Cody, Wyoming

From Teresa Plowright, former About.com Guide

Just 52 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the town of Cody Wyoming offers lots of affordable fun for families.

In fact, free fun starts on the road from Yellowstone. Travelers can look for elk, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears and moose, or keep an eye out for Snoopy the Dog" or "Laughing Pig Rock" among the scenic rock formations beside the road.

Free in Cody:

• On summer evenings outside the Irma Hotel, the Cody Gunfighters put on Western-style skits that end in a (melo)dramatic gunfight, with some tips about gun safety thrown in. The show is free, but families may like to have a meal at the Irma Hotel which was built by Buffalo Bill Cody and named for his daughter, Irma.

• See the room-sized diorama in Tecumseh's Old West Miniature Village and Museum, with miniature trains, a buffalo jump, soldiers, cabins and more. American Indian artifacts are on display in the Museum as well.

• Stroll around, view work by local artists and furniture designers (-Cody's known for this.) Then head out to some of the hundreds of hiking trails that surround the town.

• Visit the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center -- the tallest dam in the world when built in 1910 -- for some good views and interesting history.

• Not free, but worth it: sample the goods created by the "Cowboy Chocolatier" in Meeteetse (not far from Cody.)

• Visit the Pahaska Tepee historic lodge where Buffalo Bill entertained friends such as Teddy Roosevelt. Location is just outside the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park.

Not free, but budget-friendly:

• The Cody Trolley Tour is one hour long and uses live narrators plus multi-media to introduce local attractions, geology, and more.

• For a fun family night out, try Dan Miller's Cowboy Music Revue.

• The Old Trail Town showcases 26 real-life buildings from the Old West days, including one used by Butch Cassidy and his famous gang.

• On a different note, the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center presents the history of the Heart Mountain Internment Camp where thousands of Japanese-American citizens from California were interned during WWII. 

The biggest attraction in town is the Buffalo Bill Historical Center which has several sections, including the Plains Indians Museum, The Whitney Museum of Western Art, Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Museum of Natural History. Plan to spend a full day here.

Cody is also a great launch point for whitewater raft trips -- or more gentle floats -- on the Shoshone River. Check out Wyoming River Trips.

As for where to stay, Cody has some great options with historic style -- see Cody Hotels and Lodging at About.com's Northwest US Travel website. Also check out a couple of Best Western hotels for some budget-friendly choices.