Eat Like a Local in Wyoming: Rustic Flavors and Western Roots

There’s nothing quite like fresh-from-the-farm cooking. In Wyoming, that means locally sourced produce and meats, including bison. Two and a half hours west of Casper in the town of Lander, The Middle Fork serves sumptuous breakfast and lunch treats such as French toast made from banana bread and gravy-slathered country fried steak. In the summer, the restaurant is open for dinner and boasts a lovely outdoor patio right on a babbling creek. In Cody, home of cowboy legend Buffalo Bill, try a buffalo burger or barbecued wild boar at The Local. While visiting Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, check out the National Elk Refuge, then make your home base in the city of Jackson. Dinner is in the cozy dining room of Wild Sage inside the Rusty Parrot Lodge. The restaurant’s menu of organic and local produce, meats and fish earned Wild Sage a AAA Four Diamond rating.

If you’re a fan of small-batch beer, spirits, wine and even mead, you’re going to love Wyoming’s craft beverage options. Backwards Distilling Company in Casper offers tours of its production facility followed by samples of vodka, gin and rum in the tasting room. Drink artfully crafted mead out of a traditional mead horn at Big Lost Meadery and Brewery in Gillette, two hours east of Bighorn National Forest. Beer lovers can try a flight – sample sizes of several flavors – of house favorites and seasonal brews at Black Tooth Brewing Company, Luminous Brewhouse or Smith Alley Brewing Company & Public House, all located in Sheridan. Wine aficionados can make an appointment to visit Table Mountain Vineyards in Huntley, near Torrington. The wines are made from 100% Wyoming ingredients and ultra-hardy grapes that can withstand a Wyoming winter.

For those with a sweet tooth, Meeteetse Chocolatier crafts mouthwatering confections including chocolates smothered in treats such as dried cherries, sea salt and candied ginger. As an environmental bonus, the chocolatier is a nearly zero-waste facility and incorporates some organic ingredients. Take home a box of hand-decorated truffles from Donells Candies, a family-owned business in Casper since 1956. At Star Valley Chocolates in Afton, order homemade fudge and wash it down with a coffee drink or hot chocolate made with their own chocolate syrup. Delicious!

There’s nothing better to experience Wyoming than staying at an authentic dude ranch complete with hunting, fishing and cowboy campfires. Enjoy an outdoor cookout accompanied by breathtaking views of the Teton Mountains at Gros Ventre River Ranch near Jackson. If it’s rugged outdoor sport you’re looking for, book a hunting or fly fishing trip with lodging and meals included at Folded Hills Ranch, located in Buffalo at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains.

Popular airports in Wyoming include Casper-Natrona County International (CPR), Cheyenne Regional (CYS), Jackson Hole (JAC), Sheridan County (SHR) and Yellowstone Regional (YRA) for the Cody area. The airports have rental cars available. Because of Wyoming’s immense size, you’ll want to have your own transportation.