Hiking the National Parks of the West

Duration: 14 Days | 13 Nights
Destination: Las Vegas - St George - Zion - Bryce Canyon - Lake Powell - Monument Valley - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas - Death Valley - Mammoth Lakes - Yosemite - San Francisco
Departure & Return Locations: Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS) / San Francisco, California (SFO)
Tour Style: Small group adventure touring with guided day walks - Grade 2
Languages: English, with selected departures also conducted in German

Fourteen days, five national parks and some of the most photographed country on earth. This small group tour runs from Las Vegas to San Francisco through Zion, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Yosemite, with a Navajo-led Jeep tour of Monument Valley and a guided walk through Antelope Canyon along the way. A private small bus reaches trailheads and viewpoints the full-size coaches cannot, and hotels sit either inside the parks or at their gates, so mornings start at the rim rather than three hours away from it. Days are built around walking - the Queens Garden and Navajo Loop at Bryce, Emerald Pools at Zion, Sentinel Dome and Taft Point above Yosemite Valley - with an independent day at the Grand Canyon and a full day in San Francisco to finish.

Day 1: Arrival in Las Vegas
Make your own way from the airport to the hotel by shuttle or taxi and settle in after the long flight. The evening is free to find your feet on the Strip before the tour begins.
Overnight: The STRAT Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas (or similar)

Day 2: Snow Canyon and the Dinosaur Tracks (B/L)
Your tour leader meets the group at 8am for the orientation briefing. Leaving Las Vegas the road climbs onto the Colorado Plateau through the Virgin River Gorge and into Utah. The day is spent in Snow Canyon State Park, walking across petrified sand dunes and lava fields, then at a remarkable collection of preserved dinosaur footprints near St George. Walk: Lava Tube to Moqui Marbles, 6km, 2-3 hours, +/-150m. Drive: 200km, around 2 hours.
Overnight: Ramada by Wyndham, St George (or similar)

Day 3: Zion National Park (B/L)
Zion is an 800m deep sandstone canyon carved by the Virgin River, and today is given over to it. Walk to the Emerald Pools, where water cascades into shaded green basins beneath the cliffs, or wade upstream into the Narrows where the canyon closes to a few metres wide. Finish early and there is free time in the small town of Springdale. Walk: Emerald Pools, 5km, 2-3 hours, +/-200m. Drive: 66km, around 1 hour.
Overnight: Fairfield Inn, Virgin - Zion area (or similar)

Day 4: Bryce Canyon National Park (B/L)
An early start brings you to Bryce Canyon, which many travellers rate the most beautiful park in the American West. Tectonic uplift exposed an ancient lakebed, and frost and wind have since carved it into an amphitheatre of red and pink stone spires known as hoodoos. Walk down among them with the group on the Queens Garden and Navajo Loop, then take the rim trail from Bryce Point to Sunset Point for the colour play at sundown. In summer there is the option of a western cowboy dinner show back in Bryce Canyon City (not included). Walks: Queens Garden and Navajo Loop, 5km, 3 hours, +/-200m; rim walk, 4km, 1 hour, +/-50m. Drive: 220km, around 2.5 hours.
Overnight: Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn, Bryce Canyon City (or similar)

Day 5: Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend (B/L)
The morning drive is to Lake Powell, where the dammed Colorado River has flooded 3,000km of red sandstone shoreline. A guided tour of Antelope Canyon is included - the light beams falling through the wave-carved slot make it one of the most photographed places in the Southwest. A short walk afterwards brings you out to Horseshoe Bend, where the river swings a tight loop around a sandstone escarpment 300m below. Walk: Horseshoe Bend, 2.4km, 45 minutes, +/-40m. Drive: 220km, around 2.5 hours.
Overnight: Clarion Inn Page, Lake Powell (or similar)

Day 6: Monument Valley Jeep Tour with Navajo Guides (B/L)
Today you reach Monument Valley, the red sandstone buttes that have stood behind Hollywood cameras for decades, from John Ford's westerns to Forrest Gump. An included Jeep tour led by local Navajo guides takes you onto tribal land closed to ordinary vehicles, out to the Ear of the Wind arch and the Big Hogan. In the afternoon a 2.5 hour drive brings you to the Grand Canyon through the eastern entrance, stopping at viewpoints along the Desert View drive before continuing to the hotel near the South Rim. Drive: 450km, around 4.5 hours in total.
Overnight: Maswik Lodge or The Red Feather Lodge, Grand Canyon

Day 7: Grand Canyon National Park at Your Own Pace (B/L)
A full free day at the Grand Canyon. It is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and over a mile deep, far too big to take in at once, but the rim walk gives you its scale, its colour and its changing light. Take the park shuttle out to Hermits Rest, the westernmost point on the South Rim's Hermit Road, and walk back towards Grand Canyon Village along one of the most scenic stretches of the rim, picking up the shuttle again wherever you have had enough. Helicopter flights, bike hire and the IMAX theatre are all available locally. Please note this day is designed as an independent one - guide services, transport and activities are not included. Activity: self-guided rim walk up to 12.7km, elevation gain 198m.
Overnight: Maswik Lodge or The Red Feather Lodge, Grand Canyon

Day 8: Route 66 and Las Vegas (B/L)
Leave the canyon along historic Route 66, with a last chance for an optional helicopter flight over the gorge before you go (not included). The road runs west through open desert and classic roadside Americana, with a stop in Seligman to browse the Route 66 memorabilia in the town that inspired the film Cars. The day ends with one night back in Las Vegas. Drive: 440km, around 4 hours.
Overnight: The STRAT Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas (or similar)

Day 9: Death Valley National Park (B/L)
Death Valley is a complete change of register from the red rock of Utah - 3.3 million acres of desert, rare wildlife, exposed geology and the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 86m below sea level. It is also one of the hottest places on earth, with summer temperatures above 49C. There is time for the golden sand dunes, the brackish pools and springs, and the eroded badlands below Zabriskie Point, with a walk out among them if the temperature allows. The afternoon climbs into California's Sierra Nevada, where the peaks run above 4,200m, to the ski town of Mammoth Lakes. Walk: Badlands Loop, 4.2km, 1-2 hours, +/-120m. Drive: 530km, around 6 hours.
Overnight: Mammoth Mountain Inn, Mammoth Lakes (or similar)

Day 10: Mono Lake and Tuolumne Meadows (B/L)
Morning at Mono Lake, one of the oldest lakes in North America, where hot springs have built pale tufa towers out of the alkaline water. The road then climbs over Tioga Pass into the Yosemite high country, with a stop at Tuolumne Meadows and, season and weather permitting, the scramble to the top of Lembert Dome for the view back over the meadows. The day ends at the Yosemite View Lodge on the Merced River, at the park's western gate. Walk: Lembert Dome Loop, 6.1km, 2-3 hours, +/-200m. Drive: 200km, around 2 hours.
Overnight: Yosemite View Lodge, El Portal (or similar)

Day 11: Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome (B/L)
A second day in Yosemite, established as a national park in 1890 and still the measure against which the others are judged. The morning drive climbs to Glacier Point (season and weather permitting) for the view straight down into Yosemite Valley and across at the face of Half Dome. From there the walk runs out to Sentinel Dome, which gives one of the finest 360 degree views in the park, and on to Taft Point, where the cliff edge is split by deep fissures a thousand metres above the valley floor. Walk: Sentinel Dome and Taft Point Loop, 11.5km, 4-5 hours, +/-575m.
Overnight: Yosemite View Lodge, El Portal (or similar)

Day 12: Giant Sequoias and on to San Francisco (B/L)
The morning is spent walking among the giant sequoias of the Tuolumne Grove, the largest living things on earth and among the oldest. The road out of the mountains stops at Columbia State Historic Park, a preserved Gold Rush town in the Sierra foothills, before running west to San Francisco. You arrive in the early evening with time to settle into Fisherman's Wharf, eat on the waterfront or walk out along the bay. Drive: 350km, around 5.5 hours.
Overnight: Hotel Caza Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco (or similar)

Day 13: San Francisco City Tour (B/L)
A full day in the city. Explore the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf, take in the Golden Gate Bridge, and walk the streets of Chinatown - the oldest Chinatown in North America. Cable car passes are included, which is the right way to take on the hills, and there is time for the murals of the Mission District and the paths of Golden Gate Park. In the afternoon an included harbour boat tour takes you out around Alcatraz. Walking: 5-7km over 3-4 hours, +/-100m.
Overnight: Hotel Caza Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco (or similar)

Day 14: Departure from San Francisco (B)
The tour ends after breakfast. Make your own way to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) - there is a range of options by train, shuttle and taxi to suit your timing and budget - or stay on in the city under your own arrangements.

Tour Price
• Price shown is per person, twin share, for a 2027 departure.
• 2027 departures: 30 May - 12 June 2027 and 5 - 18 September 2027. The September departure is conducted in English and German; the May departure in English.
• Single supplement: A$2,350 for a single room throughout.
• Rates are valid for 2027 departures. 2028 rates will be released by the operator in due course.
• Available as a private departure for groups from 6 travellers - ask us for a quote.
• All prices displayed are subject to availability and can be withdrawn or varied without notice.
• Prices are guaranteed once the booking is confirmed by us and paid in full by the due date.
• Itineraries are subject to change.

Inclusions:
• 13 nights accommodation in 3 star hotels with private facilities, inside the national parks or at their entrances
• 13 breakfasts and 12 picnic lunches
• Private transport throughout in a small bus
• Services of an experienced, multilingual driver-guide
• National park entry fees, tours and sightseeing as specified in the itinerary
• Guided tour of Antelope Canyon
• Navajo-led Jeep tour of Monument Valley
• Entrance to the dinosaur track site at St George
• Alcatraz harbour boat tour, San Francisco
• San Francisco cable car passes

Exclusions:
• International and domestic flights, airport taxes and airport transfers
• Meals not listed in the itinerary, including all dinners
• Travel insurance, which is compulsory on this tour
• US visa or ESTA and any associated fees
• Medical treatment
• Guide services, transport and activities on Day 7, which is an independent day at the Grand Canyon
• Optional excursions such as Grand Canyon helicopter flights, bike hire, the IMAX theatre and the Bryce Canyon cowboy dinner show
• Shoe and dry pant hire for wading the Narrows at Zion
• Gratuities for the tour leader, suggested at US$15-20 per person per day
• Porterage, laundry, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
• Anything not specifically mentioned as included

Please note:
• Hikes in Grand Canyon National Park are self-guided, as National Park Service permit regulations do not allow the tour leader to guide them.
• The national parks are heavily visited and parking is at times impossible. Where that happens the tour director may set the group down at the entrance and go on to find parking, and some walks on that day may be self-guided.
• Departures starting before mid-June or after late October detour via Sonora Pass, because snow closes the Tioga Pass Road through Yosemite. These departures stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Bakersfield and spend more time in Yosemite Valley in place of the Tioga Pass crossing.
• Grand Canyon National Park has recently suffered flood damage to park infrastructure and Maswik Lodge remains closed until further notice. The operator holds alternative accommodation for spring 2027 departures should the closure continue, and we will confirm the hotel with you before travel.
• This is a fast paced tour with some long driving days, in an air-conditioned vehicle. Walking is on well-defined trails and generally does not exceed 3-6 hours, but the descent from Glacier Point and any descent into the Grand Canyon are demanding. We recommend walking poles and regular exercise three times a week for at least three months before departure.
• Optional extras are quoted in US dollars, as published by the operator, and are payable locally. Our tour price is shown in Australian dollars and is converted at the rate applying when the booking is confirmed.
• Advance booking is strongly recommended - these departures are small group and sell out.

Please refer to our Standard Booking Conditions for booking terms and conditions.