Itineraries

In Cheyenne | North | South | East | West

In Cheyenne - Half Day Itinerary 

Go downtown to the restored Cheyenne Depot.  A National Historic Landmark, the depot has been painstakingly restored to its original glory and is once again a center of activity in the community.  Tour the art deco lobby and visit the Cheyenne Depot Museum (307-632-3905) which chronicles the railroad and its relationship to Cheyenne.

In the depot, purchase tickets for the Cheyenne Street Railway Trolley (307-778-3133) which provides a 90 minutes overview of the community, its history, and attractions between May and September.  The tour includes stops at various attractions, allowing riders to disembark for the attraction, and then re-board the next trolley 90 minutes later. 

Stops include the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum (307-778-7290), the Nelson Museum of the West (307-635-7670), Wyoming State Museum (307-777-7022), Historic Governors' Mansion (307-777-7878), Wyoming Capitol, and Cheyenne Botanic Gardens (307-637-6458).  (Trolley drivers are available as step-on guides.  The Trolley can be chartered year-round.)   

Upon returning to downtown, spend some time at a couple of true western stores.  Try the Wrangler (307-634-3048) for jeans, boots, hats, and other western apparel or Wyoming Home (307-638-2222) for its unique Western furniture and artwork.  Or catch a ride on the free downtown carriage rides, which run June through August.

One Day or More Itinerary

After you've enjoyed the sights in town, head south nine miles to the Terry Bison Ranch (307-634-4171) for a horseback ride or a train ride into the middle of the bison herd that calls the ranch home. The ranch is open year-round, so you can always be assured to have a good time.

Back in town, be sure to check out Big Boy 4004, the world's largest steam locomotive (1.2 million lbs.), which is located at Holliday Park.  It was designed especially for the rugged Cheyenne to Ogden, Utah, run.

Travel east to Pine Bluffs and view the University of Wyoming Archaeological Dig Site where Native American artifacts are discovered from June to August (307-245-3695).

End your day watching the Western skits and escapades of the Cheyenne Gunslingers at 6:00 pm in downtown Cheyenne in June and July.

Then enjoy the Bit-O-Wyo Horsebarn Dinner Theater in the beautiful mountains west of town from May to August. 

Or catch the Old-Fashioned Melodrama (307-638-6543) at the Historic Atlas Theater where you can cheer the hero and hiss the villain in July.

In late July each year, enjoy the rip-roaring excitement of Cheyenne Frontier Days, the largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration in the world! (307-778-7200) Frontier Days is honest-to-goodness excitement at its Western best with daily rodeos, nightly concerts featuring top-name performers, an Indian Village, parades, art shows, pancake breakfasts, a carnival, and more.

121st Frontier Days: July 21 - 30, 2017
122nd Frontier Days: July 20 - 29, 2018
123rd Frontier Days: July 19 - 28, 2019
124th Frontier Days: July 17 - 26, 2020

See cfdrodeo.com for more information.

Full Day Tours from Cheyenne

North – Oregon Trail Country 
(Approximately 9 hours for a full round trip)

Travel north on I-25 and turn east on Hwy 26 to Guernsey (98 miles). Near Guernsey, tour the Oregon Trail Ruts(307-836-2335), perhaps the best visual remnant of the Oregon Trail remaining today. For a distance of several hundred yards is a trail of wagon ruts worn down by thousands of wagon wheels in the limestone. Nearby is Register Cliffs, where early travelers carved their names into the soft limestone.

Next, travel east (13 miles) on Hwy 26 to the Fort Laramie National Historic Site (307-837-2221). Fort Laramie’s mission was to protect weary travelers crossing Wyoming on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails between 1849 and 1890. Continue east on Hwy 26 (48 miles) and visit Scottsbluff National Monument (308-436-4340), another major site along the Trail routes. Return west on Hwy 26 and turn south on Hwy 85 back to Cheyenne.

Expanded Tour Options: Go north on Hwy 85 to the premier attractions of Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, the Black Hills (605-343-1744), and Devils Tower National Monument (307-467-5283 x14).

South – The Rocky Mountains and Denver 
(Approximately 12 hours for a full round trip)

Head down I-25 into Colorado to the Budweiser Brewery (40 mi.) (970-490-4691). See the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses on the free Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour.

Continue south on I-25 (15 miles) to the Prime Factory Outlet Stores (970-663-1717) near Loveland. This center is a shopper’s delight with more than 80 brand named stores offering merchandise at significant discounts.

After experiencing these man-made attractions, head west on Hwy 34 to Estes Park (31 mi.) and Rocky Mountain National Park (970-586-1206). The park includes 266,000 acres of beautiful mountain scenery with valleys at about 8,000 feet and peaks of over 12,000 feet. The park is primarily a scenic park with motoring, horseback riding, hiking, and mountain climbing being the most popular activities.

Continue on Hwy 34 and then south on Hwy 40 to I-70. Turn east toward Denver, sampling one or two of the city’s attractions, and then north on I-25 to Cheyenne.

Expanded Tour Options 
Denver has a variety of exciting opportunities for stop-overs at the Mile High City.

East -- Eastern Crossroads
(Approximately 9 hours for a full round trip)

Travel east on I-80 (40 miles) to Pine Bluffs, a crossroads community where human habitation has existed for thousands of years. Visit the University of Wyoming High Plains Archaeological Museum (307-766-2208) and view evidence of the area’s earliest inhabitants. Then tour the related Dig Site where Native American artifacts are discovered each summer. Be sure to call in advance.

On Friday nights during the summer, enjoy Pine Bluff’s weekly =G Rodeo (307-632-3626) – a wonderful community event for the entire family.

Continue east on I-80 (55 miles) and visit Cabela’s (308-254-7889), an outdoor sporting equipment shopping experience where you’ll find hundreds of trophy animals, many in lifelike displays, and freshwater aquariums stocked with native fish.

Turn north on Hwy 385 and west on Hwy 92/26 (53 miles) to the Chimney Rock National Historic Site (308-586-2581), a famous landmark for weary travelers along the trails cutting through the region. Continue on Hwy 92/26 to Scottsbluff, NE (19 miles) and view the Scotts Bluff National Monument (308-436-4340). Continue on Hwy 26 and turn south on Hwy 85, at Torrington back to Cheyenne.

Expanded Tour Options: Travel on I-80 to the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument (222 mi.) (1-877-511-ARCH) in Kearney, Nebraska. This eight-story bridge spans the Interstate Highway and is the region’s newest major attraction. The Monument includes interactive exhibits and films chronicling the great westward migration of settlers in the 1800s.

West -- The Wyoming West 
(Approximately 9 hours for a full round trip)

Take a trip back in time traveling west on I-80 (25 miles) to the ancient rock formations at the Vedauwoo Recreation Area (307-745-8971). Sightsee, hike, or mountain bike in these awesome formations. For more outdoor options, enjoy the beautiful solitude of Curt Gowdy State Park just east of Vedauwoo (307-632-7946).

Continue your trek to Laramie (20 mi.) and tour the University of Wyoming Geological Museum (307) 766-2646 which is dominated by dinosaurs native to the Wyoming region – Brontosaurus, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, and many other animal and plant fossils. Limited hours, so please call ahead.

Next visit the Old West at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site (307) 745-3733 or www.wyomingterritorialprison.com . Beautifully restored, the site features a frontier prison that once held the notorious outlaw Butch Cassidy. Receive a "convict identity" and take a self-guided tour (or guided tours offered on Friday through Monday) of the prison grounds. Then visit the prison Broom Factory and watch the volunteers make brooms just as the convicts did in 1892.

Continue west on the Snowy Range Road (Hwy 130) which was the second road in the nation to receive scenic byway designation. This highway takes you up to 10,000 feet in the beautiful Rocky Mountains where you will see its fast-moving streams, deep alpine lakes, rugged wilderness, dramatic mountain ranges and abundant wildlife. Visit the quaint small towns of Centennial and Saratoga, where you can soak in the Saratoga Hot Springs (307-326-8855).

Continue north on Hwy 130 to Interstate 80, turn east, and return to Cheyenne.

Expanded Tour Options: While in Laramie, visit the University of Wyoming Art Museum (307-766-6622) which offers rotating exhibits from its collection of more than 6,000 works of art. The Museum includes an outdoor sculpture terrace and museum store. Free.