Johnson County

If it's the historic West and adventure you seek, look no further than Johnson County in the southeastern part of Big Horn Mountain Country!

Johnson County is tucked away between the rolling plains of the Old West and the towing peaks of the Bighorn Mountains. It's a land rich in both history and scenery. Situated along the historic Bozeman Trail, Johnson County is located in the midst of the legendary, colorful tales of cowboys and sheep herders, renegades and rustlers. Yet the amazing thing about our past is that it's so much a part of our present. It's as common to find herders tending sheep on a hillside as it was a century ago. Wheel ruts from pioneer wagons are still visible. And the air is still clean, the wildlife abundant, and land and mountains unspoiled.

Fishing opportunities abound in area reservoirs, Lake DeSmet located north of Buffalo, and alpine streams and lakes in the Bighorn National Forest. Or you can toss a line in Clear Creek, which flows right through downtown Buffalo. Among the many varieties of fish you will find grayling, rainbow, brown, brook, cutthroat and lake trout.

Buffalo's Jim Gatchell Museum and Kaycee's Hoofprints of the Past Museum serve as the hub for history in Johnson County. In the Jim Gatchell Museum you will find items from the Little Bighorn Battlefield, Fetterman Fight and Johnson County Cattle War. In Kaycee's museum, visitors will find authentic replicas of an old-time schoolhouse and one-room jail.

Fort Phil Kearny is located north of Buffalo, the most hated fort by the Native Americans in the 1860's. Visit the museum at Fort Phil Kearny, take a walking tour through the grounds and then continue to the Fetterman and Wagon Box Fight sites.

Washington Park in downtown Buffalo has the region's largest free outdoor swimming pool. Buffalo's challenging 18-hole, par 72, golf course combined with spectacular mountain vistas is rated by Golf Digest as one of the best places to play in Wyoming. One of the historic buildings on Main Street is the Occidental Hotel, where Owen Wister's Virginian finally "got his man". In addition, you'll find nearly life size bronzes, which commemorate the Johnson County Cattle War.

In Kaycee, you will enjoy a true Old West atmosphere, home of Wyoming's infamous outlaws. Southwest of Kaycee is the famous "Hole in the Wall" County and Outlaw Cave, the hideouts of the legendary Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid and the rest of the Hole in the Wall gang. You can experience the Old West too, when you see the cattle and sheep drives to the mountain in the spring, and back again in the fall -- the same old stock trails used decades ago. The Chris LeDoux Memorial Park in downtown Kaycee features a larger than life bronze of Chris making his World Championship bronc ride on 'Stormy Weather'.

Whether it's beautiful scenery, wide open spaces, great outdoor recreation, or getting a sense of our history through the great museums, Johnson County is a place you'll be glad to visit!