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Insight - American Parks Trail - End Rapid City, Small Group (05/2023 - 09/2023) (SAAPARAN18)

9 Days From Salt Lake City (UT) to Rapid City 
Tour Style: Western USA
Insight Brochure Price from $4,982.00
Brochures: IV USA and Canada 2023
Visits: United States

Experience the rugged and wild West during this 9-Day tour. Start in Salt Lake City, and then head to Jackson & the Grand Tetons. The adventure continues to Yellowstone National Park where you will walk beside the rainbow-hued hot springs and watch Old Faithful spew water more than 120 feet into the air. In Cody, see a firearms collection at the Buffalo Bill Center. Travel to Devils Tower, a butte of igneous rock jutting from the craggy Black Hills mountains. Here, you will also join a Local Expert for a Deadwood tour, where you’ll learn about the Western legends Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Then head to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where the visages of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt are carved into the mountainside. And ascend 563 feet to the top of Crazy Horse Memorial, named for the Lakota warrior, and stand face-to-face with the world’s largest mountain carving.
Choice Highlights
  • Choose between two carefully selected activities
  • UCross: Live the American frontier dream and begin your day with a scenic country horseback ride.
  • UCross: Take a leisurely fishing outing and enjoy the serene surroundings.

Well-being
  • : Our Well-Being Directors take a proactive approach to your welfare ensuring all well-being regulations are met (available on tours with 21 or more guests).
  • : Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.
  • : Experience enhanced hygiene protocols to align with the latest guidance following COVID-19. All Travel Directors, Well-Being Directors and Drivers have completed training in enhanced well-being and hygiene protocols.
  • : We only work with establishments we are confident will consistently adhere to our high well-being standards, which include hotels, restaurants and sight-seeing venues.
  • : Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Travel Director
  • : "It’s magical to see how a group of guests come together over the course of our trip. I can always tell when that’s happening because they start planning their own ‘post-arrival’ activities before the travel day has finished."

Authentic Dining
  • Salt Lake City: At 18:00, join your Travel Director for a Welcome Dinner with wine where you'll have the chance to mingle with fellow guests.
  • UCross: Savour a hearty ranch style Highlight Dinner, prepared by your local hosts.
  • Custer (SD): Toast to the finale of your trip at your Celebration Dinner served at your lodge within Custer State Park.
  • Dining Summary: 3 Dinner with Wine (DW), and 8 Breakfast (B)

Top Rated Highlights
  • Jackson (WY): Historic Jackson, where the majestic peaks of the Teton Range act as your constant backdrop. Feel like you’ve stepped back in time as you walk through the town's famous landmark arch of tangled elk antlers. Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the town’s boutiques and stores, which blend the Old West and the modern West harmoniously.
  • Yellowstone National Park: The world’s first National Park, Yellowstone spans 2,219,789 acres and even has its own Grand Canyon. The park is home to half of the world’s hydrothermal features, more than 10,000, of which over 300 are geysers. Yellowstone is also a wildlife paradise. Some 1,700 species of plants and 400 species of birds, fish and mammals live in the park, including bison, wolves, bears, elk and moose.
  • Grand Teton National Park: Travel through a mountainous landscape like no other. Witness the striking Grand Tetons thrust skyward 6,562 feet (2,000 meters) from the valley floor and keenly watch for exciting wildlife that call these mountains home. Including the grizzly bear, bald eagles, moose, bison, and elk.
  • Yellowstone National Park: Catch the renowned colourful bubbling mud pots and observe Old Faithful geyser shooting water over 120 feet (37 metres) into the air. The Upper Geyser Basin boasts the highest concentration of spouting geysers, hot springs and steaming fumaroles in the world.
  • Cody: Explore the award-winning Buffalo Bill Center of the West, known for its excellent Western art collection and natural history.
  • Yellowstone National Park: Travel out of Yellowstone NP through Shoshone Canyon and Absaroka Rocky Mountains to the Wild West Town of Cody.
  • Black Hills: View the awe-inspiring Devils Tower, a butte that protrudes from the landscape and is considered sacred by the Lakota and other tribes.
  • Custer State Park: Continue venturing through the Black Hills to arrive at Custer State Park. Renowned for its beautiful landscape and abundance of wildlife. Home to a famous herd of 1,500 free roaming bison, accompanied by elk, mule deer, white tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mountain lions and feral burros.
  • Badlands National Park: Steep yourself in all that is the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Preserved here are 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires, blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in America. The unique beauty of this landscape is like no other. Sightseers as well as scholarly scientists are attracted to the area for its astounding beauty and the opportunity to gaze into an ancient world.
  • Black Hills: View iconic Mount Rushmore National Memorial where carvings of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt overlook the landscape.

Insight Choice
  • UCross: Live the American frontier dream and begin your day with a scenic country horseback ride.
  • UCross: Take a leisurely fishing outing and enjoy the serene surroundings.

Insight Experiences
  • Black Hills: Visit Crazy Horse Memorial, which is dedicated to protecting and preserving the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. A special Insight Experience awaits as you are taken up to stand face-to-face with this impressive sculpture. Measuring 641 feet (195 metres) long and 563 feet (172 metres) high, the piece takes the record as the world’s largest mountain carving.

Insight Tour Itinerary

Day 1Arrive Salt Lake City
Welcome to Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah. Situated between Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake, this mountainous city is perfect for outdoorsy types, with a strong focus on skiing and fishing. At 18:00, join your Travel Director for a Welcome Dinner with wine, where you will meet your fellow guests.
Visits: Salt Lake City
Meals: Dinner with Wine
Accommodation: Hilton Salt Lake City Center
Day 2Jackson and the Tetons
Before leaving Salt Lake City, take in the State Capitol building. Drive along the scenic Logan Canyon, over the Wasatch Mountain Range, and up to the Bear Lake Summit. Stop for lunch at Garden City, Utah while enjoying views of the beautiful turquoise waters of Bear Lake. You will then head north across the Oregon Trail to historic Jackson. Have your cameras ready for the famous elk antlers the central square, while eager shoppers will find a number of charming traditional boutique galleries to browse. Enjoy the rest of the evening at leisure, with your hotel located only a short walk away from Jackson's Town Square.
Visits: Salt Lake City, Jackson
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Elk Country Inn, Jackson Hole
Day 3Yellowstone National Park
Wake up to a mountainous view like no other and witness the striking Grand Tetons thrust skyward 6,562 feet (2,000 metres) from the valley floor. This morning, you have the opportunity to partake in an optional scenic float (8) down the Snake River inside Grand Teton National Park. In keeping with today’s rustic country charm, you’ll enter Yellowstone, the world’s first National Park. Known for its unique geothermal activity, spectacular landscapes and abundant wildlife, you’ll experience Wyoming in all its glory. Keep an eye out for black bears or wolves. Tonight you’ll stay in the National Park Lodges, allowing you to experience the park after hours, in its natural habitat.
Visits: Jackson (WY), Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Yellowstone National Park Lodge
Day 4Geysers and Colourful Mudpots Relaxed Start
Savour the surreal surroundings of Yellowstone with a relaxed start. Walk among the rainbow tinted hot springs and watch the erupting geysers as you take in the history of the park on an informative stroll with your Travel Director. Catch the renowned colourful bubbling mud pots and observe Old Faithful geyser shooting water over 120 feet (37 metres) into the air. In the afternoon, enjoy the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone as you take in stunning natural wonders. While driving through Hayden Valley, famous for its wildlife, keep an eye out for wolves, bears, elk and hundreds of bison. The rest of the evening is at leisure for you to relax.
Visits: Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful Geyser of California
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Yellowstone National Park Lodge
Day 5The Ranch at Ucross Relaxed Start
Set off on your travels through the stark Shoshone Canyon and Absaroka Rocky Mountains, leading you to the Wild West Town of Cody. Channel your inner showman and learn more about America’s great Western legends at the Buffalo Bill Centre, known for its Western art collection, firearms, and natural history. Travel through the Bighorn National Forest to the Ranch at UCross. Take in the rustic charm as you're hosted at a traditional Wyoming Family ranch. Start off the evening with a cocktail hour in the historic Ranch House bar. After a home-cooked dinner, enjoy a fire pit with live entertainment, including country, folk and bluegrass music.
Visits: Yellowstone National Park, Cody, UCross
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Accommodation: Ranch at UCross, Clearmont
Day 6Devils Tower into the Black Hills Relaxed Start
Live the American frontier dream and begin your day with a scenic country horseback ride accompanied by a Ranch Hand. If playing cowboy isn’t your thing, perhaps go fishing or merely relax and take in your beautiful surroundings, the choice is yours. Make your way to Devils Tower, an astounding geological feature that protrudes out of the surrounding the Black Hills. This symbolic landmark is considered sacred to the Lakota and other tribes. Experience Spearfish Canyon, a favoured spot among wildlife enthusiasts and one famous for its elvish woodland beauty. The limestone palisades of this creek-carved gorge are more ancient than the Grand Canyon itself.
Visits: UCross, Devils Tower, Spearfish Canyon
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Spearfish Canyon Lodge, Spearfish Canyon
Day 7Custer and the Wild, Wild West
A day for those looking to explore the Wild West, try to spotting the fastest mammal in North America, the pronghorn antelope as you cross the great high plains to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We visit Badlands National Park in South Dakota, 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in America. Without a doubt, a hidden gem in the national park system, the unique beauty of the Badlands landscape is like no other. Sightseers as well as scholarly scientists are attracted to the area for its astounding beauty and the opportunity to peek into an ancient world. Continue on to Custer State Park, renowned for its beautiful landscape and abundant wildlife.
Visits: Spearfish Canyon, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: State Game Lodge, Custer State Park
Day 8Mountain Monuments of the Black Hills Relaxed Start
Travel to the iconic Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Here, carvings of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt overlook the landscape. Join an Insight Experience at the Crazy Horse Memorial- the world's largest mountain carving created in honour of the Lakota warrior. Curated with a view to help protect and continue the living heritage of the Native Americans, this experience details how the memorial was carved from land sacred to the tribes. With exclusive access not available to the general public, guests ascend 563 feet (172 metres) and have the opportunity to face the monument up close.Join your Travel Director and newfound friends for a Celebration Dinner with wine, as you reflect on your adventure across the wide-open spaces of America's national parks.
Visits: Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Accommodation: State Game Lodge, Custer State Park
Day 9Depart Rapid City
Your journey comes to end today. Say goodbye to your travel companions and depart Rapid City at your leisure.
Visits: Rapid City
Meals: Breakfast


Available Room Types: Single, Triple, Twin, Twinshare
Child: ages 5 to 17

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