10 Best Sights in Cheyenne, Laramie, and Southern Wyoming, Wyoming

This spacious museum within Frontier Park houses some 400,000 artifacts related to rodeos, ranching, and the city's blockbuster of an annual event, Cheyenne Frontier Days. The museum's "rolling collection" of more than 160 carriages is the largest fleet of horse-drawn vehicles in the world (with many that still go on parade). In July, the carriages are swapped out for the Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale, with works by top Western wildlife and landscape artists from across the country. Every spring, the Western Spirit Art Show & Sale features pieces that celebrate the heritage and heart of the American West. For young visitors, there's a children's room with hands-on exhibits open year-round, plus camps in the summer.

The modern interpretive center at the Grand Encampment Museum holds exhibits on the history of the Grand Encampment copper district and logging and mining. A pioneer town of original buildings includes the Lake Creek stage station, the Big Creek tie-hack cabin, the Peryam homestead, the Slash Ridge fire tower, a blacksmith shop, a transportation barn, and a two-story outhouse. Among the other relics are three towers from a 16-mile-long aerial tramway built in 1903 to transport copper ore from mines in the Sierra Madres. You can take guided tours, and there's also a research area. A living-history day, with music, costumes, and events, takes place the third weekend in July.

This small but charming window into the past is housed in a former church and features fossils and displays related to early settlement in the area. See an old still and wine vat, as well as a taxidermied two-headed calf.

You can learn about the history of this small dot of a town at the Medicine Bow Museum, housed in an old railroad depot built in 1913. The summer cabin belonging to famed fiction author Owen Wister was relocated and stands right next door.

The former Centennial Railroad Depot now houses this museum at the eastern edge of town. The museum displays ranching, farming, and mining equipment, plus artifacts typical of what you'd find in a pioneer home; there's also an outdoor-equipment exhibit. Most of the items have been donated by local families. The museum is open Memorial Day through September.

The former Union Pacific Railroad depot houses the Saratoga Museum, with displays of local artifacts related to the history and geology of the area. Outdoor exhibits include a sheep wagon, caboose, and a one-bedroom cabin built by a local pioneer.

Several permanent exhibits are dedicated to exploring the heritage, culture, and landscape of Wyoming, covering everything from natural resources to wildlife to historical events. There's a hands-on exhibit geared to children, and the museum hosts several additional temporary exhibits each year. Be sure to check out the semipermanent exhibit of hundreds of whimsical wooden miniatures crafted by Earl Newell. His folk-art pieces from the 1930s show a micro version of Wyoming life, including farm animals, people, and itty-bitty tools.