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The city of Cody, founded by Buffalo Bill Cody, has a few great activities to keep visitors busy during their stay. My time there was limited because we arrived a bit later in the day than we had hoped, but we were still able to get a nice feel for the town. We started with a quick look at the downtown area along Sheridan Avenue, where most of the action is.
Irma Hotel
Our first stop was the Irma Hotel. This historic hotel was opened by none other than Buffalo Bill himself back in 1902. It was named after his youngest daughter, Irma, and was built to accommodate travelers from all over the world on their way to see Yellowstone National Park, hunters, and businessmen.
The Irma is a throwback to the Wild West and contains many of its original furnishings. For example, the bar in the saloon is made of cherry and was a gift from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Cody Gunfighters
During summer evenings, the Cody Gunfighters stage an entertaining Wild West gunfight outside the porch of the Irma Hotel. The free show takes place from June through September daily except Sunday and features legends such as Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickock, Annie Oakley, Butch Cassidy, Doc Holliday, and Wyatt Earp.
Museums
The city has a few good museums as well. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which is covered in another post, is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The Cody Dug Up Gun Museum displays guns and other weapons from different periods in United States history. Old Trail Town features a collection of historic buildings from Wyoming. It’s the actual location of Cody surveyed by Buffalo Bill. Both museums are open daily from May through September. Unfortunately we had to skip them due to time constraints.
