Wildlife and the Wild West, now we're in Wyoming

Welcome to Big Wyoming, aka the Cowboy State, aka the least populated state in all of the US. But don’t let its small number of human inhabitants fool you because there’s some pretty amazing wildlife who call this place home. Find yourself looking for animals ranging from damn-building beavers to grizzly-looking bears while roaming through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. When not around the natural beauty of the great outdoors, there’s even more fun to be had in the old-timey mountain town of Jackson. Trust us, this is where Wyoming really lives up to the cowboy name.

Our tours in Wyoming

6 Days From 2397

Take a discovery tour of Wyoming’s highlights, with plenty of wildlife-spotting and...

6 Days From 2484

Explore South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park, Badlands National Park, Little...

6 Days From 3031

Take the family on a 6-day adventure in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks....

12 Days From 5342

Explore South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana on a 12-day small group tour which includes...

4 Days From 1341

See the best of Yellowstone on an Intrepid small group hiking and camping adventure...

Tailor-Made trips

Take four or more on an exclusive trip and tailor your itinerary

5 Days From 1863

See the best of this iconic national park on five spectacularly diverse, hand-picked...

5 Days From 1710

Avoid the crowds and see the best of Southern Yellowstone National Park’s backcountry...

5 Days From 3200

Enjoy the luxuries of a lodge and rustic dining each evening in different locations...

Highlights of tours in Wyoming

Old Faithful geyser erupting at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone and Old Faithful

There are a few reasons why Yellowstone National Park sees over 3 million visitors every year and on our tours, you'll have a front-row seat to them all. Yellowstone is home to the world’s most famous geyser – Old Faithful – which is named for its lengthy devotion to erupting around 20 times a day since it was first discovered in 1870. Alongside the geyser, the park is also home to the Grand Prismatic Spring, an enormous and beautifully rainbow-coloured hot spring, the Yellowstone Grand Canyon waterfall (which is twice the height of Niagara Falls) and many other geological and geothermal attractions - including a ton of hiking trails, camping spots and a bunch of swimmable hot (so bring your bathers).

A black wolf spotted on a wolf-tracking expedition in Yellowstone

Wildlife of Wyoming

Visitors to Wyoming have the unique opportunity to see animals living in an intact ecosystem. Animals, great and small, live within the national parks, most notable are the predators. Wyoming is home to cougars, coyotes, bobcats, black and grizzly bears, as well as several wolf packs. In fact, you can join us on a wolf-tracking expedition through Yellowstone where we use top-of-the-line equipment and employ naturalist guides whose expertise means you're likely to see these highly social animals for yourself (from a safe distance of course). Grand Teton also has some impressive species living throughout its park. Look for include golden eagles, moose, black bears, beavers and river otters.

A sign for Grand Teton National Park with sunset and clouds

Scenic Grand Teton National Park

Maybe the lesser know of Wyoming’s national parks is Grand Teton. But it surely shouldn’t be thought of as a lesser because this natural wonderland is surrounded by snowy mountain peaks, dotted with picturesque forests and interspersed by glimmering lakes – so it’s pretty much a nature-lovers paradise. We offer what is arguably one of the best ways to experience the park: wildlife spotting while floating down Snake River. You can also be wowed by the scenery while on a leader-led scenic stroll heading to Jenny Lake or one of the many great lookouts. The park is a great location for hikers of all abilities, as it has over 320 kilometres of trails through lowland shrubbery and alpine terrain. 

The remnants of the Wild West in Wyoming

Time travel to the Wild West in Jackson Valley

The Jackson Valley is a large basin surrounded by mountain ranges and home to the rustic Jackson City. This area is a great base for any trip to Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks, although it does have some impressive highlights of its own. From Memorial Day to Labour Day, live out a classic Wild West pastime at the longest continually running gunfight show in the US. See local actors dressed in cowboy-era garb partake in a 65-year tradition of a nightly town square "shoot-out". Other key attractions in Jackson include learning local history at the Jackson Hole Historical Society, eating at Wyoming's landmark watering hole, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and roaming through the National Museum of Wildlife Art. 

Wyoming tour reviews

FAQs

Trips from 1 January 2023 onwards

From 1 January 2023, Intrepid will no longer require travellers to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (excluding all Polar trips and select adventure cruises).

However, we continue to strongly recommend that all Intrepid travellers and leaders get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

Specific proof of testing or vaccination may still be required by your destination or airline. Please ensure you check travel and entry requirements carefully.

Learn more about Intrepid’s COVID-19 policy

To get to Wyoming, you have a few options if coming from any of Wyoming's many neighbouring states. There's Montana in the north, Colorado to the south, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east and Idado and Utah to the west. If you're self-driving, you may need to monitor some of these roads and check your car's suitability for driving especially in the winter months as roads into and within Wyoming can be affected by high winds, snow, ice and other weather conditions. Please also be aware of the animals that may be crossing the roads, namely antelope and deer especially. Wildlife is most likely to be active in the dusk and dawn times of the day. 

If you are coming via public transit, your best bet is a long-distance bus (such as a Greyhound) rather than a train as there are currently no train lines into Wyoming.

You can also fly into Wyoming via one of their airports found throughout the state, these include Casper (CPR), Cheyenne (KCYS), Cody (COD), Gillette (GCC), Jackson (JAC), Laramie (LAR), Riverton (RIW), Rock Springs (RKS) and Sheridan (SHR). Many of these airports offer direct flights to/from international airports from other states such as Denver International Airport (DEN) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

On Intrepid tours, we use private vehicles to get around Wyoming. Taxis may also be available around the cities for your downtime, however, many travellers to Wyoming rent a car as this can be the best way to travel to specific sites in the National Parks.

Within Wyoming, all counties have at least one form of public transport available. In Jackson, there is a public bus service called START that you can use to get around.

The best time to visit Wyoming is typically the summer months, however, for fewer crowds, consider the should seasons of autumn and spring. Summer in Wyoming starts at the end of June and lasts until the end of September. During this time, nights can be cool, and the days will be sunny but won't get too hot. Spring (mid-April to May) typically sees the highest rainfall of the year, with snow frequent between November to March. 

If you're looking for a winter experience, then Wyoming has plenty to offer for indoor and outdoor fun during winter. We're talking alpine sports, dogsledding, hot springs, ice skating, ice climbing and even ice fishing. The most reliable snow is typically from January to February.

Learn more about the best time to visit Wyoming

What you need to pack for a trip to Wyoming will depend on the season and your activities, however, even during the summer months, the weather can change throughout the region, especially in higher areas.

Here's a general list of items to pack when visiting Wyoming:

  • Waterproof jacket
  • Warm sweater/fleece
  • Hiking shoes/boots
  • Comfortable day shoes, ideally closed-in shoes
  • Warm hat or gloves
  • Water bottle
  • Swimwear (for year-round hot springs) 

It's a great idea to read through the Essential Trip Information to know what you will need, especially if you are going on a hiking or trekking tour, as you will learn more about what is provided and what you will need to supply.

Read more about what to pack for Yellowstone

Read more about packing for an Intrepid trip

Yes, there are bears in Wyoming. The state of Wyoming is recognised as bear country and they can be found freely roaming across the state, including in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The best and safest way to view bears is from inside a car and you should always be at least 91 metres (100 yards) away from bears.

There are many precautions and protocols surrounding bear encounters, the main involve:

  • Learn more about what to do in a bear encounter before engaging in outdoor activities. 
  • Never pursue or approach a bear and you should never get in between it and its offspring.
  • When on foot, always travel in groups, do not run, be alert and try to make noise.
  • Never feed the bears (or any other wildlife).
  • When outdoors, keep any smelly items such as food and rubbish, packed carefully away in bear-proof containers when not in use.

Intrepid is committed to making travel widely accessible, regardless of ability or disability. That’s why we do our best to help as many people see the world as possible, regardless of any physical or mental limitations they might have. We’re always happy to talk to travellers with disabilities and see if we can help guide them towards the most suitable itinerary for their needs and where possible, make reasonable adjustments to our itineraries.

Yes, all Intrepid trips support the Intrepid Foundation. In fact, we make a donation on behalf of every traveller. Trips to this country directly support our global Intrepid Foundation partner, Eden Reforestation Projects. 

Eden Reforestation Projects

Eden Reforestation Projects are helping to mitigate climate change by restoring forests worldwide; they also hire locally and create job opportunities within vulnerable communities. Donations from our trips support restoration across planting sites in 10 countries around the globe.

Find out more or make a donation

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