A Summer of Surprises in Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country
CODY, Wyo., June 9, 2016 – Summer is in full swing in Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country. Summer-season attractions like the Cody Nite Rodeo have begun, dude and guest ranches are open for business and year-round attractions like the Heart Mountain WW II Interpretive Center and Buffalo Bill Center of the West have extended their hours.
And this year, there are some surprises too.
The popular Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue, now in its 12th season, has moved its performances to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and added a dinner-and-show option. And there’s also the new family-friendly Cody Firearms Experience, where visitors can fire replicas of guns from the Wild West and play in a Western-themed laser arcade. For those who like their adventures in the air, there is also a new zip line at the Sleeping Giant Ski Area, offering an adrenaline kick as well as spectacular views of the valley east of Yellowstone National Park.
Additionally, there are special events nearly every week of the summer, like the 97th-annual Cody Stampede, a five-day celebration of rodeo, Western fun and the country’s independence; the Yellowstone Beer Fest on July 16; the three-day 23rd-annual Buffalo Bill Invitational Shootout beginning Aug. 11; and the three-day Cody Wild West River Fest Aug. 19-21.
The Cody Gunfighters are celebrating their 20th year.
“In the spirit of our town’s founder, Buffalo Bill Cody, Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country has a flair for showmanship,” said Claudia Wade. “And we love to have fun in our town and show off its natural beauty and other attractions. With the newest experiences you can now see the beauty of the region from the air, hear the sounds of cowboy music in a brand new venue and experience what it might have been like for legendary sharpshooters like William F. Cody and Annie Oakley to perform their marksman magic for crowds around the world.”
Cowboy Music with Dan Miller and his Empty Saddles Band
Dan Miller and his Empty Saddles Band have performed for more than 110,000 visitors from some 65 countries around the world, and this year the popular band has moved performances to the brand new Kuyper Dining Pavilion in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Visitors have several ticket choices including the show only, the show plus Western buffet dinner and the show, or dinner plus museum tickets, the best value of all.
Heart Mountain World War II Interpretive Center opened five years ago.
Sleeping Giant Ski Area Zipline
The Sleeping Giant Ski Area is the place to be all winter long, and now summer-season visitors can also experience the beauty of the valley – at heights up to 930 feet above the ground. Opening June 15, the new zip line features five zip segments traveling more than 3,520 feet. The warm-up zip travels across the North Fork of the Shoshone River. Next, travelers take the Big Horn Double Chairlift to the top of the main zip line course. From there they choose one of four dual zip lines along four more sections ranging from 320 to 930 feet above the ground. Intrepid zippers can choose to disembark from the course by taking the “Quick Drop,” a 35-foot free fall to the ground. The other choice is to simply descend off the course via a stairway. For an armchair zip line experience, check out the online video of the adventure.
The Colonel was born 170 years ago.
Cody Firearms Experience
Fun for the whole family, the new Cody Firearms Experience provides visitors with a chance to shoot the guns that won the West in a safe, supervised and educational setting. A great choice for students of Western history, visitors can choose their guns – including an Indian Trade Musket, US Model 1795 Flintlock Musket, Colt Walker Revolver and Winchester Model 1873 Rifle – and fire them in a state-of-the-art indoor shooting range. There is also a Western-themed arcade with pistols that shoot lasers at a variety of moving targets like snakes and skunks.
A Summer of Anniversaries Too
This is a big year for Cody in other ways too, with numerous anniversaries marking significant events in the destination’s history. This year is the:
· 120th anniversary of Cody, Wyoming. The region is still heavily influenced by the vision of Buffalo Bill Cody.
· 5th anniversary of Heart Mountain World War II Interpretive Center. The site of a WW II camp that incarcerated Americans of Japanese descent, the award-winning center includes powerful exhibits.
· 170th birthday of Buffalo Bill Cody. Born on Feb. 26, 1846 in Scott County, Iowa.
· 20th anniversary of the Cody Gunfighters. This entertaining nightly event is staged outside the Irma Hotel, named for Buffalo Bill’s daughter.
· 125th anniversary of Lake Yellowstone Hotel. The oldest hotel in the world’s first national park, and an easy day-trip for Cody visitors.
· 100th anniversary of the Cody-Sylvan Pass Motor Company. The company marked the end of stagecoach tours and the beginning of auto stage tours into Yellowstone.
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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 Center of the West and thriving western culture host nearly 1 million visitors annually.
The Park County Travel Council website lists information about vacation packages, special events, guide services, weather and more. Travelers wishing to arrange vacation can also call the Park County Travel Council at 1-800-393-2639 or connect with Cody on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
Media contact:
Mesereau Travel Public Relations
(970) 286-2751
[email protected]
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