Traveling Wyoming: At Dubois Lodge, Guests Share Motel With Free-Range Chickens

DUBOIS — Seasoned travelers will tell you that most road trip motels start to blur together — a haze of beige walls, forgettable grab-and-go pastries and strong but hastily brewed coffee.

In Dubois, there’s a motel that breaks that mold, thanks to an amenity that will have even the most jaded traveler doing a little double-take and then stopping to smile. 

It's not the riverside hot tub or the sauna window that perfectly frames the Wind River. 

It’s the pampered flock of free-range chickens that strut around the Chinook Winds Lodge as if they own the place.

There aren’t many roadside lodges in America offering chickens with their stay, as a quick online search will show. 

But in Dubois, which lays claim to Giant Jackalope Exxon Country Store and has a laundromat with a giant skull doorway, a feathered welcome somehow feels exactly right. 

Life’s Good For Chickens In Dubois

Jake Greaney is spending his second season at the Chinook Winds Lodge and is the caretaker for the chickens. 

“These chickens have a great life,” he said with a chuckle. “Obviously, we insist people make sure their dogs are under control. That’s always a threat to our chickens. 

"But as far as the life of a chicken goes, they’re in a top-tier class of chickens the way they’re treated and pampered.”

Greaney lets them out of their coop first thing in the morning then watches with a smile as they all rush out. They’re a tidal wave of feathers and clucks in search of insects and other riverside snacks. 

“It might not be much compared to a pampered human,” Greaney said. “But I mean, they’re more like pets just in the way they’re spoken to and greeted in the morning.”

All The Insects They Can Eat

The charming chickens aren’t just popular for their antics running around the lodge, snacking on all the insects they can find.

They also provide valuable little packages with hearts of gold — organic eggs.

“Those are eggs you would pay quite a pretty penny for in the store,” Greaney said. “If you’ve eaten farm-fresh eggs, you know they have that beautiful yolk, and they’re very nutritious.”

Guests are responsible for preparing their own eggs. Though, as Greaney learned the hard way, carrying them in a jacket pocket isn’t ideal.

Greaney cooks the eggs to eat now and then, but more often than not he saves his share of eggs for his “spoiled” dogs, Ava and Egon. 

“They like an egg or two a day,” he said. 

Leaning Into History

The chicken-friendly charm is just one piece of the experience at Chinook Winds Lodge.

Situated along the Wind River, the property is being reimagined as a riverside base camp for adventure, as well as a place that will blend comfort with fun Wyoming history.

Dubois is the town where Butch Cassidy fled to not long after his first bank robbery in Telluride, Colorado, and tales of the outlaw are still told in the town. 

There’s the Welty Store at 113 W. Ramshorn, where the shop owner likes to tell a family story about the time Cassidy shopped in the precursor of his family’s store, trading a gun for the provisions he needed. 

The Wind River itself, meanwhile, was the way tie hacks were sent to Riverton from Dubois, a tale that is told in more detail at the Dubois Museum. 

All of that history will be woven into a redo of the lodge’s rooms, with each room recognizing some different aspect of Dubois, Michelin Key-recognized hotelier and consultant James Jeffrey told Cowboy State Daily. He was hired to help the owners reimagine the property. 

“We want to play a little bit more into the history of Dubois, as well as update the rooms,” Jeffrey said on a walking tour of the property. “And we’re going to be adding additional units on the property as well.”

Plans for the new lodging include A-frame cabins positioned for prime river views, along with luxury tree forts that will sleep up to four guests each. 

Conestoga wagons and a refurbished caboose topped with a stargazing deck will complete the picture. 

Wellness And Adventure

There will also be a wellness space in the area where the hot tub and sauna are located, and every room will have a theme that relates to some historical aspect of Dubois.

“We want to tie people into the experience of being out West, so they can dive into the rich culture and the outdoors,” Jeffrey said. “So, we want to be an adventure-forward base camp for travelers, but with the nicer amenities.”

The lodge also plans to work with local guides to provide all-inclusive adventure packages, which can be booked alongside the rooms at the lodge.

The packages could include multi-day adventures with a guide or simpler things like arriving to a room that’s been outfitted with a do-it-yourself fly-fishing package.

“You’ll have a tackle box ready to go, and a fishing pole,” he said. “And you could go fish right on the property on the Wind River.”

Jeffrey estimated the lodge is about one year out for full completion of its renovations and changes. 

Homesteading Meets Hospitality

The chickens were the brainstorm of one of the owners, a homesteading enthusiast, and have proven their worth a few times over as a vital part of the lodge’s hospitality team.

“The chickens are along for the ride at Chinook Winds,” assistant manager Sinead Summers told Cowboy State Daily. “The guests just love them.”

She has chickens herself, so she gets the attraction. There’s just something about chickens that can bring a smile to the faces of young and old alike.

Children enjoy chasing them around the trees, while their parents snap photos. If the children do get a little too excited, there are staff members on hand, always looking out for the chickens. 

At night, Greaney will sometimes enlist the junior guests to help corral the chickens, turning an everyday chore into a memory for the youngsters. 

It’s also a sneaky chance for Greaney to talk to any rambunctious youths about the proper way to pamper chickens.

“In the summertime we get mealworms so the guests can feed them,” Summers said. “We give them a little cup, and the chickens love the snacks.”

It all might seem a little eccentric, but it’s hard to deny something that so clearly works. A riverside hot tub and sauna await, chairs are ready for stargazing, and the river is ready for your wanderings. 

It’s a pretty good life if you’re a chicken — and not bad if you’re a human, either.

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.