National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Little Bighorn

Day 1  Fly to Denver    
Today, you'll fly to Denver, Colorado.    

Day 2  Denver to Rapid City    
South Dakota's Black Hills are an impressive sight and Rapid City, where we'll head today, is nestled on the eastern foothills. En-route we'll call at Fort Laramie, where chief Red Cloud signed the treaty that gave much land to the Sioux.  

Day 3  Badlands National Park           
Mount Rushmore, with its famous granite sculptures of Presidents Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson, is our destination today. We'll also take in the Crazy Horse Memorial, the world's largest mountain carving, in progress for over 70 years. Badlands National Park is a strange and beautiful landscape of deep gorges, saw-edged spires and grassy-topped buttes - an eerie world carved out by 35 million years of wind and water erosion. We will visit the park this afternoon.    

Day 4  Rapid City to Sheridan           
Our journey today takes us 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 Hickok and Calamity Jane. We'll continue to Sheridan for an overnight stay.     

Day 5  Sheridan to Cody    
The historic battlefield site of Little Bighorn is where General Custer and the 7th Cavalry were outfought by Crazy Horse. 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.   

Day 6  Cody to Yellowstone NP    
The world's oldest 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, during our visit. The park is also a wildlife sanctuary, with wild bears, elk and herds of buffalo roaming freely.    

Day 7  Yellowstone NP to Jackson              
Grand Teton National Park is famed for its beautiful landscapes dominated by snow-capped peaks, serene lakes and mighty glaciers. Take in the vistas before returning to West Yellowstone.  

Day 8  Jackson to Salt Lake City    
Named after the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City was founded by the Mormons. We'll travel here today with time in the afternoon to explore the city.  

Day 9  Salt Lake City to Canyonlands NP    
Today we make our way to Canyonlands National Park, an incredible rugged landscape of canyons carved by the Colorado River. The Islands in the Sky district of the park offers expansive views from many overlooks of the canyon wilderness below. Later we'll arrive in Moab for an overnight stay where you have the opportunity to take an optional sunset jet boat ride on the Colorado River. This scenic trip gives you the chance to view the red rock cliffs from the water and is followed by a cowboy style dinner.    

Day 10  Salt Lake City to Cortez      
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. We'll discover this and more today.    

Day 11  Mesa Verde NP           
Mesa Verde National Park is an archaeological masterpiece famed for its cliff dwellings. Cliff Palace, the largest of these homes carved into the rock face, has more than 200 rooms, and we'll see it today.    

Day 12  Cortez to Grand Canyon NP    
Today we'll head to Monument Valley, instantly recognisable to film-goers as the setting for many movies thanks to its spectacular and unique rock formations. Enjoy lunch at this stunning location and take in the wonderful views whilst sampling some of the Navajo-style dishes on offer. An optional, jeep tour will be available today.  

Day 13  Grand Canyon NP to Kanab              
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.      

Day 14  Bryce Canyon NP       
Subtle colours, delicate spires of rock and vast natural amphitheatres are all signatures of the unique geology of Bryce Canyon National Park and we'll discover them today. Set below an ever-changing sky, the colours of the rocks seem to continuously change with the light.    

Day 15  Kanab to Las Vegas            
Today is a day of exploration of the sheer cliffs, deep chasms and rock formations of Zion National Park. In complete contrast to the sheer natural beauty of Zion are the bright lights of Las Vegas, which is where we'll head next. Why not join your Holiday Director for a tour of the city by night.   

Day 16  Las Vegas to the UK     
Enjoy a morning at leisure before your return flight to the UK.  

Day 17  UK    
You'll arrive back in the UK today.