Wild West, Cowboys and Buffalos
9 Day USA Tour from Salt Lake City | Operated by Trafalgar
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9 Days
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1 Country
United States -
14 Cities
Salt Lake City, Blackfoot, Jackson, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Cody, Sheridan, Billings, Crazy Horse Memorial, Rapid City, Oglala Lakota Living History Village, Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Denver -
12 Meals
1 Kickoff Party, 8 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch, 2 Dinners -
Pace: Active
Faster paces with mix of 1–2-night stays in each location. Typically features 4+ miles of walking on some days and may involve steep hills and uneven surfaces, such as cobblestones.
Trip Itinerary
Saddle up for a Wild West family adventure starting with a relaxing afternoon together in Salt Lake City before meeting your travel companions for a rootin’ tootin’ evening Kick-off Party with your Travel Director.
Put on your cowboy hats, pull up your boots and get ready to make memories that will last a lifetime. Experience the rich history and culture of the world’s most humble vegetable – the potato! Visitors to the Idaho Potato Museum will learn about the many facets of the potato industry from planting and irrigation to harvesting and processing. There’s no place better to showcase potatoes than in “The Potato Capital of the World,” Blackfoot, Idaho! You will enjoy a potato-themed lunch including potato ice cream! Then, it's off to Jackson Hole, WY where you can walk through the town's famous landmark arch of tangled elk antlers. Step back in time as you explore the Town Square with its Western boardwalks, craft boutiques and ice cream shops-all surrounded by the majestic Rockies.
Family fun awaits every day of this trip and today is no exception. If the season is right, today is your chance to get out on the water for some adventures. Rise early to float down the Snake River on an optional, scenic wilderness float trip. It’s the most relaxing way to experience the river as you learn about its history, geology, and wildlife from an expert guide. Later, discover dramatic shimmering peaks of the Teton Range rising above alpine forests and lakes in the iconic Grand Teton National Park. Travel onward to your hotel for the night.
Today you’ll enjoy a full day’s exploration of the geothermal wonderland of Yellowstone. You’ll join your Travel Director, marvelling at Old Faithful, the thousand-year old geyser which has been shooting up water every 90 minutes for centuries. We aim to explore as much of the park’s geological wonders, stopping at Lake Yellowstone, which contains the largest number of wild cutthroat trout in North America. See the wonders of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone whose colors and shapes are a sight to behold. We’ll also view Artists Point, a view point from which you watch in awe as water cascades down the Lower Falls. Our last stop on our Yellowstone exploration is the Mud Volcano home to Dragon Mouth's Spring. After a full day of sightseeing, enjoy a three course dinner at your hotel.
You’ll get a glimpse into “Spirit of the West” at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West museum complex. As you wander through this huge set of exhibits, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to a time of cowboys and cowgirls, lawmen and brave Native American warriors. The complex gives you the opportunity to explore the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, or the Draper Natural History Museum. Round out the day with a Be My Guest experience at By Western Hands Art Gallery where you’ll meet local leatherwork artist John Blair for a demonstration before enjoying a picnic style lunch hosted by Sitti’s Table, featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
We continue our discovery of the Wild West heading through the "Energy Capital of the US," Gillette, WY. Then, we travel to South Dakota to spend the afternoon getting familiar with a famed Lakota warrior at Crazy Horse Memorial. You’ll gaze in awe of this colossal carved tribute to Crazy Horse, which you’ll learn is the largest mountain carving in the world.
Today, participate in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience with a visit to the Oglala Lakota Living History Village, introducing you to the beautiful landscape of the past and present Lakota culture, and of indigenous knowledge of Pine Ridge Reservation. Your visit contributes to the sustainability and resiliency of the Lakota community. Walk with a local guide on the trails through displays of living quarters used through the 19th and 20th centuries. Meet local artists who, through crafts and storytelling, provide insight into their cultures and traditions. Later, visit the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, the perfect place to prepare for your visit of Badlands National Park. Learn about the local earth science, wildlife and history as you explore museum exhibits, visit a working Fossil Preparation Lab or learn about Indigenous communities who one inhabited the land.
Today, head for the famous Black Hills of South Dakota to view the giant faces of former American presidents etched in the stone cliffs of Mount Rushmore. This evening, join your fellow adventurers at a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and Farewell Dinner featuring your Lakota Sioux Tribe Member Stephen Yellowhawk (or another tribe member).
Travel to Denver, where you can extend your stay or make your way to Denver International Airport for your flight home, you will arrive at the airport at approximately 4:30pm.
Price Includes
What's Included- - An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- - Cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
- - All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- - All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- - Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- - Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
- - Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
- - All transport and transfers shown
- - Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
- - Optional Experiences and free time
- - On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilized.
- - 1 Kickoff Party (KP)
- - 8 Breakfasts (B)
- - 1 Lunch (L)
- - 2 Dinners (D)
- Enjoy a self-guided visit of the Idaho Potato Museum where you'll learn about the many facets of the potato industry from planting and irrigation to harvesting and processing. After your tour you'll get to taste a real Idaho baked potato with all the fixings followed by Potato Ice Cream.
- Head to Grand Teton National Park for sightseeing of its alpine landscapes featuring eight peaks towering 12,000 feet above. At the Craig Thomas Visitor Center, gaze out at the Teton Range rising above. Inside the Center, explore the themes of place, people, preservation, mountaineering and Native Americans as you contemplate the past and future of this park. With your Travel Director enhancing your visit through narrative, drive by Jenny Lake, a glacier-carved lake at the base of the Teton Mountains.
- Yellowstone National Park. A bucket list destination and a must-see icon. Established as America's first National Park by President Grant in 1872, Yellowstone is famous for its hot springs, bubbling mud pots, vast canyons and lush forests and a variety of terrain including alpine mountains, prairies, valleys and waterfalls as well as a diversity of nature including the hydrothermal features. Explore the Southern Loop of Yellowstone with your Travel Director who shows you the must-sees and highlights, paired with background information of this huge, ever-changing national park. See the splendor of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, keep an eye out for bison in Hayden Valley, and witness Old Faithful blow off some steam.
- Jump into the playground of the wild west. Glimpse into the "Spirit of the West" at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West Museum complex. Boasting five museums on its campus, this “Smithsonian of the West” will immerse you in the sounds and sights of the Wild West. You'll feel like you've been transported back to a time of cowboys and cowgirls, outlaws and Native American warriors.
- Unlock the history of Crazy Horse Memorial. Learn how construction began in 1948 after Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, commissioned Korczak Ziolkowski, who worked on construction of Mount Rushmore. While the original idea was to carve a face into rock like Mount Rushmore, the monument will ultimately have a full body and horse. There is no completion date yet, but the face of Crazy Horse was completed in 1998 at 87 feet 6 inches (26.7 m) high. Enhance your visit exploring The Indian Museum of North America that is also part of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.
- Enjoy the spectacular sights as you make your way through Badlands Loop Road.
- The grand faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial await. View the faces of four of America’s most important presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt - dramatically etched into the granite rock. Mount Rushmore tells the story of the birth, growth, development and preservation of the United States. From the history of the first inhabitants to the diversity of America today, visitors will come face to face (literally) with the rich heritage we all share.
- Grant Village was built in 1984 and named after Ulysses S. Grant, president when Yellowstone became the world’s first national park in 1872. Located near the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, Grant Village offers you a full-service restaurant with a view of Yellowstone Lake, a lakeside restaurant with a casual menu, lounge and gift store.
- Travel to the past at the Oglala Lakota Living History Village and gain valuable insights into the culture and indigenous knowledge of Lakota Country.
- Get ready for a one-of-a-kind-experience meeting Stephen Yellowhawk to discover the history of his tribe during a festive evening of dance and song. A performer for more than 20 years, Stephen has a passion for dance and sheer determination to promote his Native American culture. Raised by his grandparents from the Lakota tribe and Onondaga Iroquois tribe, Stephen will share his family and tribal history, culture, and traditions with you. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: Reduced Inequalities.
Optional Experiences
Optional Experiences are subject to change. Your Travel Director will supply you with a final list of Optional Experiences available on your trip. Optional Experiences cannot be booked online; they can be purchased during your trip through your Travel Director.
Bar T 5 Chuckwagon Cookout (Available on Day 2)Arriving at the Bar T-5, travel by horse-drawn covered wagons as you are swept away from the town of Jackson into beautiful Cache Creek Canyon. Keep your eyes open as you never know who you may encounter on the trail. As you pull into camp you can smell the sweet aroma of a Dutch oven dinner to welcome your arrival. The dinner bell ringing only means one thing, dinner is ready! Enjoy this savory home-cooked meal as much as you want until we reach the bottom of the pots. After dinner, the Bar T-5 Band takes the stage to entertain you with laughter and great hand-clapping music. Complete your evening with a peaceful wagon ride out of the Canyon, following the setting sun back into Jackson just as the old time cowboys did.
Adult Price: $81 Child Price: $63 Snake River Float Trip Through Grand Teton National Park (Available on Day 3)Ready for relaxation? This gentle 10-mile float trip inside Grand Teton National Park covers the most scenic stretch of the Snake River in the Jackson Hole Valley. As you kick back on the gentle waters, learn how the Snake River is a lifeline to the park’s bison, elk, moose, beaver, pronghorn, deer, bear and 300 different species of birds, including osprey and eagles. Your experienced guide offers in-depth information on the geology of the Grand Tetons and the habitats of the local animals.
Mount Rushmore springs to life as you join a Park Ranger in an outdoor amphitheater for a moving patriotic program and sculpture lighting ceremony. You’ll start with listening to a short inspirational talk, focusing on the presidents, patriotism and the nation’s history, followed by a 20-minute film, “Freedom: America’s Lasting Legacy.” Watch in wonder as the evening culminates in the slow exposure of light, gradually illuminating the four presidents faces against the backdrop of the Black Hills dark sky (seasonal).
Adult Price: $30 Child Price: $30 Embark on a Buffalo Safari (Available on Day 8)Custer State Park is known for its beauty and serenity, but it is also a wildlife reserve that is home to a famous herd of 1,500 free roaming bison plus elk, mule deer, white tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mountain lions and feral burros. On this 90-minute scenic tour of the back country, you’ll get up close and personal with herds of buffalo and other species as your jeep driver and guide offer historical and educational information about the park and wildlife.
Adult Price: $69 Child Price: $69