(Lander, WY)- Wyoming Outdoor Weekend returns May 15–16, 2026, for a free, family-friendly celebration of outdoor recreation, wildlife, conservation, and community. The event opens to the public Friday at 4 p.m., followed by happy hour from 5 to 6:30 p.m. with free drinks from Pushroot Brewery and Wind River Brewing with registration, free appetizers, and live music from 5 to 8 p.m.
Saturday is packed from start to finish with seminars, hands-on demonstrations, contests, raffles, and outdoor education opportunities. The event opens at 9 a.m. with a bear spray giveaway from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Large Carnivore Section, plus fly casting and fly tying with Popo Agie Anglers, packing demos with Wind River Backcountry Horsemen, turkey and duck calling contests, wildlife photography, reptile and wild turkey DNA seminars, backcountry nutrition, and a wild game butchering demo. Keep an eye out Saturday for special appearances from Mardy the Moose and Bobby the Beaver.
Additional opportunities include the Shop Local Raffle, running May 10–16, where shoppers can bring receipts from participating Lander businesses and WOW vendors to earn raffle tickets. Saturday also includes Medicinal Plant Hikes with John Mionczynski in Sinks Canyon at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., plus the Wyoming Wildlife Federation Wild Game Cook-off from 5 to 8 p.m., featuring free public tasting, raffles, games, trivia, and the People’s Choice competition. For the full schedule and more details, visit wyomingoutdoorweekend.com.
“WOW Mission: The Wyoming Outdoor Weekend (WOW) has been put on through a partnership between the Lander Economic Development Association and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department to showcase the Fremont County area as a premier outdoor recreation destination, promote the local economy and community, and inspire interest in and conservation of Wyoming’s wildlife resource.”
