National Bighorn Sheep Center in Dubois, Wyoming

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in this magnificent outdoor classroom with a community of experts and enthusiasts.
2022 WEBINAR SERIES

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Camp Bighorn
2022 Registration Open

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Photographer Retreat
2022 Registration Open

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See our most recent Newsletter here.

Camp Bighorn
August 8th – 11th

Photographer Retreat
August 8th – 13th

GUIDED ECO TOURS

You’ll explore panoramic views of snowcapped mountains, forests, rocky ridges and windswept grassy slopes in the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Area. One of the first things you’ll notice is the rolling up-and-down landscape with boulders strewn everywhere, thanks to the glaciers that covered this region 10,000-15,000 years ago. As you ride the road along this glacial roller coaster you will be headed toward Whiskey Mountain, home of the famous Whiskey Mountain bighorn sheep.

Make sure to scan the hillsides for wildlife, which may include elk, mule deer, badger and coyotes, as well as hawks and eagles.

On the face of a nearby boulder is a carved image described as Water Ghost Spirit. It was etched by those who are considered to have been the ancestors of today’s Shoshone Indians, the Sheepeaters.

2022 SCHEDULED EVENTS

Educational Webinars

Botany Hike

iNaturalist Training

Wild Sheep Education Session

Camp Bighorn

Wind River Photographers Retreat

Annual Sheep Trap Trek

About
The National Bighorn Sheep Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which is dedicated to providing education and outreach for the national conservation of wild sheep, wildlife and wild lands. We accomplish this mission through exhibits which inspire our visitors, programs which educate youth and adults alike and special events, outreach and partnerships which help conserve bighorn sheep and other wildlife and wildlife habitat.

The National Bighorn Sheep Center operates in beautiful Dubois, Wyoming. The Center features dioramas with full-scale taxidermy mounts that recreate bighorn habitat, interactive exhibits about wildlife management and special adaptations of wild sheep, and wildlife films the whole family will enjoy.

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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

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Field Trip to the National Bighorn Sheep Center

Traveling Education Trunks

Wyoming Science Curriculum Standards at the NBSC

Lessons and Curriculum

Citizen Science Project

RESOURCES FOR KIDS

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Seasonal Hours:

Autumn Hours (Labor Day – December 15th)
Open 10am – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday
Closed on Sundays and Mondays

Winter & Spring Hours (Begins January 1st)
Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 4pm
Closed on Sundays, Mondays & Tuesdays

Summer Hours (Begins Memorial Day Weekend)

7 days a week 10am – 4pm

Special Closure Dates
Closed October 11: Indigenous People’s Day
Closed November 11: Veterans Day
Closed November 25: Thanksgiving Day
Closed December 24 & 25: Christmas
Closed December 31 & January 1: New Year’s Eve & Day

Location:

10 Bighorn Lane, just off the main street in beautiful Dubois, Wyoming next to the Dubois Historical Museum. Look for our big bronze ram “Ram Country”.

ADMISSION

Adults age 18 and over: $6

Youth ages 8 – 17: $3

Children ages 7 and under: FREE

Seniors (age 60 and over) and Military: $5

Youth Group (8 or more): $2

Current Members: 10% discount on admission

School Groups: $2 per student, but sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact us to set up your tour by calling 307-455-3429

History

The citizens of Dubois have always felt great pride in the proximity, accessibility and successful endurance of “our” herd, the Whiskey Mountain herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. In the late 1980’s, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department was considering building some type of small-scale sheep observatory with interpretive signage in the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area. At about the same time, the Louisiana-Pacific lumber mill, which had been the primary engine driving the Dubois economy for decades, was faltering.

The mill was forced to close in 1988, leaving the town to wonder if their economy was facing imminent failure. Dubois needed something to encourage tourists to stop and stay in Dubois. The Wyoming Game & Fish Department also wanted an avenue for public education. A suggestion was made to construct a bighorn sheep-themed visitor center directly in town rather than in the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area. In a rather remarkable effort of co-operation, a partnership developed that included a broad spectrum of private- and public-sector groups.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the town of Dubois, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Wild Sheep Foundation (formerly the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep), the Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation and many other entities and individuals contributed dollars, resources, talents and guidance to construct the National Bighorn Sheep Center. The Center was opened to the public on July 3, 1993.

Partners

The National Bighorn Sheep Center is not alone in what we do. We are a part of a much larger “ecosystem” of organizations and agencies that we collaborate with locally, regionally and nationally to advance bighorn sheep conservation.

Bowhunters of Wyoming

Boys and Girls Club of Dubois

Destination Dubois

Dubois Chamber of Commerce

Dubois Historical Museum-Fremont County Museums

Joey’s Fly Fishing Foundation

Town of Dubois

U.S. Bureau of Land Management-Lander Field Office

U.S. Forest Service-Shoshone National Forest, Wind River District

Wild Sheep Foundation

Wind River Visitors Council

Wyoming Community Foundation