Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The largest medical facility in the area is the
Lander Regional Hospital
(1320 Bishop
Randall Dr., 307/332-4420,
www.landerhospital.org
), which has a 24-hour emergency de-
partment.
The closest commercial airport to Lander is 26 miles away, the
Riverton Regional Airport
(RIW, 4690 Airport Rd, Riverton).
Great Lakes
(800/554-5111,
www.flygreatlakes.com
)
operates daily flights to and from Denver and offers codeshares with United and Frontier.
Private air travel is available at
Hunt Field Airport-Lander
(307/332-3119).
The
Wind River Transportation Authority
(307/856-7118,
www.wrtabuslines.com
)
offers fixed route bus service around town plus transportation to and from the airport in
Riverton ($30 pp one-way), Jackson ($150 pp one-way), and Casper ($110 pp one-way).
By road, Lander is 163 miles south of Cody, 160 miles southeast of Jackson, 157 miles
southeast of Yellowstone National Park, 136 miles east of Pinedale, and 79 miles southwest
of Thermopolis.
At the south end of the Bighorn Basin, Thermopolis (population 3,001, elevation 4,504 feet)
is a notably sunny town with 321 sunny days on average each year; it also has natural hot
water forming the world's largest mineral hot spring.
The town was originally called Old Town Thermopolis, one of two Wyoming settle-
ments built around mineral hot springs; the other is Saratoga. Around the turn of the
20th century, when an analysis of the water suggested potential health benefits, the town's
name was shortened to Thermopolis in a calculated marketing move. Local mineral depos-
its—including coal, copper, and oil—plus the arrival of the railroad bolstered the Thermo-
polis economy, but for the most part tourism was and continues to be the major economic
force. Teddy Roosevelt and Butch Cassidy and his gang are among the most famous fre-
quent visitors to Thermopolis.
There are a surprising number of fantastic attractions in this small, friendly town sur-
rounded by the Owl Creek Mountains. At
Hot Springs State Park,
mineral terraces cre-
ate a stunning background for herds of grazing bison. The
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
is
among the best paleontology sites in the state. And the
Legend Rock Petroglyphs
(which
can only be opened in the off-season with a key from the Hot Springs State Park headquar-
