Buffalo, Outdoorsy Gem Attracts Seniors

Buffalo, Wyoming is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Big Horn Mountains and is conveniently located at the intersections of Interstates 25 and 90. Wyoming State Highway 16, on it’s way from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park, runs through Buffalo. The Cloud Peak Scenic Byway, between two of America’s most popular national treasures, is a safe, easy and enticing drive for seniors.
Buffalo’s main street has more than a dozen historic buildings, including the Occidental Hotel where Butch Cassiday and The Sundance Kid stayed. The impressive Jim Gatchell Museum has over 15,000 artifacts from the American Old West.  Many other Wyoming historical sites are just a short drive from Buffalo including Fort Phil Kearney, Fetterman’s Massacre Site, Wagon Box Fight and the infamous “Hole in the Wall”- the hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid along with the rest of the “Wild Bunch.”

Seniors, Care for Some Running? Skiing?  Camping? Fishing?…

Andy Holak, cofounder of the Adventure Running Company,  searches for backcountry tour routes that feature grazing bison, mountain lakes, and stunning peaks.  An accomplished ultramarathoner, Holak thinks nothing of running 50 miles in a day. On a recent long-haul race to Dayton, Wyo., he discovered Buffalo and immediately decided it was one of his favorite outdoorsy gems. “Buffalo has that nice mix of cowboys and kayakers.” The town’s undiscovered status means you’ll have the trails to yourself, seniors, and its superb location at the foot of the Bighorns offers immediate access to some of the best recreation areas in the country. “It’s one of the closest jumping-off points for climbing Cloud Peak,” Holak says.  At 13,167 feet, Cloud Peak is the highest point in the Bighorn range.

But even mellow day hikes are rewarded with dramatic endings, such as the one found at Bucking Mule Falls, which plunges 600 feet down a steep rock face into Devil Canyon. Drives, too, are almost distractingly scenic. It’s hard to top a cruise in the car out to Crazy Woman Canyon, where a narrow dirt road hugs a creek and steep rock walls cast a golden glow. Then there’s the excellent rock climbing at Ten Sleep Canyon and the plentiful cross-country skiing trails in winter.

It doesn’t hurt that Main Street is movie-set picturesque, with rows of well-preserved mercantile shops and saloons from the late 1800s now transformed into art galleries and outdoor outfitters.   Buffalo is just a short drive to skiing, boating, camping, hunting, fishing, guest ranches, lakes, streams and mountains.  It is a sportsman’s paradise with an abundance of spectacular scenery, wildlife, fascinating frontier heritage and outdoor recreation waiting for the senior visitor.  Enjoy Buffalo!  jeb