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| Day | Route | Distance/Time | Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pre tour | Not applicable | Not applicable |
You'll need to arrive in Salt
Lake City the day before, as our new four day Yellowstone
active tour leaves Salt Lake at about 7.30 a.m., and departs Park
City at about 8.15 a.m. Park City, home to many of the events in the
2002 Olympic Games, is a picturesque, historic little resort town,
situated high up in the Wasatch Mountains. The route we take to
Wyoming runs through Park City. We are based in Park
City, and can use our contacts to get you a much better deal at a Park
City hotel than you would get in Salt Lake. In addition, our shuttle division,
Park City
Shuttle, will provide you a half price shuttle from the Salt Lake airport.
If you stay in Park City, after your arrival you can spend the rest of your day exploring historic Main Street, or Old Town, or the Olympic Park. Tomorrow you'll get picked up at your Park City hotel, without having to go back to Salt Lake.
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| One |
Park City or Salt Lake City
to Jackson, WY
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253 miles (from Park City) 405 kilometres 5 1/4 hours |
We'll
pick you up at your Salt Lake City downtown hotel, or your Park
City hotel. The Salt Lake pick up is at about 7.15 a.m., and the
Park City pick up at about 8.00 a.m. and take you on a scenic drive
through northern Utah, and into Wyoming. You'll stop along the way
to view the picturesque scenery, stretch your legs, take photographs, and
perhaps grab a bite to eat. Believe it or not, you'll be in four states today!
The road straddles the Idaho/Wyoming border, passing through very picturesque scenery, before arriving in Jackson, WY. Jackson is a quaint little western town, with many restaurants and shops. A sack lunch is provided today.
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| One |
Jackson through Grand Teton National Park to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park
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98 miles 157 kilometres 4 hours
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After a short stop over,
you'll leave Jackson, and pass the Elk Sanctuary, before entering Grand
Teton National Park. We'll take a leisurely drive past the towering
Grand Teton peaks, Jackson Lake and the smaller Jenny Lake, stopping often
to take photographs and admire the scenery.
The Rockefeller Parkway leads us directly from Grand Teton National Park into Yellowstone. where our first major port of call is West Thumb, on beautiful Yellowstone Lake.
This is where you will see your first geysers and hot springs, and maybe a few elk as well. The next stop is the Upper Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful, and, while on the road, you'll cross the Continental Divide twice. Old Faithful is the world's most famous geyser, and, if it is anywhere near erupting, you'll have the opportunity to sit and watch it explode.
It's getting pretty late by now, and time to head for our motel. |
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| One |
Old Faithful to West Yellowstone |
32 miles 51 kilometres 3 hours |
The drive from Old Faithful
to the small Montana town of West Yellowstone is a pretty one, going past
several other points of interest that we will explore later in the trip.
Somewhere on the way back, or earlier if you choose, we'll stop at a scenic spot and have a western style cookout. You'll help your guide set up a barbeque - weather, time and grill space permitting - and enjoy a delicious meal of steak, chicken, potato, corn, salad and all the fixin's! West Yellowstone is located right at the Park's boundary, and you'll cross from Wyoming into Montana - the fourth state you've been in today - to get there. |
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| One | West Yellowstone | Not applicable | You'll check into your motel, and spend the night in West Yellowstone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two |
Yellowstone
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All day |
This will be a full and fun
day! There is a lot to see and do, with the two main activities
being river rafting and a swim in the Boiling River. Make sure
that you bring your bathing suit.
We'll head out of West Yellowstone towards Madison Junction, where the Madison, Gibbon and Firehole Rivers meet. Turning left (north) we'll drive past Norris Geyser Basin, on our way to Mammoth Hot Springs, headquarters of the park, and home to a fascinating array of weird rock shapes, bright colors and sizzling hot springs. Elk are generally plentiful in this area, wandering around the old park buildings, and, if you're lucky, you might even see a whole herd. A sack lunch is provided today.
Everyone wants to see a bear in the wild at Yellowstone, and the trip from Mammoth to Tower Falls is one of the best places to do so. Tower Falls is an impressive water fall.
Unfortunately, the road from Tower Falls to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is likely to be closed for construction for most of the 2005 season, as it was in 2004, so for most of the summer, we will have to turn around a little past Tower, and retrace our steps back to West Yellowstone. This doesn't work out too badly, though. On the way back from Tower, we'll go through Mammoth again, but this time we'll head north towards Gardiner, the north entrance to Yellowstone. On the way there we'll pass the 45th Parallel, and stop for a quick picture at the point that is exactly half way between the equator and the North Pole. Gardiner is the home of the rafting company, and that's where you'll head out on a memorable two to three hour paddle over some of the best whitewater on the Yellowstone River. Please click here if you would rather not go rafting.
Wet suits and life vests will be provided. You'll go through various rapids, including Man Eater, Pickets Wave, Creighton's Hall and Sleeping Giant. After the excitement of the white water, you'll float past scenic views of Yellowstone, and may possibly see elk, mule deer, bald eagles, osprey, coyote, big horn sheep and river otters. The trip takes two to three hours, and covers eight miles. At the end of the ride, you'll be taken back to Gardiner, to meet up with our vehicle. If you would rather not go rafting, we can give you a $35 refund on the cost of your trip. You have a choice of being dropped off in Mammoth, to explore that area some more, or grab a bite to eat, or you can hike a trail, or walk around Gardiner if you choose. We'll pick you up when the others have finished rafting, so you can join the group for the rest of the day's fun.
What better way is there to finish the day's activities than with a swim in the Boiling River? Only a fraction of the many people who visit Yellowstone know that there is one place in the park to sit in the hot waters, and we'll take you there. About half a mile from the road is a point where the remnants of one of the springs at Mammoth flow into the Gibbon River. Visitors are permitted to sit and relax in the pools that have been created along the river. Please be aware that there are times when the Parks Service closes the Boiling River to the public, and this is not something that we can control. Weather and time permitting, we'll have a picnic dinner near the water, and, after dinner, we'll start on our way back to West Yellowstone. |
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| Two | West Yellowstone | Not applicable | Spend the night. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Three |
Yellowstone National Park |
All day |
It's another full day, as we
return to Yellowstone, this time heading south from Madison Junction down
to the Lower Geyser Basin, the Midway Geyser Basin, and the Upper Geyser
Basin. There are numerous sights to see and small hikes to take, and
we'll try to get to as many of them as possible. The first main stop is at Fountain Paint Pot, where you can wander along the boardwalks, through the geysers, hot springs and fumaroles. Bison are often present in this area.
The next major area we'll visit is the Upper Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful. There is a lot to see and do here, and you can take a very interesting hike around the various geysers in the basin. You'll have the opportunity to watch Old Faithful erupting a couple more times, if you choose. Amongst the geysers that are worth seeing is Grand Geyser, the tallest predictable geyser in the world. Old Faithful Inn, a magnificent old structure, is located in the area, and you can relax there with a cup of coffee, or even have a meal while the others are taking in the action outside.
Time permitting, other locations we may visit include Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin. From Old Faithful we'll retrace our first day steps a little, as we go past West Thumb again, and continue through the Hayden Valley, where we may see some more wildlife. Wolves are a possibility. A sack lunch is provided today.
There are various points of interest that we'll take in along the way, with the next major stop being Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
From Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone we'll head across the middle of the figure eight that makes up the main road around Yellowstone, and go to Norris Geyser Basin. Although it is not as well known as some of Yellowstone's other hot spots, it has some fascinating thermal sights. Norris is the hottest and most changeable geyser basin in Yellowstone, and it is home to Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest active geyser, which can erupt to more than 300 feet high. The two main areas at Norris are Back Basin and Porcelain Basin. We'll stop for a while to stroll around and take pictures.
By now you should be getting to know your way around Yellowstone, and you can probably guide your guide back to Madison Junction and on to West Yellowstone! |
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| Three |
West Yellowstone |
Not applicable | You're on your own for dinner. The night is spent in West Yellowstone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Four |
West Yellowstone to horseback riding
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Approximately four hours | This morning you're going to travel as they used to do in the old days of the west. You're going for a two to three hour horseback ride, either in Yellowstone, or in the Forest Service land just outside the park. If you choose not to go horseback riding, you'll get a $50 refund, and you're welcome to come out to where the horses are kept, and enjoy the scenery. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two |
West Yellowstone to Salt Lake City
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321 miles 514 kilometres 5 1/2 hours |
That's it - time to go back to Utah! We can either drop you off at the airport or a Salt Lake hotel, or you can return back to Park City with us, ready to start one of our Salt Lake City/Grand Canyon/Arches/Monument Valley/Bryce Canyon/Zion/Lake Powell/Antelope Canyon toursSalt Lake City/Grand Canyon/Arches/Monument Valley/Bryce Canyon/Zion/Lake Powell/Antelope Canyon tours. You'll get back to Salt Lake at about 5 p.m. That's the end of your Yellowstone tour - thanks for joining us! |
Please note the following:
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Entry fees to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are included.
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Three nights accommodation is included. The lodging is in the moderate category - clean and comfortable, but not fancy. Luxury accommodations are available at a surcharge, and economy accommodations are available at a discount. Prices vary depending on the month. Please mail us, or call 1 800 724 7767 or (USA) 435 658 2227 for additional information.
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Prices are based on double occupancy. A single surcharge of $135 is applicable, or we can try and match singles.
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Depending on the number of guests, the type of vehicle to be used is likely to be a mini bus, a large SUV, a coach or a van.
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The price includes the services of a guide/driver and transportation.
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Meals are excluded unless specifically mentioned above. The meals that are included are a barbeque or picnic on the first day, a picnic after rafting and three sack lunches.
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The tour itinerary may change at our discretion without notice. Factors that may cause a change include, but are not limited to, the weather, vendors and road conditions.
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If an activity is cancelled for which we have allotted a fee, you will be given a refund in respect of that cancellation.
The cost of this tour is $690 per person. If you omit the horseback riding and rafting, the cost becomes $565. There is also a minimum 5% ($34.50) per person gratuity for your guide, although you are welcome to give more. A $10 per person fuel surcharge is currently in effect, and is likely to remain through the summer of 2005. Details on paying for this tour can be found here. This tour can be ordered online here.
Please mail us, or call 1 800 724 7767 or (USA) 435 658 2227 for additional information, or to make a reservation. Online booking will be available soon.
Please click on the month in which you want to travel, and you will see when each of our tours is available.
2005 Season
There are two ways to book this tour. The first way is to order online. The second method is for us to email you a contract which will need to be faxed back to us. The contract will ask for your credit card details. While we would rather you not make a booking until you are sure you want to go, you are welcome to cancel the booking any time up until 31 days prior to the start of the tour, and you will get a full refund. After that time, we will not accept a cancellation and you will have to pay for the tour in full. Trip insurance is available. Half the cost of the tour will be charged to your card any time from 31 days prior to the start of the tour, and the balance will be charged any time from 7 days prior to the start of the tour Back
CONTACT US ...Toll free
in the USA and Canada: 1 800 724 7767 Fax toll
free in the USA and Canada: 1 888 574 8885 PO Box
3441 |