Great RV Destination: The Wild West Lives On in Cody, Wyo.

Cody, Wyoming is an honest to goodness, real western town, founded in 1896 by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The hotel he built and named after his daughter Irma still stands and is open for business.

Today, nearly 10,000 people live there, on the eastern road leading to Yellowstone National Park, a road Cody also built.

He was the real deal. A Pony Express Rider. A Buffalo Hunter. An Indian Scout. A man who epitomized the American West. He was discovered by dime novel paperback writers, who made up and embellished his many exploits. That led him to start his Wild West Road show, which traveled the world and made him the most recognized figure in America at the turn of the last century.

Today, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a world class museum in Cody that celebrates the exploration of the West, with exhibits that document the history of the Plains Indians, as well as Cody’s life and the history of firearms.

Speaking of guns, every night at 6PM downtown, the streets are blocked off for these folks, the Cody gunfighters, who stage a nightly gunfight between the good guys and the bad guys, with a couple of saucy saloon girls mixed in. The good guys always win and you can pose for photos with the gunfighting cast afterwards

Cody has another major claim to fame – the nightly rodeo… every single night of the week during the summer. The Cody Night Rodeo has also made the town America’s rodeo capital.

Then there’s the source of the music you hear under the video – the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue, which plays Monday through Saturday nights at 8PM. Don't miss this show.

Cody is a destination in and of itself, but especially for RVers heading to or from Yellowstone. There are several campgrounds to choose from. We spent two nights at the Ponderosa Campground. Allow at least that much time for your visit.

There’s a lot to do in Cody.

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