Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway
Encyclopedia
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and spans most of the distance from Cody, Wyoming
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
to Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. The 27.5 miles (44.3 km) scenic highway follows the north fork of the Shoshone River
Shoshone River
The Shoshone River is long river in northern Wyoming in the United States. Its headwaters are in the Absaroka Range in Shoshone National Forest. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyoming. Cities it runs near or through are Cody, Powell, Byron, and Lovell. Near Cody, it...
through the Wapiti Valley to Sylvan Pass
Sylvan Pass
Sylvan Pass is a mountain pass located in the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The pass provides access to the park from the east entrance....
and the eastern entrance to Yellowstone. Most of the scenic byway is contained within Shoshone National Forest
Shoshone National Forest
Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2.5 million acres in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by U.S....
and is also known as US Highway 14
U.S. Route 14 in Wyoming
In the U.S. state of Wyoming U.S. Route 14 runs east west across the northern part of the state. The road connects South Dakota on the east with Yellowstone National Park on the west...
(US 14), US 16 and US 20.
Route description
The Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway starts in Cody and follows US 14/US 16/US 20 along the Shoshone River. The route is known for its abundant wildlife, astonishing rock formations, and recreational opportunities. Approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Cody the highway skirts the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, a source of excellent trout fishing, and location of Buffalo Bill State Park. The Park has facilities for camping, picnicking, boating, and windsurfing.Beyond the reservoir, the highway enters the Shoshone National Forest. The Shoshone was set aside in 1891 as part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve. One of the oldest Forest Service ranger stations is situated in the Wapiti Valley. A stop at the visitor center near the station will provide you with a brief history of the area, as well as locations of campgrounds and trails. As the Indian name implies, The Wapiti Valley is home for the wapiti, or elk as well as the grizzly bear, bighorn sheep, moose, deer, and other wildlife. A sharp eye might spot these animals feeding along the banks of streams, on grassy benchlands, and on brushy slopes. Buffalo Bill Cody built his hunting lodge, Pahaska Teepee, here beneath a sheltering cliff. This building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Wapiti Valley is home to fourteen beautiful, historic lodges offering full-service accommodations, nightly, weekly, or monthly. Any of these lodges may be used as home-base while touring all of Cody Country and enjoying Cody's many fine attractions. At the head of the Wapiti Valley the highway enters Yellowstone National Park. and here the Byway ends, giving travelers an excellent route to the wonders of Yellowstone National Park.
Points of interest
Points of interest along the road include Colter's HellColter's Hell
Colter's Hell is an area of fumaroles and hot springs on the Shoshone River near Cody in the US state of Wyoming. The thermal area covers about a square mile at the mouth of the Shoshone's canyon. Its thermal activity has declined ever since its description by mountain man John Colter, who passed...
, Buffalo Bill Dam
Buffalo Bill Dam
Buffalo Bill Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Shoshone River in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The dam is named after the famous old West figure William "Buffalo Bill" Cody who founded the nearby town of Cody and who owned much of the land now covered by the reservoir formed by the dam, which...
, Mummy Cave
Mummy Cave
Mummy Cave is a rock shelter and archeological site in Park County, Wyoming, United States, near the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The site is adjacent to the concurrent U.S...
and Pahaska Tepee
Pahaska Tepee
Pahaska Tepee is William "Buffalo Bill" Cody’s old hunting lodge and hotel in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is located 50 miles west of the town of Cody and two miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Cody built Pahaska Tepee to accommodate tourists traveling up the Cody Road...
, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The Wapiti Ranger Station
Wapiti Ranger Station
Wapiti Ranger Station is the oldest U.S. Forest Service ranger station in the United States. The station is located in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming and has been used continuously since it was built in 1903. The station was the first forest service ranger station built with federal funding...
is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. Historic dude ranches on the byway catered to the Yellowstone tourist trade and include the Elephant Head Lodge
Elephant Head Lodge
The Elephant Head Lodge is a guest lodge on the road to, and only 12 miles from, the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park, in Shoshone National Forest. The ranch includes two main lodges surrounded by support buildings and guest cabins. Beginning in 1926, the Elephant Head was developed by...
, Absaroka Mountain Lodge
Absaroka Mountain Lodge
The Absaroka Mountain Lodge is a historic dude ranch located between Cody, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park in the Absaroka Mountains. The property in Shoshone National Forest was known as the Gunbarrel Lodge when it was established about 1917 by Earl F. Crouch...
and the Red Star Lodge
Red Star Lodge and Sawmill
The Red Star Lodge and Sawmill, also known as the Shoshone Lodge, is a dude ranch in Shoshone National Forest near the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Built between 1924 and 1950, the ranch includes a rustic log lodge surrounded by cabins and support buildings...
.
History
The Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway was designated as a National Forest Scenic Byway on May 14, 1991, and as a Wyoming State Scenic Byway in 1995.See also
- Black and Yellow TrailBlack and Yellow TrailThe Black and Yellow Trail was the promotional name for the portion of US 14 nominally linking the Black Hills of South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park. Established in 1912, the signed route was extended by promoters to Chicago in the east...
, an auto trailAuto trailThe system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on telephone poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in the early days of the automobile.Auto trails were...
linking the Black HillsBlack HillsThe Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
and Yellowstone, which ends at Cody.