We suggest you consider staying in our home town of Park City. Park City is a
beautiful little ski resort town, high up in the Wasatch Mountains, about
45 minutes from Salt Lake City. This particular tour departs from
Park City, as it is about 50 miles closer to Jackson than Salt Lake.
It is not a problem if you prefer to stay in Salt Lake., as we will send a
driver down to Salt Lake to pick you up and bring you to Park City.
There is no charge for this.
Apart from being closer to
Jackson, Park City has other advantages. It Being up in the
mountains it is cooler than Salt Lake Lake. We can also 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, Old Town or the Olympic Park.
One
Park City to Jackson, Wyoming
Route Map
Click to enlarge
255 miles
408 kilometres
5 1/4 hours
If you are staying in Salt
Lake, one of our shuttle drivers will pick you up at about 7.15 a.m. at a
downtown hotel and transport you to Park City, where you will meet the
rest of the group. The tour departs Park City at about 8 a.m.
Count them - you're going to
be in four states today! The initial route straddles the borders of
Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. The drive is a picturesque one, and
we'll stop occasionally to take pictures and to stretch our legs.
A sack lunch is provided.
One
Jackson
About 1 to 2 hours
Jackson is a quaint, touristy
western town, and you will have the opportunity to walk around, shop, and
even grab a quick bite to eat, if you choose.
One
Grand Teton National Park
40 miles
64 kilometres
About 1 1/2 hours
Immediately after
departing Jackson, we will enter, and travel through
Grand Teton National
Park. There are numerous photo opportunities. We'll pass alongside Jackson Lake nestled
against the mighty Grand Teton mountains.
One
Grand Teton National Park to
Yellowstone National Park
8 miles
64 kilometres
1/4 hour
We'll leave Grand Teton
National Park and drive a short way through the backcountry along
the Rockefeller Parkway, and into the south entrance of Yellowstone
National Park. At various times during your stay in
Yellowstone you can expect to see a multitude of wildlife, including
elk, bison, foxes and deer. Depending on the time of the year
you may also bear, and, if you are lucky, perhaps even wolves.
One
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone
Map
Click to enlarge
Rest of the day
The first major stop is
West Thumb, along the shore of the incredibly blue Yellowstone Lake.
In addition to the geysers and hot springs in the area, there are
almost always elk here as well.
Although the day may
be getting on, there is still a lot to see and do on the road to
West Yellowstone. Depending on the time of the day, there may
be some other smaller stops. but one thing we have to do on your
first visit to Yellowstone is swing by Old Faithful. On the way we
will cross over the Continental Divide twice. If Old Faithful
is anywhere near erupting, we will stop and watch! Weather,
light and time permitting, we'll have a picnic supper at Old
Faithful.
One
West Yellowstone
Not applicable
The night is spent at either
the Brandin' Iron Inn or Stage Coach Motel.
Two
Yellowstone
All day
Our exact schedule for the
next day and a half will depend on the road closures in West yellowstone,
and where any road work is taking place.
This will be a full and fun
day! There is a lot to see and do. We'll head out of West Yellowstone towards Madison Junction,
where the Madison, Gibbon and Firehole Rivers meet. Turning
left (north) we'll make for Norris Geyser Basin.
The next stop is 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.
When we get back to
Norris, we will cut across the middle of the figure of 8 that makes up the
main road system at Yellowstone, and head for Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone, where the Yellowstone River cascades over a powerful
waterfall, and through a deep canyon.
After a long, fun-filled
day, it is time to return to West Yellowstone.
Two
West Yellowstone
Not applicable
You're on your own for
dinner. Spend the night in West Yellowstone.
Three
Yellowstone
About half a day
The main area of interest
today is the Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, but there are
other sights you will want to see as well.
Along the way we will stop
at the Lower Geyser Basin, and check out Fountain Paint Pots, amongst
other areas of interest. With any luck, we will see elk, bison, deer
and Trumpeter Swans.
There is a lot to see and do
at the Upper Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful. You can take a very interesting hike around
the various geysers in the basin. You'll have the opportunity to
watch Old Faithful erupting - more than once, 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.
Sorry - that's it!
Time to return to leave Yellowstone.
Three
Old Faithful
via West Yellowstone to Salt Lake City
351 miles
562 kilometres
6 hours
Return to Salt Lake City or
Park City. If you are starting one of our Grand Canyon, Monument
Valley, Bryce Canyon, etc tours, the next night's lodging in Park City is
on us.
Thanks for
joining us and Bon Voyage!
Please note the following:
Entry fees to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National Parks are included.
Two 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.
Prices are based on double occupancy. A
single surcharge of $90 is applicable, or we can try and match singles.
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.
The price includes the services of a guide/driver and transportation.
Meals are excluded unless specifically mentioned
above.
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.
The
cost of this tour is $440 per person. There is also a minimum 5% ($22)
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.
If you decide to take this tour
we will 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
Please contact us if there are more than 6 in your group,
or if there will be more than two people staying in a room. You will
be entitled to a discount.
All prices include a $10 fuel surcharge and a minimum 5%
gratuity.
