Cheyenne, WY Summary

photo by gusto

Cheyenne is the capital of “the Cowboy State” and Wyoming’s largest city, with nearly 51,000 people. Located at the junction of I-25 and I-80, Cheyenne sits on high plains 17 miles from the Colorado border. The city’s orderly infrastructure belies its colorful inception as a cow town that grew around the Union Pacific Railroad.

The town was ruled by the cattle barons and was frequently visited by Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, and Tom Horn. The Black Hills gold rush poured more money into Cheyenne’s economy, making it one of the wealthiest cities in the United States by the 1880s. Today, Cheyenne’s commerce is firmly established around federal and state departments, along with its military base at Fort Warren Air Force Base, which features a small museum and missile simulator. Originally an outpost in 1867, Fort Warren became a missile site in 1958.

Cheyenne’s historic district features the Governor’s Mansion, the State Capitol, and a wealth of late-Victorian and Queen Anne homes once owned by the cattle kings. The old Union Pacific Depot remains the granddaddy of buildings and at Holiday Park sits the Big Boy, the last and heaviest of the steam locomotives. The Wyoming State Museum has reopened its doors to exhibit Plains Native American artifacts and an array of ranching apparatus. The Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum features a collection of rodeo memorabilia, Western art, and Old West history.

It is the frolicking romp of Cheyenne Frontier Days that remains the city’s major draw. Hosting a week of rodeo events, chuckwagon races, and live country music, the oldest outdoor rodeo in America is held the last week in July. At the Terry Bison Ranch, located south of the city off I-25, wagon tours to grazing bison herds are available along with horseback riding and chuckwagon dinners. On Happy Jack Road lies the Drummond Ranch, complete with horseback rides and South American llamas.

Air service is available from Cheyenne and there is also coach shuttle service which goes to Denver International Airport.