Moving to Cheyenne

Hey I am looking at moving from Duluth, MN to Cheyenne, WY this spring. I have not been to the area, however, it seems pretty cool and has lots of climbing potential while still quite, affordable and not overcrowded. I'm used to a population around 100k but I'm wondering what the community is like overall, specifically the recreation community in the area. I didn't see any climbing gyms listed online. When not climbing I also enjoy Mnt Biking, WW Kayaking, Snowboarding ect.  Also, Any Ice in the area come winter? 

Any info would be great!

I wouldn't get your hopes up.  Cheyenne is about what you would expect where two interstates cross in the northern plains, though you can get to some good climbing with a few hours' driving.

Cheyenne is a shit hole. I spent the first 20 years of my life there. I haven't looked back.

All the good things about Cheyenne, vedauwoo, Pole Mountain, freemont, the snowy range, and the rest of Wyoming are all more accessible from Laramie.

Cheyenne consistently votes against public improvement projects. It took 20+ years to get a rec center. I guess you're military or medical. If it's not forever, you'll survive. Just leave town every time you aren't working.

Closest ice is in the big Thompson canyon. Closest good ice is rmnp. 

I lived there for years, considered it subpar for climbing.   No climbing gym (nearest is Fort Collins), asnd not much  climbing nearby, nearest crag is Vedauwoo which is 30 miles away.   On the plus side, great mtn biking available about 25 -40 miles away at Curt Gowdy and Happy Jack.  Vedauwoo trad is good and Vedauwoo bouldering is really good.  Easy road tripping access to all of awesome Wyoming.

Basically, it sets you up for great roadtripping but you are gonna drive a lot and there isn't much to do in Cheyenne itself (except for 2 weeks out of the year when rodeo is in town).

Also Glendo State Park has some fabulous mountain biking.  (1.5 hours drive from cheyenne )

As a young male from Minnesota, you will not like Cheyenne, and If you are bringing anyone else with you, they will hate it.  However, I  would love to live there as it is ideally positioned to get to a wealth of outdoor opportunities.  The other nice thing about Cheyenne is that you can also easily take advantage of the climbing and mtn biking options in Colorado and Utah without having to constantly put up with the traffic and crowds.  

I definitely live on the “good” side of the Sherman hills, in Laramie. Cheyenne is the largest city in the state, and yet its best restaurants are chains. That expresses just about everything you need to know about the place.

Like anywhere else it will be what you make of it. 

Thanks everyone for the info!

Mike Kubes wrote:

Hey I am looking at moving from Duluth, MN to Cheyenne, WY this spring. I have not been to the area, however, it seems pretty cool and has lots of climbing potential while still quite, affordable and not overcrowded. I'm used to a population around 100k but I'm wondering what the community is like overall, specifically the recreation community in the area. I didn't see any climbing gyms listed online. When not climbing I also enjoy Mnt Biking, WW Kayaking, Snowboarding ect.  Also, Any Ice in the area come winter? 

Any info would be great!

To put a more positive spin here...

I lived in Cheyenne for 1 1/2 years. Being 30 mins away from world class climbing (Vedauwoo), 4 hrs away from Lander, <2 hrs to front range climbing, I really enjoyed living in Cheyenne because of that. From April - October (ignoring the occasional late or early snowstorm) you can easily boulder or get some pitches in after work. Do you know awesome that is? I also did have some close friends that I met through climbing. Some moved away, but I still have good friends that live in Cheyenne. So if you do move there I can send you some of their contact info. But as others have mentioned Cheyenne is difficult to meet women in, there is lots of pushback to any sort of improvement that would make Cheyenne cooler, and the Wyoming "Gruff" attitude can get fucking old. I enjoyed my time in Cheyenne but would not vouch for it as a place to settle down forever. I saved tons of money while I was there.

The recreation community in Cheyenne is pretty lame - there just aren't tons of people who climb (think 4-5 people total). It is much better in Laramie or Fort Collins. You always have the option of living in Fort Collins and commuting but I can't recommend that. There is a climbing gym at LCCC but I haven't been. If you get a fat bike there is amazing fat biking 30 mins away from Cheyenne. There is some ice but it is not very near by. 

In March I will have lived in Cheyenne for 2 years. And I am jumping ship at that point. Cheyenne is easy to shit on, but there is truth in a lot of the comments above. The comments about Cheyenne's unwillingness to improve are spot on. The old guard here are content with how things are and see no need to change. Cheyenne is stuck in its ways. Supposedly though, the air force is bringing in nearly a thousand new positions to do work and updates to the air force base. This could tip the scales in Cheyenne. 

Recreation is largely limited to the usual mid-western pursuits of 4 wheeling, hunting, dirt bikes, etc. The only two outdoor sports that have much traction are mountain biking and skiing/snowboarding. But otherwise people here really, really loath exercise. Obesity is the norm. The dating scene is pretty grim but going south to Fort COllins is an easy remedy. 

On the plus side the cost of living is low so you can squirrel away money easily and you have quick access to a lot of high quality climbing and biking. If you aren't planning on being here more than two or three years then it's certainly not a horrible decision.