Things to Do in Sheridan Wyoming
The Complete Local Guide — 2026
Written by people who live here. Manage 50+ properties here. Know every trail, every bar, and every week that matters.
Wyo Stays — Sheridan's only licensed vacation rental brokerage.
The Big Horn Mountains
The Big Horns rise from the high plains west of Sheridan and fill the western sky in a way that's hard to explain until you arrive. Massive and close — the kind of close that makes you reach for your camera before you've even parked. And they're accessible in a way that Wyoming's more famous ranges aren't. Mountain terrain within 20 minutes of downtown. No permit lotteries. No four-hour approach. Just the mountains, essentially to yourself.
Tongue River Canyon — The Essential First Hike
Seven miles out-and-back through a narrow limestone canyon — walls rising several hundred feet, the Tongue River running clear and cold the entire route. The canyon tightens dramatically as you go deeper. Narrower than it looks on any map. Bring water. Start early in summer; the canyon floor heats up by midday. Dogs welcome on leash. Trailhead off Hwy 14 — pull over where everyone else is parked, about 20 minutes from downtown.
After: Black Tooth Brewing Co. on N. Main. Earn a Saddle Bronc Brown Ale. Great American Beer Festival medal winner. You will have earned it.
Cloud Peak Wilderness — Wyoming's Least Crowded Alpine Terrain
Nearly 190,000 acres of protected wilderness anchored by Cloud Peak at 13,167 feet — the highest point in the Big Horn range. Trail registers here are blessedly short compared to the Winds or the Tetons. You won't share campsites with 40 other tents. Day hikers access the wilderness boundary from trailheads off US-16. Backpackers find granite lakes, July wildflowers, and silence that recalibrates something.
After: Frackelton's on Main Street. White tablecloth dinner is well deserved after 12 miles in the backcountry. Make a reservation.
The Big Horn Scenic Byway — One of the Most Beautiful Roads in the West
Highway 14A climbs through Medicine Wheel Passage and crests at the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark: a 75-foot prehistoric stone circle at 9,642 feet, used ceremonially for over 10,000 years. The views over the Bighorn Basin on the west descent are extraordinary. Drive it in both directions. In September the aspens on the upper sections go gold in a way that justifies the entire trip.
After: The Mint Bar on N. Main. Cold beer since 1907. No further explanation needed.
STAY CLOSE TO THE BIG HORNS
Our Bighorn Mountain foothills properties put you 20–30 minutes from every trailhead above. Wake up in the mountains. Book direct at wyostays.com.
Browse Mountain PropertiesSheridan WYO Rodeo
MID-JULY · ANNUALLY SINCE 1931 · BOOK 90+ DAYS OUTThe WYO Rodeo has run since 1931 and consistently ranks among the top professional rodeos in the country. This is not a tourist production. The PRCA competitors are serious. The Indian Relay Races — bareback riders switching between horses at full gallop with no saddle and no stirrups — are among the most viscerally exciting events in all of Western sport. They are reason alone to be in Sheridan in July.
The week includes nightly rodeo performances, Indian Relay Races, a Main Street parade, carnival, concerts, and the Cowboy Ball. Buy tickets through the WYO Rodeo website. Book your vacation rental immediately after reading this sentence. Rodeo week is the single most-booked period of the year in Sheridan County. Ninety days out is not too early. We mean that.
"The most-booked week of the year in Sheridan County."
Book 90+ days out. Every year.
WYO RODEO LODGING — WYO STAYS
Downtown Sheridan properties are walkable to the parade route and every Rodeo week event. Multi-property coordination for groups of any size. One call. One team. One licensed brokerage.
Check Rodeo Week AvailabilityBig Horn Polo Club
SUNDAYS JUNE–AUGUST · 15 MIN SOUTH · FREE ADMISSION · FOUNDED 1898Polo came to Sheridan County in the 1890s, brought by British and Scottish ranchers who played on the same land where they ran cattle. The Big Horn Polo Club — founded in 1898 — is one of the oldest continuously operating polo clubs in the United States. Matches are played on a private field in the village of Big Horn, 15 minutes south of Sheridan, and the crowd is a genuine mix of locals, ranching families, and the occasional professional player passing through.
Free admission. Bring a blanket. The half-time divot stomp is a tradition — you'll understand it when everyone heads onto the field between chukkers. Check the Big Horn Polo Club schedule each season for exact Sunday match dates. Combine it with the Brinton Museum down the road — Wyoming's best Western art collection, in the original 1892 ranch buildings.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Our team knows which Sundays draw the best matches and which Wyo Stays properties put you closest to Big Horn. Ask when you book direct at wyostays.com or call (307) 312-9656.
Fly Fishing Near Sheridan Wyoming
Mountain Streams — Small Water, Big Country
The upper Tongue River and its tributaries hold wild brook and brown trout in classic high-country habitat. Access off Hwy 14 — pull-offs and short trails lead down to the water. Uncrowded, beautiful, and genuinely satisfying small-stream fishing. A Wyoming fishing license is required. Go early. Take your time getting out.
Bighorn River Tailwater — Wyoming's Premier Dry-Fly Water
The section below Yellowtail Dam near Fort Smith is arguably the best dry-fly fishery in the region — cold, clear, and loaded with large brown and rainbow trout year-round. An hour and a half from Sheridan. Worth every mile. Go in September if you can: crowds thin after Labor Day and the fish are aggressive heading into fall.
START HERE: FLY SHOP OF THE BIG HORNS
N. Main Street, downtown Sheridan. Local guides, current stream conditions, gear rental, Wyoming licenses. Don't guess what's hatching. Ask people who fished yesterday.
Downtown Sheridan, Wyoming
Sheridan's Main Street has resisted the hollowing out that took most small Western towns. The buildings are original. The businesses are independent. King's Saddlery has been making saddles in the same building since 1946. The Mint Bar has been serving drinks since 1907. These aren't preserved as attractions — they're just still here, still working, because Sheridan takes care of its own.
King's Saddlery & Museum
184 N. MAIN ST · FREE MUSEUM · 1–2 HRSCustom saddle-making since 1946, shipped to working ranches worldwide. The free museum in the back is genuinely extraordinary — rope collections, saddle evolution, Native American artifacts, 150 years of Wyoming ranch culture. Budget more time than you think. The museum alone is worth an hour.
The Mint Bar
151 N. MAIN ST · OPEN SINCE 1907The original back bar has been there since 1907. Saddle barstools. Live music some nights. Always full of actual Sheridan residents — never tourists who wandered in by accident. This is where Sheridan goes after everything else. Visit at least once. Stay longer than you planned.
WYO Theater
42 N. MAIN ST · SINCE 1923A 1923 vaudeville house beautifully preserved and still presenting live performances — touring acts, local theater, film screenings, concerts. Check their calendar before your trip. If something is playing, go.
Black Tooth Brewing Co.
N. BROADWAY · GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL MEDALAward-winning craft beer brewed in Sheridan. The Saddle Bronc Brown Ale is the local standard — try it first. Unpretentious taproom, always full of locals, excellent patio in summer. The after-hike beer. Every time.
STAY DOWNTOWN — WALK EVERYWHERE
Wyo Stays manages premium downtown Sheridan vacation rentals steps from everything above. Park once. Walk the rest. Book direct at wyostays.com — no Airbnb fees.
Browse Downtown PropertiesBorn in a Barn — Sheridan's Local Market
SPRING & FALL EDITIONS · FREE ADMISSION · SHERIDAN WYTwice-yearly outdoor market featuring local makers, artisans, food vendors, and small businesses from across northern Wyoming. Jewelry, leather goods, ceramics, Wyoming-made food products, local art. The fall edition typically aligns with peak foliage in the Big Horns — worth stacking with a mountain drive on the same trip.
Check Born in a Barn's social channels for exact dates each season.
After: Luminous Brewhouse on N. Main — wood-fired breakfast, exceptional coffee, the best morning spot in Sheridan. The kind of place you come back to every day of a trip and wish you had at home.
Sheridan Wyoming in Winter
Sheridan in winter is Wyoming's best-kept secret. The Big Horns receive substantial snowfall. Downtown stays active. The trails that were crowded in August are empty. And the people who came specifically to experience Wyoming without performing it for Instagram have the whole place to themselves.
Antelope Butte Mountain Resort — 60 miles west via Hwy 14, reopened 2022 — is the winter anchor. Community-owned. Uncrowded terrain. Day passes that won't require a second mortgage. The locals fought hard to bring it back and it shows in how it's run.
Winter is also when Wyo Stays' nightly rates hit their annual low. The same properties that sell out in July are available and affordable in January. If you've wanted to experience Sheridan without the crowds, this is your window.
BEST RATES OF THE YEAR
Winter vacation rentals in Sheridan Wyoming — same properties, same licensed local team, same direct booking at wyostays.com. Book direct and save 14–16% off Airbnb pricing year-round.
Browse Winter AvailabilityWhere to Stay in Sheridan Wyoming
50+ premium properties. One licensed brokerage. Every location in this guide covered. Book direct and keep the platform fee.
DOWNTOWN SHERIDAN
Steps from Main Street, the Mint Bar, King's Saddlery, WYO Theater, Black Tooth Brewing, and Luminous Brewhouse. Walk to everything in this guide. Park once. The best choice for first-time visitors, Rodeo week, and anyone who wants the full Sheridan experience on foot.
BIGHORN MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS
20–30 minutes from Tongue River Canyon, Cloud Peak trailheads, and the Scenic Byway. Morning coffee with the mountains filling the window. Ideal for hikers, anglers, and anyone whose idea of a good trip involves getting out early and coming back tired.
SHERIDAN COUNTY RANCHES & RETREATS
Private acreages, ranch settings, and properties with space to breathe. Groups, families, reunions, weddings. Full-property bookings with Wyo Stays' licensed local team managing every detail. For the trip where you need the whole place to yourself.
Book direct and save 14–16% versus Airbnb or VRBO. Call (307) 312-9656.
Frequently Asked Questions — Things to Do in Sheridan Wyoming
What are the best things to do in Sheridan Wyoming?
The best things to do in Sheridan Wyoming include: hiking Tongue River Canyon (20 min from downtown, moderate, 7 miles out-and-back), attending the Sheridan WYO Rodeo in mid-July (one of the top PRCA rodeos in the country), watching free Sunday polo at the Big Horn Polo Club in summer (15 min south), exploring King's Saddlery and its free Western museum on Main Street, driving the Big Horn Scenic Byway (Hwy 14A) to the Medicine Wheel, fly fishing the Tongue River and Bighorn River tailwater, and skiing Antelope Butte Mountain Resort in winter. For all of these, Wyo Stays manages premium vacation rentals across Sheridan County — book direct at wyostays.com and save 14-16% versus Airbnb.
How far are the Big Horn Mountains from Sheridan Wyoming?
The Big Horn Mountains begin 20-30 minutes west of downtown Sheridan Wyoming. Tongue River Canyon trailhead is 20 minutes from Main Street. The Bighorn Scenic Byway (Hwy 14A) starts climbing within 20 minutes of town. Cloud Peak Wilderness trailheads are 45-60 minutes from Sheridan. The mountains are visible filling the western sky from anywhere in downtown Sheridan.
When is the Sheridan WYO Rodeo?
The Sheridan WYO Rodeo takes place in mid-July each year — typically the second week of July. It has run annually since 1931 and consistently ranks among the top professional PRCA rodeos in the United States. The week includes nightly rodeo performances, Indian Relay Races, a Main Street parade, concerts, and the Cowboy Ball. Book vacation rentals in Sheridan Wyoming 90+ days in advance — Rodeo week is the single most-booked period of the year.
Is there polo in Sheridan Wyoming?
Yes. The Big Horn Polo Club was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest continuously operating polo clubs in the United States. Free Sunday afternoon matches are held June through August in Big Horn, Wyoming — approximately 15 minutes south of Sheridan. Bring a blanket or tailgate setup. Check the Big Horn Polo Club schedule each season for exact match dates.
What is the best hiking near Sheridan Wyoming?
Best hiking near Sheridan Wyoming: Tongue River Canyon (7-mile out-and-back, moderate, 20 min from downtown — the essential first hike), Cloud Peak Wilderness (serious backcountry, 45-60 min, best for experienced hikers), and the Bighorn Scenic Byway area trails above Dayton. All trails access Bighorn National Forest beginning 25-30 minutes west of Sheridan.
Where can I fly fish near Sheridan Wyoming?
Fly fishing options near Sheridan Wyoming include the Tongue River and its mountain tributaries (20-40 min, wild brook and brown trout, access off Hwy 14) and the Bighorn River tailwater below Yellowtail Dam near Fort Smith (90 min, one of Wyoming's premier fisheries for large trout). Stop at the Fly Shop of the Big Horns on N. Main Street in Sheridan before heading out for local guides, current conditions, and Wyoming fishing licenses.
What is there to do in Sheridan Wyoming in winter?
Winter in Sheridan Wyoming offers skiing and snowboarding at Antelope Butte Mountain Resort (60 min west, community-owned, reopened 2022, uncrowded terrain, affordable day passes), snowshoeing in the Big Horns, and a quieter, genuinely local version of downtown Sheridan. Nightly rates on vacation rentals are at their lowest of the year in winter.
Where should I stay when visiting Sheridan Wyoming?
Wyo Stays manages 50+ premium vacation rentals across Sheridan County — the only licensed, insured Wyoming vacation rental brokerage. Downtown Sheridan properties are walkable to Main Street, the Mint Bar, King's Saddlery, WYO Theater, Black Tooth Brewing, and Luminous. Bighorn Mountain foothills properties are 20-30 minutes from major trailheads. Book direct at wyostays.com and save 14-16% versus Airbnb or VRBO. Call (307) 312-9656.
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