The second-highest U.S. state, Wyoming is dry with a cool climate. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 37 degrees (C) with nights just above zero. Away from the mountains July ranges slightly from the high 20s to low 30s. Spring is mild, and fall cool with occasional snow. During winter months, powdery snow covers the mountains.Annual precipitation ranges from less than 25cm to 150cm in the higher elevations.
With no train service, few in-state Wyoming flights, and limited bus service, you need a car in Wyoming. The main roads are well-maintained. However, keep in mind that you need to rent according to when and where you will be driving. If you are going off the beaten track or off road, get a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Wyoming’s speed limits are liberal, but they are strictly enforced. Winter driving requires extra considerations. Not only can you encounter whiteouts, roads become slippery and icy, and tow trucks are rare outside the towns. Take a flashlight, warm clothes, sleeping bag, and safety gear in case you get stuck or snowed in by a blizzard.
The exception for needing a car is the ski resorts. The START buses run between Jackson and the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, making more than 40 stops along the way. Similarly, the Targhee Express runs between Jackson and the Grand Targhee Ski and Summer Resort.
Driving in Yellowstone is so popular that you can get caught in a traffic jam in summer. A great place for bicycling, you can bike the public roads and a few service roads (but not backcountry trails) from April to October.
What is good to know if travelling to Wyoming?- Yellowstone is America’s first official national park and Devil’s Tower the first designated national monument. The 5,590-square-kilometre park is home to such iconic attractions as Old Faithful, which shoots up every hour on the hour, Steamboat Geysers and Morning Glory Pool. The park also has its own Grand Canyon.
- The Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie is open to tourists. It was built in 1872 and once housed Butch Cassidy. In Rawlins, Wyoming Frontier Prison is billed as “There’s a place behind bars for you”. Not only can tourists sit in the gas chamber (with the door closed if you like) where lawbreakers were executed, there are spooky night tours too. The Carbon County Museum boasts a grisly exhibit, Shoes Made from the Skin of Executed Killer. Big Nose George provided the skin for those saddle shoes.
- See Wyoming on horseback: not only are there Western Chariot Races in Afton, the All American Cutter Races take place in January. Cheyenne’s Frontier Days is the largest outdoor rodeo in the world. Nine days of festivities take place in July. The Cody Nite Rodeo has been in operation for more than 75 years and takes place between June and August.
- Watch out for the jackalope: Wyoming’s mythical beast is half-rabbit and half-deer (or antelope) and the city of Douglas is its home. You’ll find the world’s tallest jackalope there, 2.5 metres high. There are stories of the jackalope singing along with the cowboys at nighttime. Hunting season extends from midnight to 2am on June 31 each year.
- Snow: ski resorts include the world-famous Jackson Hole as well as Big Horn Mountain, Grand Targhee, Hogadon, Pine Creek, Snow King, Snowy Range and White Pine.