Travel Guide: Sheridan, Wyoming

Sheridan is a small but financially comfortable community in northern Wyoming, situated between the Tetons and Mount Rushmore in the Bighorn mountain range. As home to the Ucross Foundation, they pride themselves on their artistic community and sponsor some pretty charming events, like Biketoberfest in early October.

The Bighorns offer hiking, biking, snowshoeing, fishing, and hunting.  Ucross and the small downtown host art galleries and upscale boutique shopping. And although the number of restaurants may seem small, many of them are delish.  Here are some of my favorites:

Frackelton's Fine Food & Spirits serves an upscale, new-American menu. Try their inventive cocktails and anything with local wild game in it. (PS--that's their roasted squash bisque with crispy sage leaves above.)

Red Velvet Bakery & Tapas is SLOW SLOW SLOW, but the pour-over coffee and homemade quiche really hit the spot for breakfast or lunch. You're just going to play with your phone while you wait, anyway, right?

Wyoming Cattle Creek and Company is the place to get your steak fix, along with a delicious home brew from adjacent Luminous Brewing Company. They also have a surprisingly OK wine menu.

And speaking of more beer, Black Tooth Brewing really is spectacular. If you don't want to go to the brew pub (but why wouldn't you?), make sure to get some on tap at the tiny but excellent NO NAME BAR on the edge of downtown.  Better yet, go to both.

Wyo Theater in the historical downtown area hosts a wide variety of musical and theatrical acts throughout the year in their gorgeous Art Deco building (on the historic register, of course!). Check ahead to see what tickets you should be purchasing for your visit.

The Carriage House Theater houses the Trail End museum, a great way to take in some local history of how Sheridan was settled and grew.

The Ucross Foundation is a kind of a research-and-development lab for the arts, hosting artist residencies and displaying inspiring art in their small gallery. It's about a twenty minute drive from Sheridan, which is in itself a work of (natural) art.