Welcome to Riverton Wyoming, one of the finest small towns in the west, a town where "friendly " isn't just a word or saying it is a way of life. Riverton is a town where a stranger is soon a friend. Located in the scenic Wind River Valley nestled between the Wind River Mountains to the west and the Owl Creek Range to the northeast Riverton has a population of about 10,000 and it sits at an elevation of 4,956 feet. or 1502 meters.
The esthetics of the area not only make Riverton a great place to live and raise a family but also make it a fun and exciting place to visit. Anyone who is considering a trip out west should definitely consider making Riverton a part of their itinerary. Just a few hours from
Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park, Riverton is a logical stoping point along the way. There are winter sports such as cross country skiing, snowmobiling and the annual Wild West Winter Carnival which is held usually in February at Boysen Lake near Riverton. There is also some of the finest snowmobiling around. A little over an hours drive from Riverton and you are high up on the continental divide where you will find more miles of groomed trails than any where else in the U. S.
In June the Native American Pow-Wow season begins at nearby Arapahoe. June 27th, 2007 the
1838 Rendezvous Association kicks off the week-long authentic re-creation of the Wind River Mountain Man Rendezvous, held at the actual location near the confluence of the Big and Little Wind Rivers, where mountain men the likes of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson and others met for the last time in 1838. Summer is full of fun events like events like the Peck Summer Theater. Rendezvous week begins in mid July with A day in the park and the Rendezvous Demolition Derby and culminates the following week when Riverton is host to what has become, among balloon pilots, a popular Hot Air Balloon rally. 2006's rally was a spectacular premier event and the ralley in 2007 was even better. The first week in August is usualy the start of the Fremont County Fair and Rodeo both the Fair and the Rodeo have retained the old-fashioned flavor of the early American scene.
It is worth your while to visit the Riverton City Hall whose grace and interior beauty are the envy of many Wyoming towns. And, of course, Riverton has a fine
museum which has numerous exhibits that accurately reflect the early days and the growth of Riverton. The Wind River Heritage Center features the wildlife collection of Jake Korel, renowned trapper and hunter who learned his trade as a boy early in the 1900's from the last of the living mountain men. In addition there are many interesting exhibits of authentic Native American clothing and beadwork.
Within an hours drive from Riverton there are numerous historical sites and many fun and interesting things to see and do. For example, there is historic South Pass City which has been, and is continuing to be, reconstructed to its early day‘s splendor of the 1868 Wyoming Gold Rush. And they say you can still Pan Gold as " Ther's Gold in Them Thar Hills" A few miles away at nearby Atlantic City is the Miner's Delight Inn this Bed & Breakfast is a century-old inn that began life as the Carpenter Hotel. A scant 24 miles south of Riverton, just above the town of Lander, is the picturesque Sinks Canyon, where the Popo Agie river (poe poe shuh) disappears into the mountain side then reappears again several hundred yards down the mountain. Lander is also home to the National Outdoor Leadership School. Founded in 1965 NOLS has offered training in leadership and outdoor survival skills to people from all walks of life including the son's of World Leaders and America's Astronauts. Today NOLS offers courses on five continents.
Not too far from Riverton, on the Wind River Reservation, is historic Fort Washakie, which has an excellent cultural museum, and the graves of the famous Chief Washakie and Sacajewia , heroine of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Both were members of the Shoshone (show show knee) Tribe.
A trip to the north takes you first to Shoshoni, where you can get the "BEST" malted milk in the world, they still make them the old fashioned way with original, old time, mixers. So be sure and stop at the historic Yellowstone Drug, then it's on to Thermopolis, Wyoming, home of the worlds` largest Hot Springs. While there, you can visit the Dinosaur Museum and visit an actual dig, which is the site of what may be the largest dinosaur ever uncovered in the United States. While going to and from Thermopolis you will come to Boysen Dam and enter Boysen State Park then pass through the Wind River Canyon, considered one of the most diverse geological sites in the western hemisphere.
To the east of Riverton is the Gas Hills, once the site of some of the largest uranium reserves in the U.S. and which, from the 1950's through the 1980's, gave Riverton the title "Uranium Capital of the World". The Gas Hills was one of the largest uraniuim producing areas in the United States having produced over 100 million pounds of U308. Most of this production was from conventional open-pit mining, with a small amount of ore coming from underground and in-situ recovery. From the late 1960's to the present the uranium produced from Wyoming has only been used to produce electricity. A short distance from the Gas hills you can visit Castle Gardens, The name of the area comes from the of sandstone formations which the wind has eroded into shapes that with a little imagination could resemble the turrets and towers of a castle. This unique formation has been visited by humans for thousands of years as the site holds a treasure of prehistoric Native American rock art, or petroglyphs.
West of Riverton, on the way to Yellowstone, up in the high county is the Town of Dubois, (dew boys) which was in the early days a town of tie hacks. Dubois still retains an authentic western flavor; and while your are there be sure you don't forget to take a ride on the old stage coach that makes it's rounds through town. Dubois is also the home of the National Big Horn Sheep Center, a must see for every traveler.
Riverton is in the middle of Cowboy Country and we still have many authentic western ranches in the area, each of which still has real cowhands. There are numerous Bed and Breakfasts for the visitor to stay in where for a few days they can actually experience the true flavor of the Old West. For the outdoors type, the Wind River Range has many miles of trails to hike, numerous trout streams and an abundance of pristine high mountain lakes. While here the visitor has a great opportunity to catch some "big fish."
For the non-resident hunter or photographer licensed Wyoming Outfitters and Guides can provide a summer pack trip or the hunt of a life-time for deer, elk, moose and the elusive big horn sheep. On the plains out of Riverton can be found America's original fast food, the Antelope. There are numerous other sites and things to see and do in Riverton, far too many to list on a Web Page, so below you’ll find some links to the Riverton area which can show you in greater detail what a wonderful area we live in. And hopefully we have provided you with some good information for your Wyoming Vacation.
For those who enjoy, Las Vegas Style Gaming, the Northern Arapaho Nation offers the Wind River Casino , located just south of town on Highway 789, with Las Vegas Style Gambling the Casino has over 400 slots, Black Jack tables and a 24 hour cafe with great food and good prices. On Wednesday December 5, 2007 a local area Man won more than $450,000. If your are traveling to the Casino from out of town be sure and check gas prices on wyoming gas prices.com as the Casino's Wind River Smoke Shop sometimes has the lowest feul prices in Fremont County.
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This Link for
"Homesick Rivertonites" 
