Cody Declared “The Best of the West” by USA Today
Written by Andrew-Rossi on March 3, 2023
Cody finished first on the Reader’s Choice Top 10 List of the Best Western Small Towns – adding to its growing list of USA Today accolades in the past several years.
USA Today/10Best readers have placed Cody at the very top of the Best Western Small Towns list in the latest Reader’s Choice contest. The two USA Today/10 Best Reader’s Choice contest winners were announced on Friday, March 3.
The full list includes the following:
- Cody, Wyoming
- Bainbridge Island, Washington
- Gig Harbor, Washington
- Golden, Colorado
- Ashland, Oregon
- Truckee, California
- Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
- Sitka, Alaska
- Tombstone, Arizona
- Moab, Utah
Courtesy Cody Yellowstone
Cody is also among the Best Historic Small Towns in 2023 on another USA Today/10Best list, ranking fifth.
USA Today has been celebrating Cody and its traditions quite a bit. In the past few years, Cody has been ranked on the list for the best Small Town Arts Scenes twice – sixth in 2021 and seventh in 2022.
Cody also made the Top Ten list for Best Historic Small Towns in 2019, and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West was ranked the ninth-best History Museum earlier this year.
Cody Yellowstone executive director Ryan Hauck was unsurprised that Cody won the coveted top spot in the Best Western Town list.
“To us, ‘Western’ is as much about authenticity and depth as it is about location,” said Ryan, executive director of Cody Yellowstone, the marketing arm for the region that includes the towns of Cody, Powell, and Meeteetse, a large swath of the Shoshone National Forest and about half of Yellowstone National Park. “Few places offer such an array of classic Western adventures, important historic sites, abundant outdoor recreation, and welcoming locals. It’s no wonder Cody gets noticed again and again.”
Courtesy Cody Yellowstone
In addition to the most recent top rankings, Cody is repeatedly included in national media “best-of” lists.
Cody has been called one of the most beautiful towns in the U.S. and a top art town by Travel + Leisure. Other “best of” stories have appeared in Travel Awaits, AARP, Livability, Frommers, The Planet D, MSN, The Travel, Forbes, and True West Magazine.
True West Magazine just ranked Cody amongst its top 10 “true western towns” for 2023, second behind Tombstone, Arizona.
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