Smart Meetings

For the uninitiated, however, understanding the mystique of this sparsely populated state might be a natural question.

Upon closer investigation, the mystique is fueled partly by Wyoming’s Old West history (in fact, it’s nicknamed the Cowboy State). The other part of its appeal is the blend of scenery and surefire hospitality found here, from top-notch meeting venues to world-class restaurants to downtowns that blend sophisticated shopping with cowboy ambience. This is a state that relaxes while it invigorates, that takes you away from it all without leaving it all behind.

Governor Dave Freudenthal probably says it best, telling Smart Meetings that “Wyoming’s wide-open spaces are really a new frontier for conventions and businesses that had never before thought to consider us for their major events. We’ve got a very friendly business climate, plenty of space, no traffic and a variety of venues for events of different sizes. I think our state is a very attractive option for conference planners looking for a new location to explore.”

When it comes to exploration, Wyoming’s standing as the 10th-largest state in terms of size means there’s plenty of fresh air and unspoiled outdoors for visitors to investigate. But, these days, the state’s great “indoors” is also catching the eye of meeting and planners with big changes in the works all over the map.

Take Cheyenne for starters, where the vaunted Little America Hotel and Resort is near completion on an overhaul and expansion that is upgrading the guest rooms and more than tripling its meeting and convention space to about 26,000 sq. ft. The upgrade, according to Cheyenne CVB President Darren Rudloff, is “allowing meeting planners who have never considered Cheyenne to bring us into the discussion, and really putting us on the radar. The property is really going to wow people with its capabilities.”

Meanwhile, in Laramie, the Hilton Garden Inn-Laramie/University of Wyoming Conference and Event Center is also slated for completion in the next few months, and Jackson Hole is buzzing with anticipation of its new Center for the Arts, which includes an auditorium that can host hundreds of meeting-goers.  
So while Wyoming’s great outdoors has remained unblemished, its new indoor options for meetings are opening up a whole new frontier for planners. Good places to start your research are the story below and the Wyoming Travel and Tourism website.

JACKSON HOLE
Surrounded by the majestic peaks of the Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole is a popular enclave for incentives and other small to mid-range meetings.

“There are so many superb properties here, as well as plenty of fun group activities,” says Niki Panos, public relations manager for the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce. “From walking tours to seeing a play at the Center for the Arts to wildlife expeditions, there are just countless choices in Jackson Hole that are perfect for a group.”
Among the outdoor options is Yellowstone National Park, which is less than an hour’s drive away. Closer to home, groups will enjoy an outing with Wildlife Expeditions, part of the Teton Science School. “They do a really great job, and you’re guaranteed to see wildlife,” says Panos, noting that you’re likely to spot colorful creatures like elk, buffalo, moose, bighorn sheep and both grizzly and black bear on their excursions.
Wintertime is bursting with frosty fun, including the acclaimed Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (jacksonhole.com), showcasing splendid skiing as well as breathtaking mountain tours. What could be more memorable than an elk sleigh ride at the huge National Elk Refuge just outside of town? Or, if your group has a number of novices hankering to hit the slopes, the Snow King Ski Area has several good beginner slopes available, in addition to a resort with extensive meeting space.

Downtown Jackson (the main village of the Jackson Hole region) is a delight as well, with a number of good restaurants, shopping that ranges from upscale to pure country and some watering holes with serious western ambience. The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, for example—available for private parties of up to 400—provides guests with the chance to literally “saddle” up to the bar, with authentic saddles serving as barstools.

To find out more, the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce provides plenty of info. While the town has no major convention facility, it does offer a number of properties with meeting and event space. One of the grandest is the Four Seasons Resort, with more than 12,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and an elegant setting.

LARAMIE
“There’s never a boring minute here between meetings and in the evening,” says Kate Farmer, assistant director with the Albany County Tourism Board , a good point of contact for planners, along with the Laramie Chamber of Commerce.

Groups can have a blast looking into Laramie’s past at the Historic Ivinson Mansion, home to the Laramie Plains Museum. The mansion includes a facility with a large function room and full catering kitchen; group tours are also available.

Your group will also be a “captive” audience at the Wyoming Territorial Prison,“the only jail that ever held Butch Cassidy,” according to Farmer. The State Historic Site also has some historic buildings inhabited by early pioneers and serves as a pleasant group picnicking area in fair weather.

Another appealing element of Laramie, just northwest of Cheyenne, is its status as a college town, home to the main branch of the University of  Wyoming, worthy of a visit even if you’re not making use of their various event spaces. The campus is home to several respectable museums, among them the fascinating Geological Museum that showcases everything from rare minerals to dinosaur remains that include a 75-foot-long Apatosaurus (previously known as the Brontosaurus). 

The city’s “college town” atmosphere is also reflected in its down-to-earth downtown shopping scene, with several good bookstores and craft galleries, plus a youthful nightlife. Among the watering holes your group might enjoy is Lovejoy’s Bar & Grill on Grand Avenue.

For groups eager to experience the area’s great outdoors, a good winter excursion is the Snowy Range Ski Area, “a perfect place to learn how to ski,” according to Farmer, and only a half-hour’s drive away in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. The forest is also home to the Turtle Rock landmark, a stone outcropping surrounded by paths ideal for hiking and mountain biking.

Laramie will become an even more enticing option for groups and events of larger sizes upon the opening of the aforementioned UW Conference Center/Hilton Garden Inn this spring.

CASPER
Also claiming a role in the state’s western history is Casper, the second largest city (after Cheyenne). “We have the real cowboy-western feel here,” says Stephanie Erickson, director of conventions and group services for the Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city’s atmosphere is indelibly tied to its origins, as “Casper was the centerpoint for migration to the West, with all five main westward trails meeting here,” she says.

Those planning to meet in contemporary Casper will discover an ambience that hasn’t changed much since those pioneering days, illustrated by its selection as one of the Top Ten True West cities in America by True West magazine. Among the longtime popular activities in the area is some of the best fly-fishing in the world, on the pristinely seductive Platte River. Ice fishing during the winter months has also “hooked” plenty of visitors, with the main sites being the Pathfinder and Alcova Reservoirs. Check in with S-N-S Outfitter & Guide Service to arrange such an outing.

Other outdoor fun includes the Hogadon Ski Area on Casper Mountain, rising approximately 8,000 feet above sea level, with a variety of snowboarding and skiing trails for all abilities. In warmer weather, planners should consider a short side trip to Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, only five miles to Casper’s east, where your group can pick activities ranging from bird-watching, kayaking and canoeing to swimming and picnicking.

When it comes to a perfect place to unwind after a long meeting or conference, Erickson suggests the World Famous Wonderbar. “It’s where the first beer was ever served to a man on horseback,” she says, a tradition that continues to this day. A full restaurant and upstairs dance club with frequent live entertainment (the Attic) add to the legendary saloon’s allure as a perfect group way to kick up—or just rest—their heels.

As for getting down to business in Casper, two popular sites are the Parkway Plaza, “one of the area’s larger convention places”, and the Casper Events Center, host to a number of annual trade shows.

Plus, Erickson says, the city will grow more “accommodating” than ever this spring, when five new hotels are slated to open their doors, including a Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn.

CHEYENNE
Tucked into the southeast corner of Wyoming, capital city Cheyenne is probably also the best known.
“One thing meeting planners should take into account with Cheyenne,” says the CVB’s Darren Rudloff, “is that while we do have very nice meeting and convention facilities, we couple that with small-town hospitality and service. We go the extra mile for visiting groups, whether it’s coordinating a cowboy fashion show for them or arranging a night out for a western dinner theater. People coming to our city expect the West, so we try our best to give them that.”
There are countless ways to savor the Old West in Cheyenne and one of them has to be an outing at the Terry Bison Ranch, where a group can take in the thousands of roaming bison on a wagon or train ride; a group cookout at the ranch offers an unforgettable dining experience. You’ll also find a rustic steakhouse, a saloon, trail rides and more on the 27,000-acre ranch, which is about seven miles from downtown.

The Bit-O-Wyo Ranch offers a group outing of a different nature—a horse-barn dinner theater featuring live country music, cowboy stand-up routines and even horses on hand. “It’s like a western version of a Madrigal dinner,” Rudloff says. While the family-owned ranch generally only hosts these events in the summer, it can bring the dinner and show on the road to hotels and conference spaces for groups of 50 or larger.

Yet another cowboy-style option takes place at the headquarters of Corral West, where your group can relish a customized fashion show—with product demonstrations, custom fittings and fascinating commentary on the history of such renowned western-wear as the Stetson hat. Even your biggest city slicker will feel like a wrangler once they “cowboy up” in work boots and a 10-gallon hat!

Other ways to savor the town’s western atmosphere include dropping by the Cheyenne Depot, a historic landmark now serving as a visitor center, and the unique F. E. Warren Air Force Base Museum. While the museum may have a contemporary ring to the name, its origins actually date back to the 1860s; today it serves as a low-key escape into the city’s past, with period furnishings, old military uniforms—even a 1950s missile-launch command center.

When it comes to meetings and conferences, the Cheyenne Civic Center is centrally located and contains a good-sized auditorium and two lobby spaces with the capacity for approximately 40 exhibition booths. Other options for mid-sized events include the Best Western Hitching Post Inn Resort & Conference Center and the Historic Plains Hotel.

Be sure to contact the CVB before your visit to see how they can make your group’s stay even more extraordinary. As Rudloff says, “When you come to Cheyenne you shouldn’t expect just a normal experience.”

In fact, it was something a bit out of the ordinary that brought the Association of Air Force Missileers to Cheyenne for their most recent national meeting—the presence of the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in the city, which is available for tours from civilian groups as well. Led by their executive director, Charlie Simpson, the Breckenridge, Colo.-based group brought around 350 members to town for a four-day October gathering that included a golf tournament at the base’s golf course, which adjoins the Cheyenne Country Club; a visit to the Air Force Base Museum, which the group has helped to support with its work through the years; a tour of Cheyenne’s downtown; and a lunch at the Historic Plains Hotel. The hotel also catered a group meeting at the Frontier Days Old West Museum, which—along with the visit to the Air Force Base—Simpson noted as a highlight of the visit. Simpson chose the Little America Hotel and Resort to host the group in large part for its ability to handle the group’s numbers, with its extensive lodging and meeting capacities.

MEET ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Though the fields of Sheridan didn’t prove a successful venue for George Armstrong Custer when he met his end at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, today this charming town at the northern border of Wyoming is a perfect place for your next small to mid-size meeting—the area is packed with history, old-West ambience and plenty of friendly people. In addition to rich history, the nearby Bighorn Mountains provide bountiful outdoor recreation, and several hotels in town offer ample meeting space. Contact Sheridan Travel and Tourism for more information.

Getting There

• Casper is accessed by flying into the nearby Natrona County International Airport, served by Sky West Airlines via Denver, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City (iflycasper.com).
• Cheyenne is host to the Cheyenne Regional Airport (cheyenneairport.com), only about a half-hour flight from Denver on Great Lakes Airlines (partnered with United and Frontier). The city is also less than two hours from Denver by car, a straightforward drive due north on I-25.
• Jackson Hole Airport (jacksonholeairport.com), less than 10 miles from downtown, is a stopping point for a variety of major airlines.
• Laramie is also reached via Great Lakes Airlines, which flies into Laramie Regional Airport (laramieairport.com).

Not To Be Missed

• Jackson’s enchanting downtown, including the famous archway constructed of deer antlers, perfect for a group photo op. Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole is also superb and perfect for a visit in the weeks preceding Memorial Day, when the weather is ideal but the annual influx of visitors has yet to arrive.
• Groups wanting to indulge in some true Old West action will want to schedule their Cheyenne visit around Cheyenne Frontier Days, a week of rodeo-related fun that is the city’s biggest event. Plan ahead though, as hotels and event spaces can fill up fast.
• Casper’s College National Finals Rodeo, held each June, is another chance to see Wyoming at its cowboy best. Considered one of the best rodeos on the continent, the event celebrates its 60th year in 2008. National titles are at stake in saddle bronc, bareback, bull riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping, barrel racing, breakaway roping and goat tying.
• Laramie’s Jubilee Days, a festive event with plenty of entertainment around the 4th of July—great for groups who are meeting then. The town is livelier than ever, with street fairs, parades, plenty of live music and rodeo fun.