Simply stunning, look out for wildlife abundant everywhere. Camping available, from Buffalo side you get a Colorado Mountain Feel
If you go between Deadwood South Dakota and Cody or Yellowstone Wyoming, you can take the North route (14) or the South route. Both are incredible. Take in the sights. Stop at the pull offs. Check out rivers, waterfalls and cliffs. My sons and I had a snowball fight on July 1st the 1st time we drove thru here.
The best thing about US 16 is that it takes you to some of the most beautiful mountains you'll ever see and enjoy, the Big Horn's. . . which are dead center of two other tourist must do's, Yellowstone Park and The Black Hills of South Dakota
Ten Sleep canyon is very nice, but driving the previous 45 miles from Buffalo just to see it if you aren't on your way to points beyond makes it a little underwhelming. The US 14 route through the Big Horns is a little more dramatic and enjoyable, in my opinion.
This is a great way to reach Yellowstone. The scenery is beautiful and in places like Ten Sleep, you really feel like you're "out west". We didn't take the time to see more of the dam on the Shoshone River between Cody and Wapiti but we did see the reservoir which was beautiful.
The highway is well maintained. It has good shoulders on the road way and the driving lanes are updated and maintained in excellent condition.
Highly recommend this route to Cody and Yellowstone. Coming from New York, we tend to avoid 2 lane highways when traveling and assume that the Interstate Highway system is the best and fastest way to get somewhere. That said, we learned very quickly on our trip to Wyoming and South Dakota that highways are incredibly well maintained and in far superior condition than where we come from!! The two lane highways are even better than the Interstates, less traveled and in great condition! So we opted to take the Big Horn Mountain byway to get from Buffalo to Cody. The scenery was magnificent-what a wonderful trip through the mountains! Didn't seem that it took us any longer than if we had gone on I-80.When we got to Worland we stopped at a little coffee hut for latte's and Iced Mocha's (not sure of the name but in a parking lot on the right side of the road) The coffee was better than Starbucks....actually all the coffee huts we stopped in were superior to the chains and we were glad to find them along our routes!
Wow, the scenery along this highway is majestic. There were a few delays with construction but we were glad we took this route. Awe inspiring!
Coming out west? Wanna stay in a really cool town? Come to Buffalo, WY! Conveniently located where I-25 (from Denver) and I-90 (from the Black Hills or Billings) intersect. Spend time exploring the beauty of our Big Horn Mountains via US Hwy 16. Lots of wildlife in the mountains (moose, elk, deer), snow-capped peaks, canyons, lakes, streams, camping, hiking, fishing....it's all there. It's why we moved here from PA.
The road is advertised as the most picturesque route into Yellowstone and it is certainly very pretty. In mid-June it was still snow-covered and near freezing around the summit; we pitied the underdressed bikers! I’m sure driving in either direction would be lovely; use the several scenic pull-outs to admire the views properly.