed every minute of it. Cody Museum was one of the highlights of the trip.

Most of the major rental companies allow pickup and dropoff to be different places.

Any good choice of where to stay or more important where not to stay. Planning to be there mid May for a few days

I surely appreciate all the great suggestions! I hope I can return the favor some day. We won’t try to see everything in the region in a week. If we like it, it probably won’t be our last trip to the area.

Keep the ideas coming if you have any more. I’m sure I’m not the only one interested.

My cousins went up one summer to cowboy at the Cody Night Rodeo that a friend runs. They had days off to do whatever they wanted. One day they borrowed a raft and bought some cheap rods and reels. Floated some nearby river hammering the trout on nightcrawlers and Powerbait, stopped on a gravel bar and grilled a few up for lunch. Got back to town and some guy tells them that river is artificial fly and catch and release only! Fuggin Okies.

Best town in America.

Make it an "or so" vacation. A week will hurry you to much and you'll be frustrated.

Maybe too late for this summer but try to get at least a 1 or 2 night reservation in the park. Two days in the park gives you a lot to see. Spend a day in Cody. Spend a day or 2 exploring the Wind River Canyon, Maybe indulge in a float trip. A day or so exploring the Big Horn Basin is time well spent. Drive the Powder River pass and enjoy some of the easily passable back country roads of the Bighorns (weather permitting)...

And don't be a dumb ass. Take a real camera...

I was through there on a bicycle in July, west to east.

Probly not applicable in this case but I believe camping out and traveling around on a bicycle is the best way to see Yellowstone. Campgrounds are 10 to 20 miles apart, no reservations needed. I blitzed through in three days, shoulda stayed a week. If I did it again I’d drive to West Yellowstone right outside gate, leave my car there and cycle in.

I’ll second the motion re: the mediocre food, actually awful in the immediate vicinity of Old Faithful.

Be aware that Yellowstone is an elevated Caldera, the surface of Yellowstone Lake alone is at 7,000ft, the passes around it up around 8,500 feet. Pretty high up for that far north. June could be nippy.

Sixty miles most all downhill from the top of Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone to Cody. Not far outside the East Gate I found Bill Cody’s old resort, Pahuska, had decent food. The next morning a little mom and pop joint on the south side of the highway on the west edge of town (just west of the rodeo ground) serveda decent breakfast at a reasonable price. Looked for the locals parked out front.

At least a whole day to see the museum in Cody if wife permits. If you do drive east to the Little Bighorn Battlefield from Cody, go east through the Bighorn Mountains to Sheridan and then north. Wanting to avoid the climb I went around through Billings, a boring drive.

At the LBH, after seeing the battlefield drive over the interstate into the Rez town of Hardin. On the main drag a short distance past the McDonalds there’s a cool-looking old pawnshop. Could be some interesting things there, it was closed when I blitzed through town.

I live 60 miles from Cody. Here's my list. Many were mentioned already.
Good meals at Proud Cut, the wife and my favorite place to eat. Cassie's is good but a bit pricey.
Bubba's BBQ in Jackson is much better than Cody's.

Must see....
The Museum.
The Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways.
North and South Fork highways.
The parks, of course, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, but a bit too many people for me in peak season, which will include your trip.
Sleeper alert: Bighorn Canyon National Park, 60 miles east of Cody. No crowds, great views. Take the boat trip at Horseshoe Bend. Or PM me for an even better boat ride, if I'm not fishing somewhere.

Mostly this. The Irma is mediocre at best, I’d rather eat at the Cody Wendy’s. The proud cut is the best Place to eat in Cody.

Heart mtn I guess is interesting but also kind of depressing, if you want to know about it find something to read. Not much really to see there.

When you are in the parks get out of bed early and drive the good spots for critters or go see the geyser attractions. There will still be people out but the park is ALOT better before about 8:30am.

I don’t know why you’d want to fly into anywhere other than the Cody Airport.

Do not skip the beartooth hwy, some of the best scenery in the country and less people than in the Park.

With apologies to cyclists, Please don’t ride a bike around the park. They are the biggest road hazard there. I’m kidding, sort of, ok not really.

If it helps any, I try not to be, more than most anyhow. And a bicycle gives you absolute freedom to camp at whatever campground where and when you want, spur of the moment. For everybody else besides hikers everything is booked up to the minute about a year in advance, or so I'm told.

As for hotels, same thing. If all the hotels in Yellowstone and Jackson (I've never been to Jackson) were booked, I'd look to the town of West Yellowstone right outside the park gste.


One thing no-one has mentioned yet; inside the park there is absolutely NO phone service. Well they say there is, but the way I heard it the one tower just gets overwhelmed by the volume of calls.

If you’re in the area- this was one of the best parts of a two week roast trip my wife and I took to Yellowstone/tetons.



https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/btnf/recarea/?recid=71639

We stayed at The Cody the night we came out of the East side of Yellowstone. Nice hotel and the owner was a good guy. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go to the museum. Wish we'd have made time to do that. But had ahead of us a long 2-day drive back to Texas.

Stayed there once. Drove the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways. Highly recommend that. Went to the dam, it was worth a look. Ate a Steak somewhere there that night. Don't remember the name of the place but it was probably the best food I have eaten in that part of the country. If I remember right it was west of town.

Old Trail Town. Very much for tourists, but I enjoyed it. It is right in Cody.