Wyoming Honor Farm

A minimum-custody working farm a mile north of Riverton, home of Wyoming's wild horse training program with the Bureau of Land Management.

Overview

The Wyoming Honor Farm is the state’s minimum-custody working farm, a mile north of Riverton in the Wind River Basin. Established in 1931 as the State Penitentiary Farm, it houses 283 men in four dorms and runs a genuine agricultural operation: about 700 cattle, more than 500 acres of alfalfa, corn, and oats, and — the program it is known for — around 170 wild horses at a time, gentled and trained by incarcerated men under a partnership with the federal Bureau of Land Management that has run since 1988. WDOC counts 3,500 horses adopted out of the program and calls it one of the longest-running prison partnerships in the country.

Placement here is earned through classification — minimum custody is Wyoming’s lowest level, and the Honor Farm operates as an open, work-focused campus rather than a walled prison.

What Makes Wyoming Honor Farm Different

• The wild horse program — inmates halter- and saddle-train mustangs gathered from public lands, and the facility hosts public adoption events twice a year, spring and fall, where the trained horses are adopted through competitive bidding (information line 1-866-4MUSTANGS).
• It is a real farm: cattle, crops, and horses are the daily work assignments, on 640 acres.
• Generous weekend visiting for the system — a Friday evening session plus morning and afternoon blocks both Saturday and Sunday.
• The posted visiting memo is dated 2023, the oldest currently posted in the WDOC system — calling (307) 856-9578 to confirm the schedule before a long trip is the practical move.
• WDOC publishes no video visiting option for the Honor Farm — the department posts video documents only for the State Penitentiary and the Honor Conservation Camp.
• Riverton, a town of about 10,700, has more services than most WDOC prison towns — including a regional airport with daily Denver service.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — the inmate-initiated application, dress code, ID, and the full-body scanner — apply at the Honor Farm. What follows is specific to this facility.

As a minimum-security facility, the Honor Farm is the exception to the statewide first-come-first-served rule — the policy allows minimum-custody facilities to handle visits differently, so confirm arrangements when the schedule is confirmed. The full approval process, dress code, and arrival rules are in Visiting in Wyoming.

Getting There and Parking

The facility is one mile north of Riverton, which sits on US-26 and WY-789 in the Wind River Basin.

The Wind River Transportation Authority runs weekday fixed routes connecting Riverton with Lander, Fort Washakie, and nearby communities ($2 fare), but no published stop serves the prison and there is no weekend service — and visiting is on the weekend, so the trip is by car. WDOC publishes no visitor parking details.

Nearby Services

Riverton has the most services of any WDOC prison town: chain hotels including a Hampton Inn & Suites, a 24-hour Maverik station on West Main Street, groceries, and dozens of restaurants. SageWest Health Care’s Riverton campus at 2100 W. Sunset Drive has an emergency room staffed around the clock.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Wyoming state facility:

• Visiting in Wyoming — the inmate-initiated application, dress code, and scanner
• Mail & Packages — the number-after-name addressing rule
• Phone & Video Calls — the ICSolutions system and calling lists
• Sending Money — the visitor-list deposit requirement
• Medical & Mental Health — the 24/7 family crisis line
• Transfers — intake, custody levels, and out-of-state placement