Buffalo Bill Dam


Relatively small by today's standards, in 1910 this was the highest dam in the world – a landmark achieved only after epic battles with incompetent contractors, unprecedented flooding and Wyoming's first labor strike. The tiny visitor center, connected to the parking area with a free shuttle, has interesting displays, and you're welcome to walk across the dam and peer down at the historic power plant in the canyon below.

Be sure to check out the massive wooden stopper in the parking lot, once used to plug the spillway.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Buffalo Bill State Park

1.89 MILES

This scenic state park, 6 miles west of Cody, centers on the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and Dam, unveiled in 1910 as the world’s highest dam to provide the…

2. Old Trail Town

4.07 MILES

The hideouts of Butch Cassidy, Kid Curry and the Sundance Kid comprise this unique museum, a collection of late-19th-century wooden buildings relocated…

4. Buffalo Bill Center of the West

5.71 MILES

Do not miss Wyoming's most impressive human-made attraction. This sprawling complex of six museums showcases everything Western: from the spectacle of…

5. Heart Mountain Relocation Center

16.57 MILES

Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans were interned in 10 camps across the US. Taking only what they could…