Yellowstone National Park
The Yellowstone & Glacier vacation features nine days full of rural tours of natural sites throughout Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area.
DAY 1 - SALT LAKE CITY
Arrive in Salt Lake City at the airport so that you can rendezvous with your tour director by 1:00 PM. Board the motorcoach for a quick tour highlighting Salt Lake City. First stop is to the Great Salt Lake. You'll have a chance to photograph this expansive inland sea and even sample it's waters. Then, it's on to the historic downtown area for a tour featuring the University of Utah, the place where Bringham Young first looked upon the Salt Lake Valley, and the State Capitol. In the evening, you'll be enjoying a special dinner where you can get acquainted with your guide and other tourists.
DAY 2 - MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR/JACKSON
In the morning, you'll go to Temple Square where special seating has been arranged for you and you'll have a chance to hear the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform for their weekly broadcast. After the show, you'll leave Salt Lake City and continue on to the town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As you travel through the frontier on your way there, you'll stop at the America West Heritage Center, pass by Bear Lake, and then continue on northward through Star Valley into Jackson. Use your free evening to enjoy the art galleries, restaurants, and shops that this Wild West town has to offer.
DAY 3 - GRAND TETON/WEST YELLOWSTONE
Leaving Jackson, you'll be on your way to the Tetons, the youngest yet most rugged mountains in America. You'll view flora, wildlife, and other natural formations with the massive mountain range acting as a backdrop. Explore Grand Teton National park with a stop by the Jackson Lake Lodge and Jenny Lake. As you leave the Tetons in the afternoon, you'll enter Yellowstone National Park where you will enjoy lunch at Old Faithful Inn as well as view the famous geyser itself. After seeing Old Faithful and the Lower Geyser Basin in action, you'll be off to see the colorful Fountain Paint Pots on your way to West Yellowstone where you'll stay for two nights.
DAY 4 - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Relax in the morning before continuing on your explorative journey of Yellowstone with a trip to the Upper Loop. Take a walking tour of the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces and then enjoy a breathtaking view of both the upper and lower falls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. View large buffalo herds in Hayden Valley and the shores of Yellowstone Lake. Finally, head back to West Yellowstone, Montana for your evening meal at a local restaurant.
DAY 5 - WEST YELLOWSTONE/DEER LODGE/MISSOULA
This morning offers a view if the real Montanta as you depart from Yellowstone National Park. On your travels, you'll go through Deerlodge and Beaverhead National Forests which gives you a spectacularly rustic view of natural Montana. You'll see Alder Gulch which is home to the historic ghost town known as Virginia City as well as the Madison Canyon Earthquake area. You'll pass through Butte on your way to Deer Lodge. For a glimpse at the life of cattle baron, a stop at Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site is a must. Your overnight stay will be in Missoula at the Holiday Inn Parkside.
DAY 6 - MISSOULA/BIG FORK
Today's stops feature Smokejumpers Base Aeriel Depot near Missoula where you can view photos, dioramas, and artifacts recounting the history of firefighting in the Forest Service. You'll be given a tour of the base guided by Forest Service smokejumpers who will offer firsthand accounts of firefighting and smoke jumping. Your journey then continues on with a stop at St. Ignatius Mission, a church said to be amongst the most beautiful in the world. As you continue on your way through the Flathead Indian Reservation, you'll stop for lunch in Big Fork, Montana, a village on the shores of Flathead Lake. Your next two nights will be spent in Kalispell, Montana.
DAY 7 - GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
A drive along the "Going to the Sun Highway" presents the perfect opportunity for you to see all of Glacier National Park. Gleaming lakes, snow capped peaks, virgin forests, and more are there for you to behold along this 52-mile drive. Lunch will be at Lake McDonald Lode and then you will return to Kalispell for a historic tour of the Conrad Mission.
DAY 8 - BIG SKY COUNTRY/LAKE COEUR D'ALENE
The Kootenay Valley is one of the sights you'll see as you depart from the hotel after breakfast on your way to the Upper Sands Point Idaho region. A stop in the mining town of Wallace, Idaho, the "Silver Capital of the World", will amaze you. A tour of the Sierra Silver Mine with an experienced miner as your guide will offer rare opportunities to experience mining in the richest silver district in the world. The technique of how to mine lead, zinc, and silver will be explained. Your journey then continues on past the Oreille River and onward to Lake Coeur d'Alene where you'll take the Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruise. Then it's a short trip to Spokane, Washington where you will enjoy a farewell banquet.
DAY 9 - JOURNEY HOME
You'll depart from the Rocky Mountains via individual transfers that were arranged for you. On your way home, reminisce about the journey you've had and the sights you'll never forget.
