Summer has arrived, and locals are taking to patios for sunshine and warmth. Whether you’re after a little extra vitamin D with your lunch, or somewhere to kick back and watch sunset with a beaded drink in hand, the patio experience is a key feature of summer.

Casper patios abound, but here are three centrally-located choices that stand out for ambience, menus and accessibility — yes, dogs are welcome!

The Office

The Office is known for its inclusive culture and rambunctious karaoke nights, but a lesser-known aspect is that this full menu bar at 520 S Ash St. has a great patio too. An English ivy-covered pergola gives dappled daytime shade, while a plethora of potted plants — geraniums, petunias, ferns, daisies — makes it feel as though you’re sitting in a giant bouquet.

“It’s our little outdoor oasis,” said K. Collins, a bartender at the establishment.

It’s popular real estate during Monday night wine tastings, and in quiet moments, you can hear the trickling sound of a rock water feature.

Popular patio drinks include the raspberry Twisted Tea or the Lynchburg Lemonade, made with Jack Daniels, fruit juice and simple syrup. If you’re in the mood for a top shelf spirit, try it on a giant pressed ice ball, which keeps the spirit cool in a tub glass without watering it down.

Black Tooth Brewery

Since opening in 2021, the patio at Black Tooth Brewery has lured passersby with unique activities — for instance, “Goat Yoga,” which is exactly as it sounds: Yoga in the presence of roaming goats, courtesy White Gold Farms. With an outdoor stage, it’s also a great place to catch live music, including recurring acts like the Wyoming Wayfinders, who last weekend got crowds dancing with unexpected covers like their upbeat rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

Carissa Pickard, bar manager, says a popular summer beverage is the “Denim Vest,” a wheat ale whose orange flavor and pillowy mouthfeel are likened to a creamsicle. Another patio go-to is the Guide Boat gose, a citrus sour with a salty bite. Also impressive is that these drinks are brewed on the premises, and the gleaming steel fermenters and mash tanks are visible from every seat in the house.

The patio is kid-friendly and encourages chalk art.

“I don’t even know who did it, but I came in one day and somebody had drawn an immaculate Stitch from the animation Lilo and Stitch. It looks pretty good,’” said Pickard.

Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana

For a more dining-centric experience, check out the patio at Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana. Here you’ll find artisanal pizzas made according to the Verace Pizza Napoletana trademark (meaning “true Neapolitan pizza”), an exactingly old-school Italian standard in which everything from the dough mixer to the coal-fired ovens remain true to tradition.

“We have to guarantee that these tomatoes, this mozzarella, this olive oil, that it was made without chemicals and it stayed true to the artisanal methods that were handed down from family to family,” said bartender Angela Dunlap.

Eating a Toscana pizza under an open sky isn’t a strict Neapolitan standard, but during the summer months it feels like it should be.

Racca’s offers two patios, each semi-enclosed by exposed red brick walls. The east-facing patio stands elevated on Ash Street and gets solid shade from the evening on, whereas the north patio makes for an impeccable view of a crayon-colored sky at sunset.

In addition to good eats like the prosciutto di Parma, sage-flavored pork leg, the menu also offers fun summer beverages. Patio favorites include the Ractini, made with blueberry acai Van Gogh vodka and San Pellegrino Limonata. Dunlap herself is partial to the Gypsy Tea, made with Contortionist gin, Crazy Woman mead, and earl gray lavender syrup.

The drink’s ingredients are sourced from local companies, including Backwards and Big Lost distilleries, in Casper and Gillete respectively, along with lavender from Alpenglow herbal remedies. It speaks the business’s drive to create a unique community culture.

“We really strive to provide an environment that emulates going to your best friend’s house. A place where you walk in and you’re greeted by everyone and can feel really comfortable, less like you’re at a restaurant and more like you’re just hanging out friend’s house enjoying some food,” said Dunlap. “A lot of people will hit the bike trails then just ride their bikes right up and sit down on the patio. I love seeing people come to relax with their families and hang out with their pets.”