The Best of The National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Little Big Horn

Day 1: UK/Denver
Depart on your scheduled flight to Denver Colorado, where y ou’ll stay for one night.

Day 2: Rapid City
South Dakota’s Black Hills are an impressive sight. Your journey today takes you to Rapid City, where you’ll stay for the next two nights. En route, you’ll stop at Cheyenne and the former military and trading outpost of Fort Laramie, where chief Red Cloud signed the treaty that gave all lands west of the Missouri and the supposedly worthless Black Hills to the Sioux. Just six years later, Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills, prompting the Gold Rush and ultimately causing the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Day 3: Mount Rushmore/Badlands
From your base in Rapid City you will explore the relatively unknown but beautiful state of South Dakota today. To the west, the famous Black Hills rise out of the prairies, and the delightful countryside is reminiscent of Europe’s Alpine foothills. This morning you drive into the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore with its famous granite sculptures of Presidents Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson. The huge carvings are one of the definitive monuments of the United States and a reminder of the journey the country has taken in its short history. A visit will also be made to the Crazy Horse Memorial, currently being carved in honour of the famous Indian leader.

In the afternoon you will tour the Badlands National Park. It is a strange and beautiful landscape of deep gorges, sawedged spires and grassy-topped buttes; an eerie world carved out by 35 millions years of wind and water erosion.

Day 4: Deadwood
The journey today takes you on a fascinating drive through the Black Hills into ‘wild west’ territory and the city of Deadwood, which was frequented many years ago by the likes of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. You’ll carry on to Sheridan, where you’ll stay overnight.

Day 5: Little Big Horn Battlefield
Today you will visit the historic battlefield site of the Battle of Little Big Horn. It’s the perfect opportunity to relive Custer’s Last Stand – when General Custer and the 7th Cavalry were outfought by Crazy Horse. The actual battlefield is in Montana, just north of the border from Wyoming, and this is a unique opportunity to visit this historic site. You can see where the soldiers fell (markers were placed only days after the battle), and absorb all the events of that fateful day on our guided tour. After visiting the battlefield, you’ll journey on to Cody, where you’ll stay overnight.

Day 6: Yellowstone National Park
The world’s first national park, Yellowstone is a wonderland of spouting geysers, terraced hot springs, boiling pools and bubbling mud pots. You may see the extraordinary Yellowstone Canyon with its waterfall twice the height of Niagara, the Fountain Paint Pots and, of course, ‘Old Faithful’, which erupts every 93 minutes. The park is also a wildlife sanctuary with bears, elk, moose and herds of buffalo, roaming freely. You’ll stay overnight in West Yellowstone.

Day 7: Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is famed for its beautiful landscapes dominated by snow capped peaks, serene lakes and mighty glaciers. You will have time to take in the vistas before travelling on to the lively town of Jackson for an overnight stay. Jackson is unusual in that it is both a wild west town and a ski resort. Make sure you visit to the downtown area, where the old-west style buildings are home to boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

Day 8: Salt Lake City
You will depart Jackson today and journey southwards to Salt Lake City, visiting Bear Lake and Logan Canyon en route. Two nights’ accommodation has been arranged at Salt Lake City, where you can enjoy this evening at leisure.

Day 9: Salt Lake City
Named after the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City is famous as the city founded by the Mormons. It’s modern yet easy going, and you’ll have the day to explore at your own pace. Why not start at the central Mormon Square, from where it’s easy to access many of the city’s most important sights, monuments and museums. Or why not visit the Great Salt Lake itself on an optional excursion. Once part of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville, today the lake covers 2000 sq. miles and is saltier than the ocean.

Day 10: Arches National Park
It’s easy to see how Arches National Park was given its name. It’s home to the world’s greatest concentration of red sandstone arches – natural rock formations carved by the elements over millions of years. On leaving Arches National Park, you’ll journey to Cortez for a two-night stay.

Day 11: Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park is an archaeological masterpiece famed for its cliff dwellings. Cliff Palace, the largest of these homes carved into the rockface, has more than 200 rooms. You’ll be astounded by the views around the park – each day of this holiday seems to offer evermore spectacular views and fantastic photo opportunities.

Day 12: Four Corners
Marking the point where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona converge, the monument at Four Corners is your first stop of the day. It’s really difficult to resist the temptation to stand with one limb in each of the four states to have your photo taken. It’s then on to Monument Valley, instantly recognisable to film-goers as the setting for many spaghetti westerns thanks to its spectacular and unique rock formations. If you wish to explore Monument Valley, learning more about it, there will be an optional narrated four-wheel drive tour available. You’ll stay overnight in Tusayan.

Day 13: Grand Canyon
Eroded over millions of years by the ebb and flow of the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is surely one of the world’s most intense and absorbing sights. From the South Rim, you’ll be able to admire the most incredible and spectacular panoramas, and for a bird’s-eye view, why not take an optional flight over the canyon – it’s the only way to get a real feel for the immense scale of this astounding natural wonder. After leaving the canyon, carry on to Page, where you’ll stay overnight.

Day 14: Bryce Canyon National Park
Subtle colours, delicate spires of rock and vast natural amphitheatres are all signatures of the unique geology of Bryce Canyon National Park. Set below an ever-changing sky, the colours seem to change in an instant with the light. Truly awe-inspiring. Your overnight destination is Bryce Canyon City.

Day 15: Zion National Park
Today is a day of exploration of the sheer cliffs, deep chasms and fascinating rock formations of Zion National Park.

In complete contrast to the sheer natural beauty of Zion is the bright lights of Las Vegas, where you stay tonight. Make sure you take a walk along the Strip at night, the illuminations, fountains and themed hotels are almost overwhelming after the tranquillity of the parks, but equally as compelling.

Day 16: Las Vegas/UK
A short sightseeing tour of Las Vegas this morning will show you some of the most incredible hotels in the world in this glittering 24-hour city. After your tour it’s time to leave for the airport for your return flight to the UK.

Day 17: UK
Arrive in the UK.

Please note
At certain times of year it is possible that Yellowstone may experience snow which may mean we need to use a different route.

Please note
We want you to get the most from your holiday with us so please be advised that this tour is not suitable for anyone with limited mobility.

Accommodation throughout is in hotels of a comfortable standard, typical of the hotels you will stay in are:

Holiday Inn Denver Cherry Creek in Denver
Ramada Inn in Rapid City
Best Western Sheridan Centre in Sheridan
The Cody in Cody
Brandin Iron Inn in West Yellowstone
Painted Buffalo Inn in Jackson
Crystal Inn & Suites in Salt Lake City
Baymont Inn & Suites in Cortez
Canyon Plaza Resort in Tusayan
Courtyard by Marriott in Page
Bryce View Lodge in Bryce
Stratosphere in Las Vegas
All rooms feature en suite facilities, air-conditioning where appropriate, TV and telephone. There is a restaurant and bar in most locations and often extra facilities, such as swimming pool and shop. The Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas features its own cabaret, casino, restaurants, bars, shops and its ‘Top of the World’ restaurant 800ft above the Strip.

Hotels will be confirmed in your final documents.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Included excursions and visits

Badlands National Park
Crazy Horse Memorial
Mount Rushmore
Little Big Horn Battlefield
Yellowstone National Park (half day)
Grand Teton National Park
Arches National Park
Mesa Verde National Park (full day)
Monument Valley (half day)
Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde
Four Corners
Grand Canyon National Park (full day)
Bryce Canyon National Park
Zion Canyon National Park (half day)
Las Vegas tour

Optional excursions

Scenic river float trip, Jackson Hole
Great Salt Lake
Four-wheel drive tour of Monument Valley
Plane/Helicopter flight, Grand Canyon
Las Vegas by Night

Your holiday includes

Scheduled flights
Overseas transfers and other transportation
15 nights’ accommodation including 5 breakfasts
The services of a Travelsphere Tour Manager and Local Guides
Hotel porterage (one bag per person)
All airport taxes and security charges
UK Airline Passenger Duty
All state and local taxes