Everything to Know about Moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming | FE Warren AFB
If your family just got word that you’re PCSing to FE Warren AFB and moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming, you’ve come to the right place. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill guide.
You won’t discover what schools are the best, where you should live, or the best doctor; instead, you’ll find things you want to know about like favorite day trips, radio stations, and all the yummy places to eat.
Meet Jessica!
This Duty Station Spotlight is from Jessica. Not only is she active duty herself, but she’s married to an active duty Air Force guy, has two kids, and they recently bought a home in Cheyenne.
They’ve also lived in Okinawa, and England; they love traveling, camping, watching movies, and doing home DIY projects! You can find her here on Instagram. or with her local cookie business: Jessi’s Cookie Jar!
First Things First: The Basics about moving to Cheyenne
What were your first impressions?
Hearing that you’re moving to Cheyenne and getting stationed at FE Warren AFB, you might think mountains and cowboys; at least I did! If you look really hard you can spot the mountains, and the cowboys actually come out during Frontier Days (the last week of July every year).
How did you feel now? Have your impressions change?
We absolutely love Cheyenne! We love the area and the location to everything, especially for traveling. We can be in Denver, Colorado, in less than two hours; see the Rocky Mountains in 45 mins; go fishing and camping in the hills of Wyoming in 20 minutes. We also love the weather—no 90 or 100-degree weather here!
It’s been excellent getting to explore all this area has to offer, along with being so close to so many great places.
What is ONE THING you wish you had known before moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming?
Don’t listen to all the young people who say there’s nothing to do! So many young people are looking for bars and clubs to go to, and at our age (in our mid 30’s) and stage in life (we have 2 children in grade school), we want family activities and places to visit.
When people told us that “there is nothing to do here,” before we arrived, we never should have listened. There is so much to do here.
Good (Local) Eats
If someone came to visit you, and you had to take them out to eat, what would your TOP THREE favorite places be?
1) Rib & Chop House, best steak you will ever eat, and they have one-pound baked potatoes!
2) Little America Resort restaurant for their Sunday Brunch Buffet is absolutely awesome, and their holiday brunch buffets are even better!
3) Mary’s Mountain Cookies for dessert; you can’t find better cookies!
Favorite place(s) for coffee and/or dessert?
City Brew for coffee, hands down. They have so many flavor options. As for dessert, I’d say Mary’s Mountains Cookies!
Is there a farmer’s market scene in there? Tell us about it!
Yes!!! Winter Farmers Market is at the Cheyenne Depot which is the old train station downtown which is super neat! Summer Farmers Market is in the mall parking lot. So many fun options for markets.
There are also pop-up markets throughout the year that get advertised on Cheyenne’s Facebook page.
Best place for brunch? And your favorite thing to order, please!
Little America and their brunch buffet on Sunday is great.
How about a fun night out on the town for a date night?
We love going to Rib Chop House which is in downtown Cheyenne, and then walking through the old shops. You can find so many good things and it’s fun to be down at the depot on a Friday night in the summer they have live bands that often play.
Get Around (and out of) Town
Top five favorite things to do in Cheyenne:
1) Mini Golf (The Putt Hutt) at Lions Park
2) Cheyenne Frontier Days last week of July
3) Train Depot on a Friday night in the summer
4) Fishing at Curt Gowdy State Park
5) Drive to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks!
Bonus: you can go on a scavenger hunt to find 18, 8-foot tall cowboy boots scattered around the Cheyenne!
Picture this: You have a whole weekend to go somewhere within driving distance: Where are you going and what are you doing?
Colorado Springs! Take the expressway around Denver for a quicker drive, stay at the Air Force Academy hotel or bring your camper and camp at the Academy Family camp (it’s beautiful!), head over to Garden of the Gods, then walk around Manitou Springs. On your way back, head up to Estes Park for the day, and go the Christmas shop (open all year long). Then eat dinner at the Hunters Chop House.
What was your favorite park in town?
Lions Park has so much fun stuff! There’s mini golf, play equipment for kids, and a botanical garden. Plus, a lake for fishing, walking/running paths, and cute gazebos. It’s so beautiful; we’ve done family pictures there a couple times!
Any museums worth checking out? Please share their exact names so I can reference them specifically!
Downtown, head to the Train Depot, or the Old West Museum located at Frontier park and open during Cheyenne Frontier Days. The old Governor’s Mansion downtown is great, too.
All the Extras
Info on your favorite hair salon/hair dresser, please and thank you.
ID Underground for hair needs; Nails Central for mani and pedis, and we also have Cheeks Beauty Academy that do amazing pedis and hair services for cheap since they are a beauty school.
Right now I’m going to Chella Bellas Salon; they’re following all of the local Covid regulations.
Like a Local
Were there any instagramers, bloggers, or specific non-military affiliated Facebook groups you followed?
Cheyenne has some great garage sale Facebook pages, like this one!
Any festivals, fairs, or events worth checking out?
Cheyenne Frontier Days. It’s the last full week in July, and they have so many events with big-time bands (Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, last year we even had Post Malone) playing every night. It’s a week full of mostly country music, and rodeos (Daddy of the All, largest out door rodeo in the world!)
Tell us about the weather.
We love the weather; there is super low humidity. Having AC in houses here is not a huge thing because the highest temps are low 80’s, and usually only last a couple weeks at end of July and August. Plus, with low humidity it doesn’t feel that hot.
It does get cold, and we do get snow. Buy some snow boots, and a good coat and you’ll be fine.
The wind is crazy here. They say Chicago is the “Windy City,” but I’m pretty sure we top them. Semi-trucks have been known to topple over with the wind, and they often shut down the interstates due to high wind. The best weather is during the fall; it’s absolutely perfect.
Anything else you’d like to mention about moving to Cheyenne for someone who is moving there soon?
This is a great place for families; there’s so much to do that you’ll never feel like you’re “stuck” in Cheyenne. Just get out and explore! Go to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons; go to Rapid City, SD (Mount Rushmore and so much over there to see and stay on base at Ellsworth); visit to Fort Collins, Loveland, Denver, Estes Park, and so many more beautiful places in less than a couple hours drive time from Cheyenne.
There’s seriously so much here—you’ll even get Chick-fil-A since we have two locations!
Your Turn!
If you’ve been stationed at FE Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming, please share your favorites in the comments!
