The Bighorn National Forest offers some of the best outdoor recreation in the country, with hundreds of miles of marked trails for hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling; plus campgrounds, fishing streams, and fantastic wildlife-viewing opportunities. For maps and advice, contact the forest headquarters and Tongue Ranger District office, 2013 Eastside 2nd St. (tel. 307/674-2600; www.fs.fed.us/r2/bighorn).
For advice on local hot spots for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, camping, and the like, plus topographical maps, check with Big Horn Mountain Sports, 334 N. Main St. (tel. 307/672-6866; www.bighornmountainsports.com). This extremely well-stocked sporting-goods store sells equipment and supplies, and also rents practically anything you might need for fly-fishing, backpacking, camping, snowshoeing, downhill and cross-country skiing, and snowboarding. Affiliated with the shop is a full-service mountain-bike facility (tel. 307/672-2453), with sales, repairs, and rentals. Big Horn Mountain Sports also coordinates fly-fishing classes and guided trips.
Ron Spahn of Spahn's Big Horn Mountain Bed and Breakfast (tel. 307/674-8150) offers daylong tours of the area, with a focus on the off-the-beaten-path sites that are representative of the "real West," looking at Indian history and modern social problems, mining and environmental issues, outlaw hide-outs, wildlife, and the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains. Ron drives customers in a four-wheel-drive vehicle and offers a field lunch and an engaging, educated perspective. His tours run $95 per person with a $325 minimum.
Fly-Fishing
The Tongue River is the Bighorns' blue-ribbon stream. There are browns, rainbows, and brook trout up to 20 inches. Inquire at the Game and Fish Division, 700 Valley View Dr. (tel. 307/672-7418), for local catch limits and licenses. For equipment needs, advice, and guided trips, contact the Fly Shop of the Big Horns, 227 N. Main St. (tel. 800/253-5866; www.troutangler.com).
Golf
Dubbing itself "The Golf Capital of Wyoming," Sheridan offers several excellent courses with views of the Bighorn Mountains, including one of the state's best, The Powder Horn, 6 miles south of Sheridan in Big Horn (tel. 307/672-5323; www.thepowderhorn.com). The course includes 27 beautiful holes that mix Scottish-style golf with plenty of wide-open fairways and target golf. Greens fees for 18 holes run $61 to $81 plus $14 per seat for a cart. There are also the 9-hole Sheridan Country Club, west of Sheridan at 1992 W. 5th St. (tel. 307/674-8135; www.sheridancc.net), with greens fees of $16 to $22; and the 18-hole Kendrick Golf Club on Big Goose Rd. (tel. 307/674-8148), charging $28 for 18 holes. In Buffalo, the Buffalo Golf Club, 550 W. Hart (tel. 307/684-5266; www.buffalowygolf.com), is a hilly 18-hole public course with green fees of $28 for 18 holes, $24 for a cart.
