6 Cool and Unusual Things To Do In Wyoming (2024)

Wyoming is one of the least populated states in the US, but it has one of the largest diverse landscapes in the entire country. Wyoming is also home to the country’s first national monument, the incredible monolith of Devil’s Tower. Even though the state is landlocked, it still has over 30 river and lake islands. Wyoming is a perfect destination for those who want to enjoy nature and the great outdoors. Being home to the world’s first national park, the Yellowstone National Park, there is no dearth of cool and unusual things to do in Wyoming.

6 Cool and Unusual Things To Do In Wyoming

Here are some of the top cool and unusual things to do in Wyoming:

1. Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting in Greybull

If you specifically want to explore some of the unusual places in Wyoming, the best place to start from would be at the Aerial Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting in Greybull. This museum is located at an erstwhile center for aerial firefighting. If you are wondering what aerial firefighting is, well, it means fighting fires, generally forest fires, from the air.

You will be able to see a huge variety of aircraft here, though the main focus of the place is to educate people about aerial firefighting and the risks it involves. The museum displays the planes that are often used to help fight raging fires, along with showing some of the materials that are dropped on fires to help put them out. Visitors to the museum also get to learn about how these systems developed over time, from using kegs kept in the back of small planes to the modern-day air tankers.

Some of the other cool and unusual displays here are linked to the detection of fires, planes used in the World Wars, and general aviation history. The museum was founded in 1987 and is a one-of-a-kind place to explore in Wyoming.

2. Goodwin Lake Trail in Jackson

While Wyoming is home to many scenic lakes that witness many visitors throughout the year, Goodwin Lake is one of the more under-visited beauties. This is a beautiful alpine lake. This body of water is located at the end of the Gros Ventre Range. There is a looped trail within the Grand Teton National Park that stretches over six miles long. Since the terrain is not too challenging, people with some hiking experience and reasonable fitness levels can easily complete this.

As you follow the trail to the lake, you get to take in some of the most incredible views of the majestic Tetons. The lake as well as a sight for sore eyes indeed. This is the perfect place to take a refreshing dip and rejuvenate yourself. This is a popular picnic destination as well.

3. The Devils Tower National Monument

Hundreds of years of erosion have created this strange attraction in Wyoming – the Devils Tower. This is a massive, once-hidden monolith that appears massive, towering 1267 feet over the Belle Fourche River near Sundance. There is a park that surrounds this national monument, which is home to many deer, prairie dogs, and many other wildlife. The monument is surrounded by exotic woodlands, fragrant pine forests, and grasslands.

Many people also know this monument as Bear Lodge. The monolith is considered to be a sacred place for many Indian American tribes in the region, including the Cheyenne, Crow, Arapaho, Kiowa, Shoshone, and Lakota. Devils Tower was also designated as the country’s first national monument in 1906 by then President Theodore Roosevelt.

4. Boar’s Tusk

Boar’s Tusk is actually the heart of an extinct and eroded volcano that protrudes majestically out of the Killpecker Sand Dunes. In an otherwise flat landscape, Boar’s Tusk is the one landscape that you can spot from miles away. This volcanic plug is one of the two geologically formed landmarks in Wyoming, with the other being the Devils Tower.

The spire that takes you up to the summit of Boar’s Tusk is known as Rock Point or Sentinel Point. It is ideal to have four-wheel-drive vehicles to check out Boar’s Tusk and the surrounding Red Desert if you want to venture out of Rock Springs.

5. Heart Mountain

The Heart Mountain is one of the most unusual landmarks of Wyoming located just outside of the small town of Cody. It used to be a part of the Absaroka Mountain Range earlier. However, no one exactly knows how this 8123-foot peak moved around 25 miles away from its original location all by itself. That is the unique mystery attached to Heart Mountain. Many locals insist that it was the work of aliens and giants, but scientists, of course, have a more different and less stunning explanation.

It is known that around 50 million years ago, there was a series of major volcanic eruptions that rocked the Absaroka Range. Water-filled ditches located within the heart Mountain are known to have become filled with lava, which heated the water as well as the surrounding rock. Since there was nowhere for the hot water and lava to escape from, the mountain sort of became a gigantic pressure cooker, which eventually lifted the rock and caused the mountain to slide away from its original place. While some researchers predict that the slide took place over 1000s of years ago, others predict that the entire journey of shifting from its place actually just lasted less than half an hour. This means that the huge mass of rock must have traveled at an average speed of over 100 miles per hour. So paying a visit to this mysterious mountain range that got separated in the strangest of ways is a must if you are in or around the town of Cody.

6. Fairy Falls

Fairy Falls is the tallest waterfall in Yellowstone. You can only reach this beautiful waterfall by hiking. It is a great idea to combine your visit to Fairy Falls with your trip to see the Grand Prismatic Spring.

You can take two ways to reach Fairy Falls. One is directly from the Fairy Falls parking lot, which is the same parking that you use to visit the Grand Prismatic Spring. This is a 5.4-mile round trip and an easy hike. Or you can also park at the end of Fountain Flat Drive, from where it will be a ten-mile round trip hike. The hike is a pleasant one as you go through a lodgepole forest. You might even encounter a bear or other wildlife on the trail.