The Mountains Are Right There.
Here's What to Do With Them.

One of the most accessible and rewarding hikes in the area. The trail follows the Tongue River through a narrow limestone canyon with walls rising several hundred feet. Best in late spring through fall. Dogs welcome on leash. Trail starts just off Hwy 14 — pull over where everyone else is parked.

The wilderness area covers nearly 190,000 acres and includes Cloud Peak itself at 13,167 feet. Day hikers typically access it via the West Tensleep or Hunter Corrals trailheads. Backpackers find some of Wyoming's least-crowded alpine terrain up here — granite lakes, wildflowers in July, and the kind of silence that recalibrates something.

The road most visitors never find. Gravel, steep, and quiet in the way that mountain roads get quiet when they filter out everyone who isn't paying attention. Twenty to twenty-five miles of connected trails at the top — the Brink, Bear Knuckle, Fire Up — managed by the Sheridan Community Land Trust. The kind of place locals keep to themselves.

If the weather doesn't cooperate for a hike, this byway is the next best thing. The road climbs through Medicine Wheel Passage and passes the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark — a 75-foot prehistoric stone circle at 9,642 feet that's been used ceremonially for over 10,000 years. The views over the Bighorn Basin on the west side are extraordinary.

Matches run Sunday afternoons through the summer season at both clubs. Bring a blanket, a tailgate setup, something cold to drink. At half time everyone walks onto the field for the divot stomp — stomping back the grass torn up by the horses' hooves. Standing in the middle of that field with the Big Horns filling the sky behind the far goalpost, watching polo ponies and their riders go back and forth while looking down toward Sheridan, it's hard not to feel like you stumbled onto something extraordinary. The crowd is a mix: ranching families who've been coming for decades, international professionals, and visitors who read about it online and couldn't quite believe it was real. Both clubs are on Bird Farm Road in Big Horn. Check individual schedules each season for exact match days.

Named for the same Don King of King's Saddlery on Main Street. Polo alongside bronc riding, roping, and a world-championship blacksmith competition — all on the polo fields, no barriers between the crowd and the action. Friends who've been describe it as a party. The uninitiated are welcome.

The week includes a parade down Main Street, a carnival, concerts, dances, and the nightly rodeo performances. Book accommodations well in advance — the town fills up. If you can only do one night, make it the Indian Relay Races. Buy tickets through the WYO Rodeo website before you arrive.

Opened in 1907. Ran a speakeasy during Prohibition. The original back bar unchanged since the 1940s. Thousands of cattle brands burned into the wall panels — bring a flashlight if you want to find your county. The Mint is where WYO Rodeo week ends up, where polo players drink on Sunday evenings, and where Sheridan explains itself to anyone willing to sit still long enough to listen. Our advice: drink Hamm's where Ernest Hemingway gambled. Don't look for it on a best-bars list. Just go.

Don King started making saddles here in 1946. The museum in the back is free and substantial — an honest collection of Western gear, ropes, Native American artifacts, and a saddle collection that would take an hour to walk through properly. The shop still sells working gear to working cowboys. Oozes history. Incredible craftsmanship. Buy the hat, take the ride. The ropes on the wall aren't decoration. They're inventory.

The Flemish Revival mansion of John B. Kendrick — cattle rancher, governor, U.S. Senator — sitting on a hill above town exactly as it was in 1913. The house is meticulously preserved and the tour is genuinely interesting, especially if you want to understand how cattle wealth shaped this county.

Vendors typically include jewelry, leather goods, ceramics, clothing, Wyoming-made food products, and local art. The fall edition usually aligns with peak foliage season in the Big Horns — worth stacking with a mountain drive. Check their social media for exact dates each season.

The section below Yellowtail Dam near Fort Smith, Montana is arguably the best dry-fly water in the region. Wade fishing and drift boats both work. Local outfitters in Sheridan can set you up with guides, gear rental, and licenses. Go in September if you can — the crowds thin and the fish are aggressive.

The upper Tongue and its tributaries hold wild brook and brown trout in classic high-country habitat. Access is straightforward off Hwy 14 — pull-offs and short trails down to the water. A Wyoming fishing license is required; pick one up at a local hardware store or online through Wyoming Game & Fish.

A community-owned ski area that reopened after years of closure — locals fought hard to bring it back and it shows. An indie ski hill the way ski hills used to be: terrain for beginners through advanced, a warming lodge, very affordable, and kids under 18 ski free. Check their snow report before heading up.