The Wind River Visitors Council has partnered with the Riverton Museum, Hot Springs County Museum & Cultural Center and Hot Springs County Travel & Tourism Board to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Yellowstone Highway as part of National Travel and Tourism Week, which takes place from May 19 to 25. To celebrate the anniversary, the Riverton Museum will be hosting historian Jackie Dorothy for this Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek Series program on Sunday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will include an interpretive bus tour that will explore the history and scenery of the Yellowstone Highway from Shoshoni to Thermopolis. In addition, we’ll visit the Hot Springs County Museum & Cultural Center and the Hot Springs State Park Bath House in Thermopolis. We’ll have a late lunch at the One Eyed Buffalo Brewing Company before making our way back to Riverton. For more information or to register, call the Riverton Museum at (307) 856-2665.
Powwow Video and Community Celebration
The Wind River Visitors Council is creating a video about powwows. This informative and fun video will dive into the powwow circuit, focusing specifically on the powwows and the people of the Wind River Indian Reservation. We’re also supporting a community celebration on the Wind River Indian Reservation, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21 as part of National Travel and Tourism Week. More information will be available soon.
International Dark Sky Park Community Celebration
Sinks Canyon State Park and the Wind River Visitors Council host a Community Celebration to recognize Sinks Canyon State Park’s recent designation as an International Dark Sky Park, which is the first designation of its kind in Wyoming. This National Travel and Tourism Week event takes place on Saturday, May 25 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Sinks Canyon State Park Visitor Center, located at 3018 Sinks Canyon Road. The evening will include a talk about why we need dark skies and how this designation was achieved. There will also be a constellation tour. Appetizers and beverages will be provided. Please bring a chair and a flashlight, but leave your dog(s) at home. There will also be an informational table about Lander-South Pass City’s Continental Divide Trail Gateway Community Designation. For more information, call Sinks Canyon State Park at (307) 332-6333 or the Wind River Visitors Council at (307) 332-5546.
Podcast
The Wind River Visitors Council is launching a podcast, Wyoming’s Wind River Country: Yellowstone’s Unique Neighbor. The podcast will premiere on Thursday, May 23 as part of National Travel and Tourism Week. We’ve partnered with local podcaster and radio personality Charene Herrera to create this fun podcast that will feature Wyoming’s Wind River Country.
The New Fly Fisher
The Wind River Visitors Council hosted The New Fly Fisher in the Fall of 2023. They have put together an immersive documentary with a historical and sustainable focus that demonstrates that Wind River Country is an accessible location for anglers throughout North America and overseas. The episode premiered on Saturday, March 30. Here’s a link to the full episode, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzPhOVEQY0Q.
Kiosk on the Wind River Indian Reservation
The Wind River Visitors Council has been working with the Wind River Development Fund to put an informational kiosk under the gazebo at the Frank B. Wise Business Center in Fort Washakie on the Wind River Indian Reservation. A programmer is currently installing the content, and the kiosk should be up and running in the next few weeks.
Destination Development Program
The Destination Development Program is a grant that was created in 2023 by the Wyoming Office of Tourism for Wyoming’s 27 local Lodging Tax Boards. The Wind River Visitors Council (Fremont County’s Lodging Tax Board) was one of the recipients. In addition to The New Fly Fisher video and the kiosk on the Wind River Indian Reservation (mentioned above), the following projects have been completed as part of this program:
- Two State marketing co-ops
- Advertising in the National Park Journal, Yellowstone
- Communication/meetings/graphic design supplies
- A video display in the Lander Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center
- A sign at Town Hall in Hudson
Other projects that are in the works include:
- A TravelStorys downtown Dubois walking tour—This tour consists of 10 locations, most of which can be walked to from the downtown Dubois area. Each site will have a three-minute recording. Four seniors in the outdoor recreation, tourism and hospitality program at the University of Wyoming are working with us on this project as their spring “capstone” project. The stories will be recorded on April 18, and we’ll be testing the tour on April 29 and 30 with the hope of releasing it in May.
- Wayfinding signage in Dubois, Lander and Riverton—This attractive signage has a unified look, while also representing each community’s unique personality. A committee of 10 people is working with a contractor on this signage, with representation from each community. The committee has looked at design inspiration boards and participated in an onsite visit with the contractor. Each community was toured, and the committee provided feedback on several sign mockups. The committee narrowed each community’s sign “wish list” down to 20 locations, and prioritized the signs into four groups, with five locations in each. The prioritization will guide the strategic plan that is currently being created. Signage should start to appear in late spring/early summer.
- An expansion of the Art Banner Project in Riverton. Several art banners are now on display in Riverton. Keep an eye out as additional banners are hung.
Events
Do you have events that you’d like posted to the Wind River Visitors Council’s website, which automatically posts to the Wyoming Office of Tourism website? Please send any events or packages to the Wind River Visitors Council’s new Content Creator/Administrative Assistant, August Vanderford at [email protected]. August can also get you Wind River Visitors Council publications (the Vacation Guide, 7 Self-Guided Driving Tours, a self-guided map of the Wind River Indian Reservation and the Wind River Indian Reservation self-guided mobile audio tour rack card), as well as provide you with the Wind River Visitors Council’s calendar of events for distribution in your newsletter, publication, news source, etc. We’re thrilled to have August join our team, and he’s looking forward to helping you get the word out about your events and packages.
Board Meeting
The next Wind River Visitors Council Board Meeting is Thursday, May 23 from 9 to 10 a.m. in the Carnegie Room at the Lander Library, 200 Amoretti Street, Lander. This time is earlier in the day than usual, as Board Members and staff will be attending a training/retreat directly after the Board Meeting. Wind River Visitors Council meetings are open to the public.
About the Wind River Visitors Council
The Wind River Visitors Council, a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), is charged with the responsibility of investing lodging tax revenues to facilitate wider promotion and marketing of Fremont County and the Wind River Indian Reservation (branded as Wind River Country) as a tourist and visitor destination.
Tourism Asset Development (TAD) Program
The TAD program is a voluntary program that is unique to Wind River Country. The Wind River Visitors Council gives 25% of the local lodging tax back to the communities in the percentage that they contribute to the lodging tax. Depending on occupancy rates, these numbers are constantly changing. These funds are distributed by the Lander Chamber of Commerce; the City of Riverton; and the Towns of Dubois, Hudson and Shoshoni to market the communities. Marketing efforts may include events, grants, educational programs and more.
The Wind River Visitors Council’s mission is to stimulate tourism by increasing awareness of and encouraging visitation to, the unique destinations, activities and events in Wind River Country.
