3 Best Sights in Lovell, Cody, Sheridan, and Northern Wyoming

A ring of rocks 75 feet in diameter, this ancient site is the best preserved of nearly 150 Native American stone wheels found in Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Evidence such as the 28 spokes (one for each day of the lunar cycle) leading from the edge of the wheel to a central cairn has persuaded some that the wheel was an ancient spiritual observatory much like England's Stonehenge may have been. To protect the area, access to the wheel is restricted to foot travel; it's a 1½-mile hike on a well-maintained unpaved road to the site from the parking lot (people with disabilities may drive to the site). Up in the Big Horn Mountains, at an elevation of 9,642 feet, the site affords views of the entire Big Horn Basin. Dress warmly, as it's cool up here, even in summer.

To learn about this 120,000-acre national park wilderness that was established in 1966 following the creation of Yellowtail Dam, visit the South District's Cal Taggart Visitor Center in Lovell, Wyoming, where you can view geological and historical exhibits on the area, as well as a film about the canyon. Two shorter movies, one on the Pryor Mountain wild horses and the other about Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark (east of Lovell), are shown on request, and there's a small gift and bookshop. The park's South District is reached by heading north on Route 37 east of Lovell and encompasses Horseshoe Bend Marina, Devil Canyon Overlook, 12 hiking trails (in both Wyoming and southern Montana), four historic ranches that you can tour on your own, and three campgrounds. The park's North District is 120 miles north, in Fort Smith, Montana. Note that part of the park near Lovell is adjacent to Yellowtail Wildlife Management Area at the southern end of Bighorn Lake. More than 155 species of birds—including white pelicans, pheasants, bald eagles, and great blue herons—inhabit the 19,202-acre refuge, as do numerous other animal species, including red fox, mule deer, and cottontail rabbits.

At this interpretive center inside a modern log cabin just up the road from the Bighorn Canyon Visitor Center, photos, printed materials, and helpful volunteers introduce people to the 120 to 140 mustangs that roam over 38,000 acres of range. Although many of the mustangs will likely be up in the mountains, you're almost sure to see some right from the paved road, Highway 37, which is a short drive east of the center. This could include White Cloud, a stallion featured in two books by Ginger Kathrens.