Rounding Up a Wild 2022 in Cody Yellowstone
What a year 2022 was. It was filled with many milestones and major anniversaries. We toasted the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park and 20 years since the Draper National History Museum opening at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. We raised a glass to 120 years of Buffalo Bill’s iconic Irma Hotel and 41 years of the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale at the Rendezvous Royale. When you’re surrounded by such authentic history and fascinating culture, there’s always something to celebrate.
As we near the end of 2022, let’s take a little stroll down memory lane (or perhaps you’d prefer a trail, scenic byway, or stream!) using some of the incredible photos you shared this year. Love this content? Follow us on Instagram for even more.
Living the Wild Life with Our Wildlife
When you have easy access to the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone National Park, you’re bound to come across some truly wild wildlife. From little bear cubs to baby bison guarded by their grown-up protectors, you captured and shared gorgeous photos of some of our most fascinating and furry inhabitants. Curious owls, majestic elk, and even a bouncy little snow fox hopping along some smoothly groomed snow trails.
This year, and every year, there were animals to be seen in Cody Yellowstone during every season. Come meet them yourself! Take some photos, bask in this vast landscape, and get close (from a safe distance!) to our wildest inhabitants.
Endless Outdoor Fun
You came, you saw, you conquered. You hiked, biked, camped, rode, paddled, and climbed. You took advantage of all the incredible outdoor recreation opportunities available in Cody, Powell, Meeteetse, and beyond. You seized the day and shared some truly awesome action shots.
We love seeing the mud fly from the wheels of a UTV on an off-road adventure and the excitement of a group paddle down the mighty Shoshone River Canyon. From scenic, family-friendly hikes to the adrenaline-filled excitement of an ice climb, these photos capture some of the great outdoor adventures you embarked on this year.
If you haven’t yet had the chance, make sure to watch Outside Yellowstone, our video guide to all the incredible year-round outdoor adventures available in the area.
Nature’s Neverending Bounty
From the can-you-believe-they’re-real colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring to the jaw-dropping beauty of Yellowstone’s waterfalls, Cody Yellowstone’s natural wonders are world-class. Sweeping clouds that look like they were hand-painted on an impossibly blue sky. Layers of mountains jutting up against gorgeous sunrises that greet a new day. Valleys that teem with roaming bison. Glorious geysers that have faithfully erupted for eons.
The fresh air of the vast open landscape helps you feel simultaneously grounded and free. It might just inspire some wild wanderlust within you — and so might these photos you captured and shared this year!
Sharing Local Love
It’s not all wild landscapes and roaming wildlife. Cody offers plenty of things to do in town, both within our historic downtown and in our many museums and galleries. Here, you can experience the true Old West lifestyle, which exists in very few places in the world.
Explore history at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West — a Smithsonian-affiliated institution that’s home to five museums under one roof — or step back in time to Old Trail Town and Museum of the Old West to experience life as it was in the 1890s. You can saddle up to a priceless cherrywood bar that was a gift from Queen Victoria to Buffalo Bill at the Irma Hotel. Shop local at By Western Hands Museum & Gallery or one of our many one-of-a-kind shops. You’re bound to find something worthy of a selfie or two for your followers.
Life in the Rodeo Capital of the World
Cody Yellowstone is home to an authentic American spectacle, thanks to our visionary founder Buffalo Bill. Rodeos showcase rugged cowboys and cowgirls, rough bulls, and endless family-friendly entertainment. You’ll witness the work of flawlessly trained animals and incredibly skilled performers and experience real-life cowboy culture and showmanship.
Cody Yellowstone’s rodeo legacy dates back over 100 years, to the launch of the Cody Stampede Rodeo way back in 1919. The sign you see in these photos says it all: Cody is Rodeo. In fact, Cody is the Rodeo Capital of the World. Cody is home to professional bullfighter Dusty Tuckness. One of our #WildWatch Ambassadors, he’s won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Bullfighter of The Year award 10 times and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Bullfighter Award 13 times. The Cody Nite Rodeo offers a spectacular display of athleticism and talent every night in the summer. It’s been a constant feature of our summer nights since 1938.
Summer and the rodeo go together perfectly. Take a look at the photos of the rodeo 4th of July—what better way to celebrate America’s independence than with this fiercely independent form of entertainment.
Looking Forward to Next Year
We hope you enjoyed this look back at some of the great moments of the past year, as captured by you! Here in Cody Yellowstone, we’re already looking forward to all the excitement 2023 is sure to bring. We can’t wait to welcome you to our wild and wonderful neck of the woods. Don’t forget to take lots of photos and share them using the hashtag #CodyYellowstone.
Ready to start planning your own wild adventure to Cody Yellowstone? Order your Vacation Guide today.
