There are museums, and then there are places that make you feel like you’ve genuinely stepped through a crack in time. Old Trail Town, tucked just west of downtown Cody along the road toward Yellowstone, is firmly in that second category — and it’s one of the most quietly spectacular things you can do in the entire state of Wyoming.
Founded in 1967 by archaeologist and historian Bob Edgar, Old Trail Town is a painstakingly assembled collection of 26 authentic frontier buildings, all relocated from across the Greater Yellowstone region to a single, sprawling site along the original 1874 surveyed trail. When you walk the dusty central path here, you’re not strolling through a recreation or a theme park facsimile. Every plank, every rusted hinge, every weathered door is the real thing — rescued from collapse and carefully preserved so that visitors like you and me can stand inside the actual spaces where some extraordinary American history unfolded.
One of the most memorable stops on the grounds is the cabin of Jeremiah ‘Liver-Eating’ Johnston, the legendary mountain man whose life inspired the Robert Redford film. His burial site sits right here on the property, relocated from California back to Wyoming where it belongs. Standing at that marker on a quiet morning, with the Absaroka Mountains rising in the background, is a genuinely moving experience.
The site also holds the cabin used by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Hole-in-the-Wall gang, as well as a remarkable collection of horse-drawn vehicles — over 100 of them — that range from elegant stagecoaches to rugged freight wagons. Alongside the buildings and vehicles, Old Trail Town houses an impressive collection of Native American artifacts, frontier tools, and period firearms that paint a vivid picture of what life in this region looked like in the late 1800s.
What makes Old Trail Town feel different from a lot of historical attractions is its atmosphere. There’s no slick gift shop at every corner, no audio tour narrating every step. It’s refreshingly unpolished in the best possible sense — the kind of place where you’re trusted to wander, to look closely, and to draw your own conclusions about the people and the era. Bring your curiosity and give yourself at least two hours.
Admission is very reasonable, making it an easy addition to any Cody itinerary. It’s open seasonally from mid-May through September, so plan accordingly if you’re visiting in the warmer months. Given that it sits just minutes from the East Entrance road to Yellowstone, it pairs beautifully with a park visit — stop in on your way out or your way back, and you’ll leave with a much richer sense of the land you’ve just driven through.
Old Trail Town doesn’t shout for your attention the way some attractions do. It simply stands there, weathered and patient, waiting for you to come discover what it holds. And once you do, you won’t forget it.
