New exhibits, tours, hotel, events coming to classic destination Cody, Wyoming

Cody, Wyoming’s summer season kicks off June 1 when attractions like the nightly rodeo and fun traditions like the gunfighter shootout draw visitors from all over the world. This summer visitors are in for a few surprises too, with two new museum exhibits, a tour, new hotel and roster of special events.

“Cody shakes off the winter blues with gusto, and by the time June 1 arrives, every attraction, restaurant, lodge and museum exhibit has been spiffed up in anticipation of the thousands of visitors who come each summer to see the town Buffalo Bill built,” said Claudia Wade, executive director of the Park County Travel Council, the marketing arm for Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country. “With summer-season standbys like the Cody Nite Rodeo and Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue as well as the new offerings, our visitors will find plenty of ways to spend their days with us.”

Exhibits

Heart Mountain Interpretive Center — This will be the first full summer season for the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, which opened last August. The center is situated at the site of the Heart Mountain Japanese-American Internment Camp, which housed more than 14,000 internees during World War II, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming. The center’s poignant exhibits are intended to leave visitors with a better understanding of the challenges faced by the Americans who were interned there. Heart Mountain is one of the few Japanese-American internment camps with ruins still standing.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center — After a $2.75 million renovation and reinstallation, Buffalo Bill Historical Center will reopen its inaugural museum, the Buffalo Bill Museum, on May 19. The new Buffalo Bill Museum will focus on the life of the famous sharpshooter, showman and town founder. The family-friendly museum will include interactive exhibits and a “Storybook Garden” with life-sized cutouts of the town’s legendary leader. A grand opening event is scheduled for July 3. Buffalo Bill Historical Center is comprised of five separate museums, also including the Draper Museum of Natural History, Plains Indian Museum, Firearms Museum and Whitney Museum of Western Art. Admission to Buffalo Bill Historical Center is $18 for adults, $16 for seniors 65 and older, $14 for students, $10 for children ages 6 through 17 and free for children under 6. The admission price includes visitation for two consecutive days.

Tour

Cody Trolley’s new tour, “An Agricultural History: The Heart Mountain Tour” travels through the fertile agricultural farmlands of the Big Horn Basin and stops at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, where passengers will have 60 minutes to wander through the exhibits. The two-hour tour will introduce travelers to the crops and agricultural methods used by farmers in the region as well as the rich history and legends of the area. The tour is offered at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily June 1 through Sept. 22. A 10-passenger minimum is needed. Cody Trolley Tours also offers an entertaining one-hour tour of Cody three times a day during the summer season.

Lodging

Best Western Ivy Suites. Opened this month, this new 70-room, 22-suite hotel is situated in the heart of the town and within walking distance of many of its key attractions. The hotel includes a restaurant and lounge, indoor pool and hot tub, free in-room wireless Internet access, fitness room and meeting facilities.

Yellowstone Country is comprised of the towns of Cody, Powell and Meeteetse as well as the valley east of Yellowstone National Park.

The area of Park County is called “Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country” because it was the playground of Buffalo Bill Cody himself. Buffalo Bill founded the town of Cody in 1896, and the entire region was driven and is still heavily influenced by the vision of the colonel. Today its broad streets, world-class museum Buffalo Bill Historical Center and thriving western culture host more than 1 million visitors annually.

The Park County Travel Council website (www.yellowstonecountry.org) lists information about vacation packages, special events, guide services, weather and more. Travelers wishing to arrange a vacation also may call the Park County Travel Council at (800) 393-2639.