Should you go to Cody, Wyoming, if you are short on time and debating how to spend it in the greater Yellowstone area? YES!  Cody is a great place to take a break from hiking and exploring Yellowstone. Natural beauty is great, but sometimes we need a change of pace, especially our three boys.  Cody did not disappoint. It's full of entertainment opportunities for the whole family.

This episode is part of a series about our adventures in Wyoming. Be sure to check out the episodes about our stay at Under Canvas Yellowstone and our three days in Yellowstone National Park with kids.

To hear about our stay at the Cody KOA, click play on the media player above or look for The RV Atlas wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Lamar Valley and the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway

The drive through Lamar Valley and out of the park past Silver Gate, and Cook City, and onto Chief Joseph Scenic Byway was astounding for a few reasons.

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway is astonishingly beautiful and an easy drive. I think it is just as beautiful as anything in the park. Taking that drive into Cody is a pretty impressive part of the trip!

The drive was amazing for another reason entirely--and this gets into a core recommendation that we have been making on The RV Atlas for years. We both really believe that reading books about places, before or during a trip--and maybe less so after a trip---is an amazing way to enrich the journey.

Jeremy bought American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee at a gift shop in Yellowstone and started reading it during the trip. The book is largely set in Lamar Valley, Silver Gate, Cook City, Crandall, and a bit in Cody.

American Wolf is about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. It documents the decades-long controversy that followed. Some of the people are pro wolf because the wolves balance the ecosystem. Others are against wolves and want carte blanch to hunt them because they can kill cattle and for a variety of other reasons. It's a controversial topic in the region.

As we drove through Lamar Valley and out of the park on Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, the entire region leaped to life as we drove past places that are in the book.

The Cody KOA Holiday Campground

We stayed in a deluxe cabin at the Cody KOA Holiday. It wasn't the kind of cabin you might have at a resort, but it was fine. The fridge was noisy and the linens were shrink wrapped and not on the beds. That doesn’t seem right at the price that is charged. Showing up after a long drive and having to unwrap your linens is a bit disappointing. However, we were comfortable and close to everything we wanted to do.

The pool and hot tub were awesome. We needed those after all the hiking at Yellowstone. Max really liked the hot tub and we made some great memories relaxing in the warm water before bed each night.

We took a look at the RV sites. There were some good ones and some that were pretty tight. Maybe that doesn’t matter too much if this is just a base camp and a place to stay--which it was for us!

The camp store was well stocked. There was a free pancake breakfast. It was good and you only paid for the extras like juice and coffee. If you want full hook ups in a convenient location, we think this is a very good choice.

If you want to stay somewhere drop-dead gorgeous and have a more natural experience without full hook-ups then try Buffalo Bill State Park. There's also Lake Shore Campground which has 37 RV and tent sites and North Fork Campground which has 60 RV and tent sites.

The KOA is near the airport but there is not a problem with noise. There is actually a very cool independent coffee shop called Cody Coffee Roasters at the airport, and you do not need to go inside the airport building to get coffee.