8-Nights American Parks Trail - End Rapid City, Classic Group

8 nights from: $4,625

American Parks Trail - End Rapid City, Classic Group
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 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.


Dining Summary

• 3 Dinner with Wine (DW)
• 8 Breakfast (B)

• Choose between two carefully selected activities
• Ucross: Live the American frontier dream with a scenic morning country horseback ride.
• Ucross: Take a leisurely fishing outing and enjoy the serene surroundings.

• Our highly-skilled Travel Director will ensure your journey is seamless, serving as your expert guide, consummate organiser, and friend overseas.
• We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
• Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
• Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
• From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
• Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
• Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.

• Salt Lake City: At 18:00, join your Travel Director for a dinner with wine where you'll have the chance to mingle with fellow guests.
• Ucross: Savor a hearty ranch style dinner prepared by your local hosts.
• Custer: Toast to the finale of your trip at a dinner served at your lodge in Custer State Park.

• Ucross: Live the American frontier dream with a scenic morning country horseback ride.
• Ucross: Take a leisurely fishing outing and enjoy the serene surroundings.

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

• Philip: Discover the past, present, and future of the Lakota people at the Oglala Lakota Living History Village. Walk the trails through displays of 19th-century living quarters. Local artists present culture and tradition through their crafts and storytelling. Your visit contributes to the sustainability and resilience of the Lakota community.

• Jackson: 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 colorful bubbling mud pots and observe Old Faithful geyser shooting water over 120 feet (37 meters) 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 National Monument, 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,
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Custer State Park in the Black Hills encompasses 71,000 acres of spectacular terrain and an abundance of wildlife. Within the park, you’ll discover a world of adventure!

Custer State Park Travel Travel Agents

Jeanette Blevins

Jeanette Blevins

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Favorite outdoor activities include hiking 7,242-foot Harney Peak, mountain biking, horseback riding, rock climbing, fishing, chuckwagon suppers and jeep rides to see the bison.

The park boasts scenic drives such as the Needles Highway (SD 87), which twists and turns its way past towering rock formations and through narrow tunnels. At the end of one tunnel stands the Needles Eye, a granite spire with a slit only 3 to 4 feet wide but reaching 30 to 40 feet in the air.

History and culture also abound. Walk the banks of French Creek, where Custer’s expedition first discovered gold in 1874. Take in a theater performance at the Black Hills Playhouse. Or, visit the log cabin that was home to Badger Clark, South Dakota’s first poet laureate.