Far from the summer crowds of Jackson, far from the city lights of Cheyenne, Fossil Basin in southwest Wyoming sits nestled in the rolling hills and great blue skies on the western edge of the Cowboy State. A verdant gem sitting on the tranquil banks of the Ham’s Fork River, it’s home to quintessential Wyoming towns. Kemmerer and Diamondville will charm even the most hardened summer traveler.
This story has been created in partnership with the Fossil Basin Promotion Board, Wyoming.
Start Your Day Off Right in Kemmerer, Wyoming
Starting any day off right includes breakfast, and boasting a number of cafes and restaurants, it’s easy to find the most important meal of the day in Kemmerer at places like Caribou Coffee. After breakfast, there is one stop that is a must for any visitor. Located just 15 miles outside of town, it’s unlike any other place on Earth.
Fossil Butte National Monument
Fossil Butte National Monument exists now because an ancient subtropical lake once existed 34 million years ago. What remains is an exquisite example of fossil preservation. Fossil Butte boasts the best paleontological record of Cenozoic aquatic communities in North America and possibly the world. Though a scientific journey this may be, it is not without a certain degree of adventure. These adventures include a number of hiking trails, nature walks, and fossil digs.
No trip to Fossil Butte would be complete without a stop at the Fossil Butte National Monument Visitor Center. This world-class exhibition center includes park information and features over 80 fossils and fossil casts. You can see the remains of fish, a crocodile, turtle, bats, birds, insects and plants. An introductory movie describes the area and all the rich history found therein. Interactive exhibits let visitors create fossil rubbings to take home. A computer program discusses fossils, geology and the current natural history of the monument.
Of course, only having your appetite whetted for the ancient flora and fauna of pre-historic Wyoming, the area has a few different privately owned quarries where you can excavate your own fossils.
Go Catch a Fish
Spending all that time with fossilized fish will make you want to wrangle up some fish of your own. Time to head out to the Ham’s Fork. Not one of the better known trout streams in the country, anglers in the know like it this way. They get to keep all those rainbows to themselves.
The Ham’s Fork is head-watered at 10,000 feet and flows through both public and private access. Ham’s Fork feels like one of those trout streams that no one has ever heard of because of a simple reason. Those who have pulled 20-inch trout out of those waters know a good thing when they find it. They aren’t about to go announcing it to the world. Go, just don’t tell them we sent you.
Back To Town
Looking for a little rest after your day spent with Wyoming’s fish? Head to the shady, grass-covered expanses of Archie Neil Park and Triangle Park. You’ll find a uniquely shaped art with a statue recognizing the original J.C. Penney store, or quiet beneath the cottonwoods and an outdoor pool to wash the dust off.
The History of Kemmerer
Brush up on your history of Kemmerer and the surrounding region at the Fossil Country Frontier Museum. This small museum is bursting with the history of the area and localized legends. Ever wonder what your clothes would look like if you are unfortunate enough to be struck by lightning? Of course you do. Everybody does! The Fossil Country Frontier Museum has an exhibit dedicated to that, and it is wonderful.
No trip through the history of Kemmerer would be complete without a stop at the JC Penney Mother Store and historical house, located on Triangle Park. Back in 1902, a man named James Cash Penney decided to build an empire of department stores, and he started right here in Kemmerer.
Fishing and trips through time can work up a powerful thirst. Luckily, Kemmerer has you covered on that end too.
Oyster Ridge Music Festival
Perhaps the highlight of the year for Kemmerer is the Oyster Ridge Music Festival. Held during the last weekend of July, Oyster Ridge is three days of food, craft beer and bluegrass. The festival swells the population of Kemmerer from 2,656 to nearly 10,000.
The center stage is packed with some of the best known Bluegrass and Americana bands from around the country.
Every year, flatpickers from around the state come to the festival to flex their lightning-fast fingers in the Flatpickers Contest.
End Your Stay Right
Head back to Triangle square and take a walk. On all three sides of the park, you will find plenty of a different kind of a watering hole. Regale the locals of all the great fishing you just did in their local river.
Thirst quenched and appetite visibly agitated, Kemmerer has a number of options for dinner.
Tired now? You should be. Finding a place to rest your weary head will not be a problem. There are plenty of places to stay and they are not hard to find.
Kemmerer is one of those great locations that make the Great American Road Trip truly unique. It’s not out-of-the-way, it’s one of those destinations that has to be sought out. The experiences to be had there are uncommon; travel to Kemmerer and you feel like you have actually been somewhere uncommon, unique and rich in experience.
Go. Explore. Discover. You won’t be disappointed.
And if you want to feel like a local, don’t say Kemmerer, call it Kimmer, and you’ll fit right in.
