Most Scenic Places In WY (Cheyenne, Laramie: rental car, rental, hotels)

[Wardendresden]

Originally Posted by branDcalf

I like parts of both, but I think more of Wyoming is scenic than Montana. I'm going to a jam session tonight where there will be several Montanans. I'll ask them if I'm correct. lol

Montana is very scenic but not nearly as diverse in that scenery as Wyoming---probably Montana has a greater percentage of greenery than Wyoming. But some of Wyoming's desolate land instills a strange dichotomic feeling of beauty and terror. You know it's beautiful, but you think, "oh, s**t, I'd be dead in 48 hours if I were stuck out here!". Kind of like that one area where they filmed part of Starship Trooper (although that area isn't too isolated and it's relatively small with a well travelled highway running adjacent).

I do like eastern Wyoming and the fewer people, but my wife loves mountains, so more often than not we head west. Cause if mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy!

[StealthRabbit]

Both states are very nice, with lots of variety, IN fact.... ALL the bordering states of WY are terrific for 'beauty'. Nice that they are so close! I have spent much more time in WY and Colorado, so Not sure I've found the 'jewels of MT' (of which I've found many, but certainly not all) UT and ID have plenty of variety as well.

Enjoy your travels, there are PLENTY of destinations (has kept me busy the last 50yrs, and probably then NEXT 40.)

I will have to admit, the majority of my travel time in WY, has been by moonlight! *which is excellent on snow glistening nights. I have traversed MANY times via motorcycle, but not NIGHTLY / year-round as when doing a truck driving job.

[branDcalf]

I'm going to stick with Wyoming as being more scenic. But I did pose the question at the jam session and then walked off to get a tea. It got pretty lively and those Montanans are just stubborn.

In Wyoming I prefer the grasslands and deserty country to the mountains myself. I like the wind, too.

[ElkHunter]

I think the best way to answer is to ask what detracts from the beauty?

It disturbs me that somebody builds a McMansion in the middle of a beautiful area and they don't use it, or it is their summer home that they use two weeks out of the year. They stick out like a sore thumb. If you need 5000 sq feet because you have a large family and you are going to put effort into the property and you are going to be a neighbor, there tends to be more beauty in that than there us a big party palace to impress somebody.

Although we have McMansions, I think we have a lot less of them than Montana does. Although we have a lot of that sort of thing around Jackson, the rest of the state doesn't.

As to the beauty of scenery, I like both, the high altitude prairie with the breaks and wind swept formations. I also love the mountains. There is nothing as beautiful as camping up at 9000 ft, you can't comprehend the vast sky and the enormouse amount of stars you can see.

Finally, there is a reason that most of Yellowstone is part of Wyoming. It would have been more of Wyoming but they run out of fencing material.

Many times I have had people say they wanted to visit Yellowstone and in the course if the conversation, I got the feeling that they thought the beauty was going to end at the fence. It doesn't, it done spilt out. haha

[ElkHunter]

Just wanted to add:

Red Desert - 9,320 square miles. Killpecker sand dunes, the largest Dune system in the United States. Continental Divide splits so you cross it twice going West. Largest Elk herd in the lower 48. Largest pronghorn herd in the lower 48.

Big Horn Mountains - 80 miles long, 30 miles wide. Peaks in excess of 13,000 ft. Contains the Bighorn National Forest which is 1.1 million acres. Home of Elk, Deer, Moose, Mountain Sheep, Black bear, and wolves. 32 campgrounds, 14 picnic areas, 2 visitor centers, 2 ski areas, 7 lodges, 2 recreation lakes, 3 Scenic Byways and over 1,500 miles (2419 Km) of trails.

Teton Range - Home of the Cathedral Group and the most photographed barn in the country. What really sets off the Teton's is that on the East side, you basically go from nothing to high peaks. There are no foothills to hinder photographers. Many of the peaks exceed 12,000 ft and go as high as 13,770 ft. Snake River runs through it along with the Jackson Hole Valley. Home of the Grand Teton National Park.

Yellowstone National Park - The First National Park in the World. Home of the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone. There is a reason that most of Yellowstone is within the boundaries of Wyoming.

[snowave]

We'll be moving to an outlying area near Jackson later this summer... coming out in May for a couple weeks for a final scouting trip, and to leave our travel trailer. These last few weeks of work are torture!


I've spent more time in Montana, and it is big beautiful country for sure. Other than NW Wyoming, I've not spent enough time in the rest of the state to compare. Either way, that whole area is awesome, and where we're moving to and it's proximately to everything in WY/MT/ID/UT... I can't wait.

[thatguyoverther]

I have been planning some more and have decided that I am (hopefully) visiting Wyoming during the first two weeks of June. How crowded will Yellowstone be? just out of curiosity...

[jody_wy]

Originally Posted by thatguyoverther

I have been planning some more and have decided that I am (hopefully) visiting Wyoming during the first two weeks of June. How crowded will Yellowstone be? just out of curiosity...

that much better then the end of June, still will be alot of snow in places

[thatguyoverther]

Originally Posted by jody_wy

that much better then the end of June, still will be alot of snow in places

Should I go to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton? Also, due to the snow, will the roads be accessible in June?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by thatguyoverther

Should I go to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton? Also, due to the snow, will the roads be accessible in June?

DON'T miss Tetons (many of us prefer that to Yellowstone, but each are quite different and to be enjoyed)
Float trip from Jackson Dam to Jackson was a LIFETIME highlight vacation event for me.
Cost = Zero, I went with a friend in a 10 man raft (tad small, but pretty gentle river in that section).

Put in at daybreak, light fog rising, sunrise / color of Mtns was great bonus, wildlife was amazing (they don't hear you coming).
June is BEST for running river (cold but high flow)

ALL roads should be open in June, Usually they try to have Beartooth open in late May. You MIGHT get a June snow, That will be gone on roads by noon (if less than 4").