EXPERIENCE THE HISTORY THAT Shaped AmericantheWest

There are countless ways to experience the history that shaped the American West when you Visit Sheridan County. Less than an hour from downtown is the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Other important Indian Wars battle sites, including Fort Phil Kearney, the Wagon Box Fight, and the Connor Battlefield, can be visited on a half-day tour.

The Brinton Museum, located on the 620-acre Quarter Circle A Ranch, offers a view into the life of Bradford Brinton, a Western art collector who was a patron of many of the most celebrated early Western artists. Also in Big Horn is the LeDoux Saloon, where Ernest Hemingway spent time during the 1920s (it was known as the Last Chance Saloon).

The Trail End State Historic Site is a Flemish-revival style mansion built by former Governor John B. Kendrick. The Sheridan Inn, constructed in 1892, was conceptualized and developed by Buffalo Bill Cody. Cody auditioned new members for his legendary “Wild West Show” from the front porch. In the Bighorn Mountains at over 10,000 feet is the Medicine Wheel, an ancient ceremonial Indian site is still used today for cultural and ritualistic events by the Crow and Northern Cheyenne.

They say timing is everything, and for the most authentic western experience in America, visit Sheridan during WYO Rodeo Week. If you can’t be here during the WYO, consider an immersive experience like the Cadillacs and Cowgirls Horse Sale, Don King Days, or the Sheridan WYO Winter Rodeo (for fans of skijoring, hot cider, and frosty mountain peaks).

If it’s late May, you’re in luck; the Eatons’ Horse Drive is an annual tradition where cowboys from Eaton’s Ranch drive their herd in from winter grazing areas straight through town – down 5th Street in front of the Sheridan Inn, across Main, and out toward the ranch – Eatons’ just so happens to be the oldest dude ranch in the nation and will celebrate 145 years in 2024.

There are 101 ways to experience cowboy culture in Sheridan County. There are dude ranches and guest ranches like Canyon Ranch at the base of the Bighorns, and the mountain hideaway Spear-O-Wigwam, where Ernest Hemmingway finished writing A Farewell to Arms. If you’re hardy enough you can join a cattle drive with the folks at Double Rafter, or if you’d prefer to play cowboy for a day you can shop at our western boutiques and galleries. Some, like Tom Balding Bits and Spurs, Western Grace, and Jackalope Ranch are known for their spectacular custom jewelry, tailoring, and design sense, respectively.

Belly up to the bar at The Mint, the famed former speakeasy on Main Street. Tip one back and take the trophy tour, explore history through photographs, and check out the thousands of brands on the wall panels. Head to King’s Saddlery to witness the masters of rope making and leather crafting at work and try tossing a rope yourself in the Don King Museum. Spend an afternoon enjoying polo in Big Horn, or at a picnic at Kendrick Park; the horse shoe competitions at Kendrick can get fierce. Keep your eye on the community calendar for live country music performances at the WYO Theater, black Tooth Brewery, The Warehouse Gastropub, Luminous Brewhouse, and a host of other lively venues.

You could spend a month out here and experience only a fraction of all there is to do. You could take the scenic county roads through Ucross and Clearmont on your way to Devils Tower, or cruise the dirt tracks to Ranchester and Dayton while photographing wildlife before setting out on a hike in Tongue River Canyon. At the heart of every experience is Sheridan, Wyoming’s Emerald City, waiting to welcome you with good graces, smiling faces, and legendary western hospitality.

The nature of the west. FRONTIER History. COWBOY Heritage. Craft CULTURE. The Great Outdoors. 1.1 million acres of pristine wildland in the Bighorn National Forest, encompassing 1,200 miles of trails, 30 campgrounds, 10 picnic areas, 6 mountain lodges, legendary dude ranches, and hundreds of miles of waterways. The Bighorns offer limitless outdoor recreation opportunities. restaurants, bars, food trucks, lounges, breweries, distilleries, tap rooms, saloons, and holes in the wall are spread across Sheridan County. That’s 101 different ways to apres adventure in the craft capital of Wyoming. We are also home to more than 40 hotels, motels, RV parks, and B&Bs.

4 seasons in which to get WYO’d. If you’re a skijoring savant, you’ll want to check out the Winter Rodeo each February. July features the beloved WYO Rodeo. Spring and fall are the perfect time to chase cool mountain streams or epic backcountry lines.

Sheridan features a thriving, historic downtown district, with western allure, hospitality and good graces to spare; a vibrant arts scene; bombastic craft culture; a robust festival and events calendar; and living history from one corner of the county to the next.

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