Buffalo Bill Dam is Amazing and Worth the Stop

If you are heading from South Dakota to Yellow Stone, make sure to stop by Buffalo Bill Dam! It’s a beautiful roadside stop!

We were driving from Indiana to Yellow Stone as part of our out west road trip and happened upon Buffalo Bill Dam. It was a great roadside stop. My husband was not 100% thrilled about stopping, but once he saw it he knew it was worth it too!

On our way there

We had already stopped by Falls Park, Wall Drug, and several other roadside attractions in South Dakota before we got to Mount Rushmore. Some of the roadside attractions were great and some were not-so-great. Because of this, my husband was not wanting to make an additional stop 15 minutes after we left our hotel in the morning.

However, he was thrilled once we stopped at Buffalo Bill Dam!

Unpon Arrival

Buffalo Bill Dam is just off the side of the road as you head west through Cody, Wyoming. It’s definitely worth the stop!

We thought it would be a quick stop and we spent more than an hour enjoying the views and checking out the Visitors Center!

As I said before, my husband was glad we stopped! This is my husband and son as soon as we parked the car!! Neither of them had ever seen such views. I loved watching them enjoy the beauty and awe of the nature around us!

Off to the Visitors Center and the dam we went!

The Views Before The Dam

However, we took in some of the amazing views before we headed over to the dam itself!

The views were just amazing! Keep in mind, we are from Indiana. My husband had never seen anything like this before and I had only seen this type of view a couple of times in life.

Here is the dam bridge/walkway. The Visitors Center is on the left and full of windows!

The Views From The Dam

You are able to walk on the bridge you see in the picture above. It gives you access to see both sides of the dam and how far down that drop really is!

These pictures are taken facing away from the parking area.

This picture shows the view from the bridge facing the parking area.

It was truly an awesome view and an awesome experience!

I still can’t believe we spent over an hour exploring. My husband and son thought we had only been there for twenty minutes or so!

The Visitors Center

The Visitors Center houses several different aspects of this historical site. There is educational information about the area and the construction of the dam, as well as information about dinosaurs and other national parks.

Info about the dam

We had planned to make it to Hoover Dam later on in our out west adventure, but, sadly, we were not able to stop when we left Vegas. Because of that change of plans, I’m even more excited that we were able to see this dam. However, with the below picture in mind, I can’t imagine how much larger Hoover Dam is! I thought this one was enormous!

The picture below shows the view looking straight down from the top of the dam bridge. It’s a 350-foot drop!

If you look towards the middle of the picture below, you can see one of the original buildings. There are the original working quarters still down there. However, they are often covered by water when the water is higher than what it is in the present picture.

I was surprised by the tiny road shown in this picture. I know the drive to and from Yellowstone was pretty curvy. However, I can’t imagine if all the roads were as tiny as this one!

Info about the near-by area

The Visitors Center also had a lot of books and displays related to dinosaurs since dinosaurs are so common in this area.

If you look to the right of the picture above, those blue books are National Parks Passports. I never heard of such a thing before, but my son and I bought them and they are great! We got a stamp at every National Park we visited and some parks have more than one stamp!

I would definitely recommend getting these books for your next adventure! They are the perfect books for kids and adults and they are a great way to see what National Parks are near you or on the way on your next US journey!

Interesting Surprise at the Visitors Center

I am far from an outdoor girl. I like my flushing potties and expect them when I travel in the US. However, I was a bit surprised when I went to use the bathroom at the Visitors Center and there was a breeze!!!

I had never heard of such a thing (composting toilets), much less used one!

After using the bathroom, I definitely understand why this picture was on the wall as you enter the bathroom! I can’t image my young grandchildren trying to use those bathrooms…..I can’t imagine what would happen if they fell in……..

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