Bill Sniffin
Bill Sniffin has been a publisher and author in Wyoming for 53 years. He formerly owned all or part interest in 20 different newspapers, magazines, print shops, ad agencies, and internet companies.
He is one of Wyoming's best-known columnists, having written a statewide column for more than 22 years and a local column for 38 years prior to that.
Sniffin has published six books including three Wyoming-themed coffee table books, called the Wyoming Trilogy. He lives in Lander with his wife Nancy.
Latest from Bill Sniffin
Bill Sniffin: Amy Wroe Bechtel Mystery Solved? We Can Only Hope. She Worked For Me
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “I knew Amy Wroe Bechtel very well. She was a good athlete, an outstanding person, and a wonderful photographer. Her disappearance was a huge tragedy.”
Bill SniffinOctober 25, 2025
Bill Sniffin: ‘I Drive Truck’ - Truckers Complain About Interstate 80 In Winter And Discuss Options
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “A column about moving Interstate 80 to the U. S. Highway 30 roadway a few years ago, generated an amazing number of comments. Just about all were positive about such a move. It seemed nobody in Wyoming like the current roadway.”
Bill SniffinOctober 22, 2025
Bill Sniffin: The Arrival Of ‘God’s Dog’ Had Huge Effect On Wyoming Indians
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Fort Laramie had a big problem. How do you accommodate some 45,000 horses owned by the 10 different tribes meeting there in 1951.”
Bill SniffinOctober 18, 2025
Bill Sniffin: Yellowstone In The Snow? In A Convertible? Sure, Why Not?
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Who in their right mind would risk driving through Yellowstone in the face of blizzards in a convertible with the top down? Well, duh, I guess it was me.”
Bill SniffinOctober 14, 2025
Bill Sniffin: Hard To Believe, Our State Was Once Part Of Texas, Y’all
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Parts of Wyoming were once owned by four different countries, France, Mexico, Great Britain, and even Texas, back in the day.”
Bill SniffinOctober 12, 2025
Bill Sniffin: ‘Taking Chance’ Is Wonderfully Sincere Movie About A Wyoming Marine’s Death
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “This movie is the story about a young Marine from Dubois named Chance Phelps, who was killed in Iraq on Good Friday, April 9, 2004. The movie is about Lt. Col. Mike Strobl’s journey bringing the young man’s body home to Wyoming.”
Bill SniffinOctober 07, 2025
Bill Sniffin Has Traveled To Yellowstone 55 Years In A Row
You could feed the bears in Yellowstone until 1970, and there weren’t the crowds of tourists there are now. But Bill Sniffin says after 55 straight years of visiting, in all the ways that count, it's still the same spectacular Yellowstone.
Bill SniffinOctober 04, 2025
Bill Sniffin: How Was Your 2025 Wyoming Bucket List? I Did Pretty Well
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Each year I put together what I call my ‘Wyoming Bucket List,’ which is a list of places that are on my to-visit list for the summer and fall. This has been a great year!”
Bill SniffinOctober 04, 2025
Bill Sniffin: ‘Heal Up And Hair Over?’ Early Yellowstone Visitors And A Cheyenne Bell Ringer
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “One of the benefits of writing a statewide column is all the mail I get from readers with lots of interesting perspectives. Here are just a few of them.”
Bill SniffinOctober 01, 2025
Bill Sniffin: Do You Ever Wonder What Old Men Think About?
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Being older than most everyone else gives you a chance to share your wisdom and endlessly tell old stories. Perhaps we talk too much?”
Bill SniffinSeptember 27, 2025
Bill Sniffin: A Wyoming Newcomer? Here Are Some Tips For Getting Along In The Cowboy State
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Wyoming may have lots of newcomers based on projections of the current energy boom. What advice should we give these newbies?”
Bill SniffinSeptember 23, 2025
Bill Sniffin: ‘Home On The Range’ Probably Should Have Been Wyoming’s Original State Song
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “'Home On The Range' is so much about Wyoming. It describes the place that most of us know as our home state.”
Bill SniffinSeptember 20, 2025
Bill Sniffin: My 538-Mile Loop Drive Included Spectacular Wyoming Rivers And Lakes
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “During the first week of August, I traveled from Lander up to Lovell and then over to Yellowstone and then back home. This amounted to 538 miles of dry country interrupted by fertile fields, beautiful rivers, and spectacular lakes and reservoirs."
Bill SniffinSeptember 16, 2025
At 2,500 Feet Deep, Bighorn Canyon Is 55 Miles Of Spectacular Wyoming Landscape
Unlike Yellowstone or Grand Teton national parks, there are no long lines of RVs or crush of tourists with cameras at Bighorn Canyon. The canyon feels like Wyoming’s secret, a place many lifelong residents have never seen.
Bill SniffinSeptember 14, 2025
Bill Sniffin: ‘I Think We Lost The Governor,’ Was Fear Of One Shot Hunt 25 Years Ago
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Wyoming’s governor is the official host of the Lander One Shot Antelope Hunt. He is not supposed to go missing during the hunt!”
Bill SniffinSeptember 13, 2025
Bill Sniffin: Wyoming Is Known Far And Wide For ‘Firsts’
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “From the creation of Yellowstone to giving women voting rights, a lot of ‘firsts’ occurred here in the lowest populated state in the union over the years.”
Bill SniffinSeptember 10, 2025
Bill Sniffin: Wyoming Could Use A Big New Monument - How About The Historic Oregon Trail?
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “The Oregon Trail has significant sites and sights all across Wyoming that are still in place which deserve recognition. It is worthy of a more important national designation.”
Bill SniffinSeptember 06, 2025
Bill Sniffin: It Was History, Not Parents, That Spoiled The Baby Boomer Generation
Bill Sniffin writes: “Yes, us baby boomers were born on third base and thought we had hit a triple. This means whatever advantages we had in our lives, they were not created by us. Our parents set us up for success. And relished in it."
Bill SniffinSeptember 02, 2025
Wyoming’s Vast Killpecker Dunes: Like Another Planet Where The Sand Sings To You
Spending time in Wyoming’s vast Killpecker Sand Dunes deserves a spot on anyone’s bucket list. It feels like visiting another planet — a place where the sand sings to you.
Bill SniffinSeptember 01, 2025
Bill Sniffin: How To Deal With 2,000 Hippies When They Invaded Wyoming Over July 4 Holiday?
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “It is hard to imagine today what a potential disaster it would be when 2,000 hippies invaded Cowboy Country back in 1973. They ultimately camped at Freak Mountain. Yes, Freak Mountain!”
Bill SniffinAugust 30, 2025
Bill Sniffin: Serving As ‘Bear Bait’ May Have Been Worst Job In The World?
Columnist Bill Sniffin writes: “Ranger Steve Frye waited for a bear to enter the cage, while squatting in putrid garbage. It was him or the bear. Yikes.”
Bill SniffinAugust 27, 2025