Why should you be interested in exploring Wyoming? It is such a vast, unfathomable emptiness. In truth, there lies its beauty. Plus, the scenery here is part crazy, part spectacular. It has some of America’s most beautiful parks, including Yellowstone and the breathtaking Teton National Park. You can swim, hike, and fish — all to your heart’s content. You can also climb hills, paddle lakes, watch scintillating sunsets, and mingle with many wild animals, including bison, pronghorns, and elk. But you need a cozy, beautiful base, preferably a small, laid-back town. If you are sold on the idea, discover below the seven perfect destinations for a long weekend in Wyoming.

Medicine Bow

Speaking of beautiful scenery and top-notch outdoor adventure, Medicine Bow is grossly underrated. You can come and drive along Highway 130, a picturesque stretch with several overlooks and car pullouts. You will find many accessible trails, lakes, serene campgrounds — and, most of all — views that no one can exchange for the world. You can float down the Medicine Bow River, paddle Mirror Lake, explore the quiet woods and scenic trails at the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, and catch rainbow trout at East Allen Lake. You can also amble through the downtown area, pop inside C-Spear Restaurant (they serve fresh and delicious chicken tacos), and catch a glimpse of the area’s history at the Medicine Bow Museum, including early life on the prairies. Chances are, you will enjoy every minute of your trip. Time to sleep and looking for an old-timey feel? Head over to the nearby Elk Mountain Hotel, a secluded, historic spot where you can watch herds of deer grazing in the fields.

Buffalo

Buffalo is backdropped by the pine-speckled Bighorn Mountains, known for hunting, camping, and fishing adventures. Amid the beautiful mountain scenery, you can go and swim at Lake DeSmet — or just sit on its shores and inhale the gorgeous waterfront views. Learn about the lake’s eerie history, including tales of a mythical sea serpent named Smetty. The town features several eye-catching murals, which a first-time visitor will want to admire and explore. “The OX,” as the Occidental Hotel is known, is among the town’s most famous landmarks. It boasts more than 140 years of history and includes an elegant 1908 Historic Saloon. Plus, it is conveniently located on Main Street, right at the center of the action. Drive to West Ten Sleep Lake if you can — it will take an hour — and access the Cloud Peak Wilderness. This area is beautiful and provides a world of outdoor fun and adventure opportunities. From the trailhead at the West Ten Sleep Lake, hike to Lake Helen or even Misty Moon Lake. Back in town, there is the Buffalo Theatre, if you are a movie-goer, and the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum, which provides tidbits of the area’s history.

Sheridan

Aside from pheasants and wild turkeys, Sheridan has a bison preserve, the unshaded but beautiful Soldier Ridge Trail, delicious ice cream spots (Scoops Ice Cream and Cowboy Creamery ‘Western-style), and the Don King’s Western Museum, which offers a glimpse of everyday life in the Old West through the years. Kendrick Park, formerly Pioneer Park, has a few bison and elk that roam a 20-acre pasture land, thanks to the care provided by the City of Sheridan. The park sits right in the heart of town. Stroll through the town’s historic downtown area, an old-timey space dotted with legendary watering holes, including Black Tooth Brewery, Weston Wineries Tasting Room, and the iconic Mint Bar, the oldest in Sheridan. Drive along the paved highway that runs over the crest of the Bighorn Mountains to get a good feel of the land and enjoy jaw-dropping views. Time to sleep? Sheridan Inn, associated with one of the West’s most legendary figures, is cool, cozy, and filled with nostalgia. It is on Broadway Street.

Thermopolis

Thermopolis is a cute, dainty town whose history features notorious outlaws such as Butch Cassidy. You will find many old buildings here in a space that partly looks frozen in time. You can start with cooling your body at the public bathhouse ( Thermopolis can be hot) — before heading over to one of the town’s most famous attractions: The Dinosaur Museum. Alternatively, after bathing, you can stay around and see buffalos inside Hot Springs State Park, go soothe your soul at the famous Star Plunge, or just mill around the downtown, exploring its array of shops and restaurants. Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop on Shoshone Street keeps opals, agates, and several other beautiful and unique rocks. If you are an amateur rockhound, you must not miss this hidden gem. If you do not like hotel chains and are looking for a unique stay, check out Coyote Run Tipi Retreat, a family-run establishment magically removed from all the humdrum.

Cody

Named after “Buffalo Bill,” as Colonel William F. Cody has been known in popular culture, Cody has that Old West feel that only a handful of other towns in the West have. The landscape accentuates the cast, especially with all the expansive ranches, big skies, and rolling scenery. You will feel small here when arraigned against nature’s intimidating vastness. Some fun sites to explore include Shoshone National Forest, which hosts almost half of the world’s active geysers. The Wild West is known to have had a wild side, including murders and gunfights. Visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and catch a glimpse of all the guns on display, all of which played a part in the area’s history and culture. Float down the Shoshone River — or watch its tumbling rapids. Similarly, there is the trout-filled Beck Lake, Alkali Lake, with its geese and waterfowl, and City Reservoir. Stay at the Cody Cowboy Village, a cute, homey motel on the edge of town loved for its cowboy theme.

Lander

Lovely Lander is another Wyoming treasure that knows how to entertain visitors and whip up memorable weekends. Lander hosts the Sinks Canyon State Park, which can alone fill up an entire weekend. Its hallmarks include the entertaining noise of roaring water, beautiful wildflowers, a peaceful pond, and, most of all, a waterfall that sinks into a mysterious cave. In the backdrop is the Wind River Mountains, which has 19 of Wyoming’s 20 highest peaks. To learn bits and pieces of local history, spend some time at the Museum of the American West and see the curation of authentic buildings and the beautiful garden landscape. Finally, Mill House on Main Street is not a mill but a beautifully designed hotel, a stroll away from some of the best restaurants in town. Sleep here if nightfall finds you around.

Laramie

Laramie hosts the University of Wyoming, established as a land grant university in 1886. Expect, therefore, a palpable touch of vibrancy and a more diverse menu of offerings, especially restaurants. Plus, Laramie is full of art, western history, and outdoor adventure sites. Sweet Melissa, for example, serves the best vegetarian food on Earth. Think carrot cakes, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes. If you are looking for artsy stuff, visit the University of Wyoming Art Museum and see the paintings and prints, including some eye-catching 19th-century Japanese productions. There is the University of Wyoming Anthropology Museum as well — and Regal Fox Theater — if movies are up your alley. For staying, skip the hotel chains. Instead, head over to the more authentic and intimate Vee Bar Guest Ranch. You will love the fabulous view of the river, possibly see a mouse (or a coyote), and enjoy awesome rides, all spiced up with great food, including delicious vegetarian options.

The Takeaway

Wyoming has been called the last bastion of the American West. It is known for breathtakingly beautiful parks, fun-filled rodeos, and vast, empty spaces. It may not have the white-sand beaches of Florida, but what it has in crazy landscapes, including verdant valleys and tumbling rapids — more than compensates. To get a good feeling of the Equality State, set base in any of the above-listed towns. They are the seven perfect destinations for a long weekend.

Wyoming’s harsh abortion bans have been overturned, including its first-in-the-nation law explicitly prohibiting abortion medication.

While other states’ abortion bans effectively outlaw the use of medication, Wyoming’s 2023 law specifically targeted abortion pills, making it a felony to prescribe, sell, or use “any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.”

The state’s general abortion ban prohibited abortion at any stage with limited exceptions for incest, sexual assault, or cases when the pregnant person’s life is in danger, threatening penalties of up to five years in prison and a $20,000 fine

Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens struck both laws down on Monday, marking the third time she has ruled against them in a legal battle that began in 2022. Owens ruled that the laws violated women’s rights by harming their health, well-being and livelihoods, while also violating a 2012 state constitutional amendment that solidified Wyoming residents’ right to make their own health care decisions. The state had attempted to argue that abortion is somehow not health care.

The abortion bans “will undermine the integrity of the medical profession by hamstringing the ability of physicians to provide evidence-based medicine to their patients,” Owes wrote in her decision, via The Associated Press.

Wyoming is the second state to have its near-total abortion ban overturned this month, as Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment a few weeks ago that enshrined abortion protections in their state constitution, becoming the first state to overturn an abortion ban through a referendum. Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and New York also approved amendments protecting the right to an abortion.

A lawsuit seeking to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of abortion medication recently failed when the Supreme Court refused to hear it, allowing the pills to still be distributed by mail to patients without an in-person doctor’s visit.

In her ruling, Owens said that Wyoming state legislators had “enacted laws that impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women.”

She went on to describe the laws, which restrict abortions at the earliest stages of development, did not distinguish between pre-viable and viable fetuses, imposing “unreasonable and unnecessary” restrictions.

Owens had already blocked the laws from going into effect after they were passed last year while court cases challenging the provisions played out in court. The laws are permanently banned, but the state is expected to appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Jay Jerde, a state special assistant attorney general, told the court last year that Wyoming’s constitutional amendment does not apply to abortions but addresses women’s health in illness. Jerde said the woman is making decisions about her health and the health of the fetus.

But Owens rejected the premise, saying that the “uncontested facts establish that the abortion statutes fail to accomplish any of the asserted interests by the state.

“The state did not present any evidence refuting or challenging the extensive medical testimony presented by the plaintiffs,” she said.