7 Best Sights in Casper, Cody, Sheridan, and Northern Wyoming

Five major immigrant trails passed near or through Casper between 1843 and 1870. The best-known are the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, both of which crossed the North Platte River in the vicinity of today's Casper. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center examines the early history of the trails and the military's role in central Wyoming. Projected onto a series of screens 11 feet high and 55 feet wide, a film shows Wyoming trail sites and scenes of wagon travelers. You can climb into a wagon to see what it was like to cross the river, or learn about Mormon pioneers who traveled west with handcarts in 1856.

Casper College's Tate Geological Museum in the Tate Earth Science Center displays fossils, rocks, jade, and the fossilized remains of a brontosaurus, plus other dinosaur bones. The centerpiece for the Tate is Dee, an 11,600-year-old Columbian Mammoth. Dee is one of the largest complete Columbian Mammoths ever discovered.

The Casper Planetarium has multimedia programs on astronomy. There are also interactive exhibits in the lobby and a gift shop. Public programs, which last an hour, are scheduled regularly year-round.

Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park is a day-use area with picnicking, swimming, fishing, and a 3-mile walking path. This park is along a migratory flyway, with more than 100 different species of birds frequenting the area. For this reason, Edness Kimball State Park has been designated one of Audubon Wyoming’s important bird areas.

The Fort Caspar Historic Site re-creates the post at Platte Bridge, which became Fort Caspar after the July 1865 battle that claimed the lives of several soldiers, including Lieutenant Caspar Collins. A post depicts life at a frontier station in the 1860s, and sometimes soldier reenactors go about their tasks. Museum exhibits show the migration trails.

A showcase for regional artists and mostly modern artwork, the Nicolaysen Art Museum also exhibits works by national artists. The building's early-20th-century redbrick exterior and contemporary interior are an odd combination, but this makes the museum all the more interesting. There are hands-on activities, classes, and children's programs, plus a research library and a Discovery Center.

The Werner Wildlife Museum, near the Casper College campus, has displays of birds and animals from Wyoming and around the world. There are more than 400 birds, fish, and animal species on display across 36 different exhibits.