Cheyenne Parks and Gardens

(Cheyenne, Wyoming - WY, USA)

The spreading Cheyenne area manages to boast close to 800 hectares / 2,000 acres of public parkland and green spaces, with this figure growing each year and including both golf courses and also local cemeteries.

Located on the northern side of the city and most easily reached by taking Central Avenue, the award-winning Cheyenne Botanic Gardens stand alongside Sloan Lake, within Lions Park. The gardens cover an area of approximately 4 hectares / 10 acres and began their life in the late 1970s, when a solar-powered glasshouse was built and filled with exotics, as well as a koi carp pond complete with a realistic waterfall.

Lying within the city center, just off the Lincoln Highway (US-30) and named after former mayor Cal Holliday in the year 1930, Holliday Park serves the community by providing a well-placed recreational space with a choice of possible outdoor activities.

In addition to the city's public parks, the Greater Cheyenne Greenway more than deserves a mention. Established in the early 1990s and comprising a series of pathways, the 'Greenway' connects the principal parklands and community neighborhoods, whilst acting as something of a corridor for Wyoming wildlife. Numerous landscaped areas and benches line the route, with the Thomas E. Eppler Memorial Bench in particular offering the chance to sit back and enjoy uninterrupted views across Sloan Lake and other naturalistic attractions.

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

Address: 710 South Lions Park Drive, Cheyenne, Wyoming (WY), 82001, USA
Tel: +1 307 637 6458
Many of the bedding plants used within the parks around the city are propagated and grown here, at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, literally in their thousands. Roses, herbs, rockeries, water features and specimen trees are all highlights, along with the Paul Smith Children's Village, which opened in 2009 and cleverly incorporates landscaped design with sustainability. Of note, the High Plains Arboretum, on the western side of the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB), is also managed by the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
Open hours: grounds, daily - dawn to dusk; greenhouse, Monday to Friday - 08:00 to 16:30, Saturday - 11:00 to 15:30
Paul Smith Children's Village, Tuesday to Saturday - 09:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: free

Holliday Park

Address: Lincoln Highway, Cheyenne, Wyoming (WY), 82001, USA
Birdwatchers will enjoy checking out the wildfowl and herons living around Lake Minnehaha, while there are also plenty of spots suitable for a picnic and four outdoor tennis courts that can be hired. A particularly unusual and unexpected attraction within the grounds of Holliday Park is the giant steam train named the 'Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4004', which has been on display here since 1963 and is actually one of the largest-surviving steam locomotives in the world.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free

Lions Park

Address: South Lions Park Drive, Cheyenne, Wyoming (WY), 82001, USA
Incorporating both Sloan Lake and the Cheyenne Botanical Gardens, and sitting just across Kennedy Road from Kiwanis Lake, Lions Park offers the perfect place to hang out on a sunny summer's day. Rowing boats and pedalos are a frequent site on the lake. There is also a miniature golf course on hand, at the Putt Hutt. The onsite William N. Brimmer Amphitheater is another highlight and stands close to the Cheyenne-Kiwanis Community House, being where open-air concerts are frequently staged, along with the occasional evening movie screening.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free