Meetings in Cody Yellowstone
Cody Yellowstone has long been a top vacation area. With a growing number of meeting venues, plenty of accommodations choices and year-round attractions and outdoor recreation offerings, it has also emerged as a top choice for small to mid-size meetings and events. This combination of factors allows the region to become the place “where your event becomes an experience.”
In addition to the pristine forestland and world-famous national park, we have numerous museums and other year-round attractions — some offering event space — as well as accommodations for every budget and many meeting space choices.
The result is we are becoming recognized as a meeting and special events destination because of our solid infrastructure, friendly locals, and memorable side trips. Those are all attractive to the public who come here on vacation, and meeting attendees have discovered them as well.
Getting Here
The vast majority of visitors travel by automobile to Cody Yellowstone. The region is served by Yellowstone Regional Airport, located just minutes from the center of town. Many hotels have airport shuttles, and downtown is a 10-minute taxi ride to the airport. More information about Yellowstone Regional Airport is available online.
Overnight Accommodations
Cody Yellowstone features a wide selection of lodging choices, including full-service hotels, limited-service hotels, luxury hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, boutique inns, and dude and guest ranches. Most hotels are open year-round, but some limited-service properties and all dude and guest ranches close in the winter. Altogether, more than 2,000 rooms are available.
Meeting Space
Cody Yellowstone offers a variety of meeting space options at hotels, public venues, restaurants, and local businesses. For example, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West can accommodate up to 300 people in the midst of five Smithsonian-affiliated museums while providing state-of-the-art technology and dining. Venues around town also include the Cody Holiday Inn Convention Center, which can accommodate up to 500 people, and the Victor J. Riley Arena & Community Event Center can hold more than 2,200. The Irma Hotel restaurant can be reserved for up to 200, and the Cody Cattle Company has space for 500. In Powell, three venues handle from 125 to 1,050. In Meeteetse, three venues hold 50 people each. Inside Yellowstone National Park, the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel recently underwent a renovation that resulted in a new meeting space for up to 120 people.
Apres Meeting
Many meetings factor in extra time for attendees to see the local sites, experience activities, learn about the region and generally enjoy time away from seminars. Here are some of the particulars that show why Cody Yellowstone is a solid choice as a meeting destination.
Our town of Cody is small and easy to navigate. Most of the destination’s major attractions listed below are located on Sheridan Ave., the town’s main street. Some attractions are out of town, and estimated drive times to and from downtown Cody are noted. Here are the most-visited attractions and the minimum recommended amount of time visitors should plan for each one.
- Buffalo Bill Center of the West – Year-round
- Heart Mountain WWII Interpretive Center – Year-round
- Cody Nite Rodeo – June 1 to August 31
- Old Trail Town & Museum of the Old West
- Cody Trolley Tour – Mid-May to late-September
- Cody Cattle Company – Mid-May to late-September
- Wild Mustang Tours – Mid-May to late-September
- Cody Firearms Experience – Year-round
- Buffalo Bill Dam & Visitor Center – Year-round
- By Western Hands Museum & Gallery – Year-round
- Cody Country Art League – Year-round
- Meeteetse Museums – Year-round
Scenic Byways
Cody Yellowstone is home to two Scenic Byways, and TravelStorys audio tours explain their historical significance and appeal.
The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway tour describes various scenes along the highway, such as geology, wildlife habitat, fire ecology, historic sites and more. The tour is approximately 45 miles long and includes 11 separate GPS-triggered scripts, called geotags.
The Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway tour takes place between Cody and the East Gate of Yellowstone with descriptions of the Wapiti Valley, Buffalo Bill Cody’s hunting lodge of Pahaska Tepee, the world’s first national forest and its first ranger station.
Guided Tours
Several options are available for guided tours, including the Cody Trolley, Powell Agricultural Tours, Kirwin Ghost Tours, Scenic Boat Tours, Scenic Flights, Yellowstone National Park Tours and more. Guide services and bus tours are available throughout the region, including Yellowstone National Park.
Shopping and Galleries
Cody has been recognized as “Top Small Town Arts Scene,” and its galleries and shopping options are easily found up and down the main drag of Sheridan Avenue.
About Yellowstone National Park
Depending upon the time of year, many meeting attendees take a side trip to the world’s first national park. At 2.2 million acres, Yellowstone National Park is big, but many visitors take just a day to experience the park’s geothermal features, observe its wildlife, see its remarkable architecture, and learn about its fascinating human history.
The park’s main roads are laid out in a figure eight, with a lower loop and upper loop as well as roads leading to each of the five main entrances. Along each road, there are pullouts that must be used by vehicles stopping to observe wildlife. The town of Cody claims two of the five gates – East and Northeast – for their easy access. Many people who take day trips to the park will enter the park through one of those gates and exit through the other.
The park has nine lodges, multiple restaurants, National Park Service (NPS) Visitor Centers, service stations, hiking trails and boardwalks, viewpoints and much more.
The park is home to an array of wildlife, including predators like wolves and bears as well as elk, pronghorn, fox, coyote, eagles and other raptors, and many other species.
Meet Me in Cody Yellowstone
For a memorable meeting location with amenities and attractions that are sure to delight, there’s no place like Cody Yellowstone. Start planning your next meeting today.
