US Forest: Shoshone National Forest
Length: 27.5 miles / 44.3 km
Time to Allow: Allow 45 minutes to drive this byway.
US Highway 14-16-20, the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, follows the North Fork of the Shoshone River through the scenic Wapiti Valley to the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The route is known for its abundant wildlife, astonishing rock formations, and recreational opportunities.
Six miles west of Cody the highway skirts 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.
Overview:
Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway travels U.S. Highway 14-16-20 along the North Fork of the Shoshone River through Wapiti Valley to Yellowstone National Park's east entrance. As you travel the route, you'll encounter Shoshone National Forest and several parks, all brimming with exciting wildlife, diverse terrain, and a variety of recreational activities.
Shoshone National Forest covers 2.4 million acres in the Wind River, Beartooth, and Absaroka mountains. The terrain ranges from sagebrush flats to spruce and fir forests to glaciers and mountains, and wildlife here includes moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, grizzly and black bears, and cold water fish. Fish in one of the "Blue Ribbon Trout Streams" where 1,700 miles of streams offer plenty of space, even during the busy peak of fishing season. Or, hike or ride horseback through some of the 1,500 miles of trails that wind through the forest. To kick it up a notch, go mountain climbing in the Wind River Range, where twenty-nine of Wyoming's thirty highest peaks reside. Mostly composed of granite, you can scale steep cliffs and rock walls.
Visit Buffalo Bill State Park, named for and originally owned by Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The park houses mountains from the Rocky Mountain Absaroka range, Buffalo Bill Reservoir, and Shoshone Canyon. The canyon is bordered by Rattlesnake Mountain to the north and Cedar Mountain to the south. Sheep Mountain cuts the Shoshone River into two forks. Go boating, windsurfing, or fishing on the reservoir's obliging waters, then camp here overnight, enveloped by the park’s peaceful panorama.
Grand Teton National Park is home to the Teton Mountains, which dominate the land with their steep, rugged ridges. Though the park is known for these famous glacial peaks, it also houses Jackson Hole, substantial forests, and wildlife. Silvery sea-foam sagebrush blows across the valley where Jackson Hole lays. Trees flourish here, from pine, fir, and spruce that rise in the high Teton altitudes to aspen, cottonwood, and willow that sprout near rivers and lakeshores. An array of wildlife makes their home inside the park, including black bears, moose, deer, red squirrels, and wolves. Explore the forest, which provides almost 200 miles of hiking trails to give you a personal view of the park.
Yellowstone, the first and oldest national park in the world, spans nearly 3,500 square miles in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Here you'll find geysers and hot springs, forests and lakes, mountains and a canyon, waterfalls and a vast variety of wildlife. See for yourself the torrential, scorching water column that bursts forth when Old Faithful erupts. Waterfalls rush off cliffs, creating clouds of cool water as they dash on the rocks below. In the winter, waterfalls freeze in their paths, creating walls of glistening ice. You'll see bison, bear, elk, moose, deer, mountain lions, and wolves wander within thick forests of pine, spruce, fir, and aspen. Spend an afternoon backpacking, kayaking, or fishing, then sleep in one of the park's eleven campgrounds.
As you drive the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, participate in the excitement that ensues at each stop. From Shoshone National Forest to Yellowstone National Park, you'll run an intense gamut of wildlife watching, scenery sightseeing, and landscape scaling.
Known to the Arapaho Indians as "Land of the Earthborn Spirit," the rock formations of Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) attract experienced climbers, campers and hikers. read more
The National Scenic Byways (NSB) Program was established under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. Under the program, the U.S. Secretary of read more
