I am going to the Gillette area on a Mule deer and Pronghorn hunt this fall and will have a couple of extra days when I get out there. The only place I have been in Wyoming before is Devils Tower, Any recomendations on what to see or where to go? I am driving out so it does not have to be near Gillette.

Thanks in advance

Plenty to see in Black hills of South Dakota, and in the Buffalo/ Sheridan area. Gillette aint exactly sight seeing area, Unless you like coal mines..... But those two areas could burn a few days pretty quick.

Black hills has a ton of stuff to see. Rushmore, Custer park. It goes on and on. You could spend a week and not see half of it. If you travel west from there, thermopolis, wind river canyon ect.

Thermopolis has some pretty sweet mineral spring pools

If you enjoy dinosaurs & the body of science behind them, Wyoming is the spot with several museums that are well curated

Montana, Custer battlefield in Crow, Big Horn Mtns. Deadwood SD, Cody Wyoming for museum.

Thanks for the replies, I have been to the Black Hills , Deadwood, Sturgis , Mt Rushmore, Custer state park. Thinking of maybee the museum in Cody ,Yellowstone, and maybe Jackson. I don't know if two days is enough to do that.

They screwed up Jackson hole When they drove the cowboys out. But the northwest is beautiful country.

Jackson is pretty touristy now but the elk antlers around the park, million dollar saloon, dirty jacks (if still operating) and the Wort hotel are all pretty legit. Go to Pinedale & up to Fremont lake if you want something different. Two days will be tight if only because the drive time

Fort Laramie, I’ve been there twice pretty interesting!

Two days is not enough for Cody, will just make your trip hectic. I live in Buffalo , PM me when it comes time and remind me. I will give you so ideas.

Yep. I could easily spend two or three days just in the Museum there.

If you do wind up in Cody at dinner or lunch time, go to;
“The Proud Cut Saloon”, just across the street to the north from the Irma Hotel, get a steak & jumbo shrimp combo with the thin cut potatoes.

Arguably my favorite meal anywhere.

I know two days is not enough to see everything but I don’t know when or if I will ever get back there. So I want to see as much as possible and expect to spend most of the time driving and looking. Thanks again, I appreciate all of the info from everyone.

Keep in mind the distances involved, but you could do:

- Down Rt 90, up to Little Bighorn - 2.5 hours from Gillette
- across to Red Lodge Montana and down into Yellowstone - another couple hours (not sure on this one, but amazing ride)
- Out West entrance of Yellowstone into Cody - museum alone is at least a day
- Back through Thermopolis, across the bighorns and back down 90 to Gillette

East entrance to Cody, not West...

The museum in Cody can be enjoyed in less than a day. Yes you can easily spend more time there but two days in Cody could be great.

And the Proud Cut is probably my favorite place to eat in the state.

The more I think about it, taking the route that Bob mentioned is going to work and let me see the most in the least amount of time. The museum in cody is a must even if I don't see everything there.

Thank You everyone all of the info is much appreciated.

Had the honor of being invited to coffee, mid morning, at the Irma by the locals. Wow... I learned a lot about Cody & Wyoming in the next hour or so. They meet every morning.

Ya, go see the museum. It can easily be a whole day affair.

Guy

Ooops, yes you're right

Be prepared to alter his route due to inclement weather.

I understand the time constraints, but have to say: the first time through the museum I spent maybe 4 hours and left with a headache and sensory overload.

The next time I devoted 2 days, probably 4 hours each, and left feeling satisfied.

Enjoy your visit.

If you are in the Thermpopolis area, I would go to Sinks Canyon near Lander. That is a nice spot to visit. Not much in Thermopolis for me. If you fly fish, the North Platte is world class. Fishing the stream from Alcova back to town, or fishing the miracle mile could all be done leaving Lander and going to Muddy Gap, then to Casper and back to Gillette. You could follow the river through Wind River Canyon from Thermopolis to Shoshoni on your way to Lander.

I did a similar trip last October. We hunted north of Gillette. Left out Tuesday, early afternoon and get to Cody just after dark. Not much open then (October 20th), Covid?, seasonal?. Wednesday morning we left Cody for Yellowstone, drove the lower loop as I called it and down past the Tetons into Jackson. Left Jackson Friday morning headed back to Bama. I didn't get to see nearly enough of any of it, but I got a little taste. Enough that I know I'm going back as a tourist/fly fisherman/hunter/beer drinker in the future. It was my fist trip out that way, but it won't be my last. Had planned for September in Colorado, but have had some setbacks that have postponed that trip.

Enjoy! Soak it up! I love it up that way and have a lot more of it to see yet.

Lots of stuff in Buffalo area.
There is an art colony in U Cross 25 miles east of Buffalo. If you are nice they will let you see an informal museum of art located in an old barn. North of Buffalo are a couple of battlegrounds toward Sheridan. Near Sheridan there is a ranch museum that was a ranch owned by some British lord. The locals can tell you how to get there. Also in Sheridan is Kings saddlery. Very interesting. They do all the ropes for the rodeo cowboys. It’s note old downtown area. Weatherby firearms HQ is in Sheridan. I don’t know if they do any tours.
If Pie Zanos is still open in Buffalo try it for dinner. Good steaks are at Winchester Steak house.

I personally think Cody is too far a drive for enjoyment. North of Sheridan is the Custer battleground, in Montana.

I am back and as always most things don't go as planned. I ended up having a half day on the way out and spent that in the Black Hills. They are one of the most majestic and beautiful places I have ever been. When the hunt was over I had one day extra before i had to leave and I spent that in the Big Horns. Thanks to everyone for the ideas , I will save them and they are on my list for my next trip out there.

You could have done a lot worse with your time. I love the bighorns. Elgin Park loop. Ten Sleep Creek. Powder River headwaters...
Dirty Sally's...
Breakfast at Maggies in Worland...

Almost anyplace in Wyoming offers something.
My second favorite state

MY FIRST

Snow- how was the deer and lope hunt?

It was my first until I went to Alaska. Dall sheep every year if you want. Moose and bou too. And off the chart fishing.
If only I was in my 20s ......

Leadminer- The hunt was good but fast. I shot the Muley in the morning and the antelope in the afternoon of day one. We had set up on a hill that was covered with boulders as a place to glass from. After a couple of hours we spotted 3 bucks 750 yards away feeding on the edge of a small valley hoping they would go over the edge and then we could close the distance as there was no cover between us.The largest buck was the only one I was interested in and he was average not huge, the other 2 were small. The large buck had a different plan and headed across a property line that we couldn't, we thought he was headed up there to bed and was gone. Not 5 minutes later here he comes at a dead run with a coyote nipping at his backside. They run by the two smaller bucks and all 3 of them end up in front of us at 550 yards in some small trees. I couldn't tell which buck was which at this point as they were all partially hidden in the trees, right behind them was a steep bank which they all went over in a couple of minutes. We then decided to circle around them and see if we could find them. After glassing for a while we were about to give up when the biggest buck starts running up the bank across from us and I shot him at 300 yards. He had been bedded in the bottom of a steep ravine 100 yards from us all the time we were looking for him. It was 1 shot from a 155 scenar at 2958 FPS out of my Fieldcraft 06. The bullet destroyed the heart and smashed the offside leg and kept going. He never took another step.
We dropped the deer off at the processer in Gillette and headed to the Antelope area . We tried stalking a couple of different bucks but could not get close enough. We were contemplating what to do next when my Antelope buck popped up 200 yards in front of us and I shot him through the lungs he went about 20 yards. The next day I headed for home as My hunt was over and I was not feeling right not sick , lethargic, tired and shortness of breath. I was home in 2 long days of driving, 800 miles the first day and 1200 miles the second.The next morning I woke up having a heart attack. The hospital put 3 stents in my heart and sent me home in a few days. I should be fine but have a little bit of a road ahead of me. I can't wait to go back.