Runners ages 5 and under — along with parents and supporters — take off from the start line during the Challenge for Charities 1-mile Mad Dash Race in Lander on July 4, 2025. (Katie Klingsporn)

Wyoming went all out for Independence Day. 

Floats festooned in red, white and blue cruised past large parade crowds. Grillmasters served the masses at community barbecues. Hordes of runners participated in fun runs or grueling half-marathons. Flags were unfurled, bottle rockets rang out, squirt guns deployed and neighborhoods erupted with the explosions of mortars. 

Not everyone opted to join the noisy revelry of rodeos or parades, however. 

In the Shoshone National Forest, nary a firecracker could be heard. Instead, robins chirped, side-by-sides hummed along dirt roads and nervous dogs rested easy.

A young camper takes in the view from atop a rock formation in the Shoshone National Forest on July 4, 2025. (Katie Klingsporn/WyoFile)

Katie Klingsporn reports on outdoor recreation, public lands, education and general news for WyoFile. She’s been a journalist and editor covering the American West for 20 years. Her freelance work has...

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  1. Keep a close eye on the rightwing goofballs, they would like to sell our precious lands.

    Reply