Things to Do in Cody, United States: Walking Guide

The best things to do in Cody include exploring Buffalo Bill’s legacy, historic buildings, Western art and the stories preserved in the town’s museums. Founded in 1895 by William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the town brings together frontier history, ranching culture and mountain scenery near Yellowstone National Park. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Cody, with 7 narrated places in 11 languages.

What to see in Cody

Cody’s central sights are closely connected, making them easy to explore on foot. Together, they reveal how the town’s history developed from Buffalo Bill’s ambitions and the institutions created to preserve the American West.

Irma Hotel

The Irma Hotel is one of Cody’s best-known landmarks. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody built it and named it after his daughter, Irma Cody. The hotel opened on November 18, 1902, at a party attended by press representatives and dignitaries from as far away as Boston.

Its most memorable interior feature is a cherry-wood back bar given to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria. The hotel soon became Cody’s social center, while its later history reflected the financial difficulties surrounding Buffalo Bill’s property. An annex was added around 1930 as more visitors began arriving by automobile.

Stock Center

The Stock Center is a large log building designed to resemble a stockman’s cabin. Built in 1927, it was the original home of the Buffalo Bill Museum and remained so until the collections moved to a new complex in 1969.

The building was created as a community project, using Buffalo Bill Cody’s T E Ranch Headquarters as its model. Its interior was arranged around a small lobby, with rooms evoking a rancher’s living room, trophy room, library, dining room, kitchen and bedrooms. The Stock Center was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Buffalo Bill Boyhood Home

The Buffalo Bill Boyhood Home has an unusual history. Although it now stands in Cody, the small two-story frame house was built in LeClaire, Iowa, in 1841 by Isaac Cody, Buffalo Bill Cody’s father. It is the oldest structure in Cody and may be the oldest building in Wyoming.

The house was moved to Cody in 1933 by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, which placed it beside the railroad station as a tourist attraction for passengers travelling to or from Yellowstone National Park. After the decline of rail tourism, the house was moved again in 1947, this time to the Buffalo Bill Museum. In 1969, it moved once more when the museum relocated to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West brings together five museums and a research library. Its collections cover Buffalo Bill Cody, Plains Indian cultures, Western art, natural history and firearms.

Founded in 1917 to preserve Buffalo Bill’s legacy and vision, the center grew into a major institution devoted to the history and culture of the American West. The Cody Firearms Museum is one of the five museums within the complex, offering a focused look at firearms as part of the region’s broader story.

Buffalo Bill – The Scout

At the end of Sheridan Avenue stands Buffalo Bill, The Scout, a bronze mounted rider commemorating Cody’s most famous resident and de facto founder. When the statue was installed in 1924, the site was still open land on the town’s western outskirts.

The memorial was proposed by Buffalo Bill’s niece, Mary Jester Allen, who helped establish what became the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. She persuaded the New York heiress and artist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney to create the work. Whitney selected and purchased the site, and the statue was dedicated on July 4, 1924. It was later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The statue’s creation also reflects the importance of local knowledge. Early versions of the horse and rider were criticised for appearing too eastern, so a horse named Smokey was shipped from Cody’s T E Ranch to New York to help Whitney produce a more convincing Western subject.

More places to visit in Cody

Paul Stock House

The Paul Stock House sits on a secluded bluff above the Shoshone River, with views towards Heart and Cedar Mountains on the edge of Cody. It was the home of Paul Stock, a three-time mayor of Cody who was also an oilman, rancher and philanthropist.

Built in 1945 and 1946, the house has an unusual irregular H plan and covers about 6,700 square feet. Its front appears as a single-story structure, while the rear becomes two stories as the building follows the bluff. Oilfield technology was incorporated into the design: deep pilings support the house, and oilfield piping was used for its water, sewer and gas lines. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Cody Theatre

Cody Theatre serves as both a local theater and a movie theater. It adds a more contemporary venue to a town whose best-known attractions focus on history, museums and the Western tradition.

Explore Cody with a free audio guide

A Cody self-guided walking tour is a simple way to connect the town’s main historic places without joining a group. Neywo’s walking tour, “Buffalo Bill’s Cody: From Irma Hotel to the Scout”, covers 1.28 km in about 59 minutes and includes 5 narrated stops:

• Irma Hotel
• Stock Center
• Buffalo Bill Boyhood Home
• Buffalo Bill Center of the West
• Buffalo Bill – The Scout

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Download Neywo to explore Cody with a free audio guide and discover the town’s Buffalo Bill landmarks through a free walking tour in Cody.

Cody is part of Wyoming, in the United States. If you are continuing through the region, you can also explore Lander or Buffalo, Wyoming.