Highlights

YankeeTrailsGroups by US Tours Flexible Pricing:

• Customizable Comps
• Net Rates
• Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
• Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available

Whatever you want, YankeeTrailsGroups by US Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs. Just let us know!

Note: This tours requires some physical activity and may not be suitable for all. Participants should be able to climb stairs, walk reasonable distances over uneven terrain.  Plus you must also be aware that some sights at over 9,000 feet of elevation and overnight in hotels at 7,000 feet.

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Itinerary

Day 1 – Las Vegas

Today, you arrive in the “Entertainment Capitol of the World,” Las Vegas for an overnight stay at a Casino hotel. Your Tour Director is there to greet you and assist with check in. The rest of the day is free to relax and explore all that Las Vegas has to offer on your own.  (Golden Nugget or similar)

Day 2 – Route 66 & The Grand Canyon

This morning, depart Las Vegas and travel past Lake Mead and Hoover Dam entering Arizona with stop in Kingman to tour the Route 66 Museum. The museum highlights the glory days of cross-country automobile travel. Then drive on what was once Route 66 as we head east through northern Arizona with a stop for lunch on own along the way.

This afternoon you will see “One of the Wonders of the World,” Grand Canyon National Park. This 1.2 million acre national park hosts a vast variety of wildlife and scenic wonders. Learn about the geology and history of the canyon while taking in its breathtaking beauty at all the best view points along the South Rim including Grand Canyon Village.  The Colorado River is the main contributor in the creation of the vast canyon and can still be seen carving its way through the rock roughly a mile below.

After time to visit many of the scenic points, check into the hotel just outside the park for an overnight stay. This evening, get to know your fellow passengers as you join the group for a welcome dinner.  (Best Western Canyon Squire or similar) (B,D)

Day 3 – Navajo Nation – Monument Valley

This morning you will continue sightseeing of Grand Canyon National Park as you traverse the South Rim to Desert View for one final look before exiting the park.

You will then enter the Navajo Nation and continue on to Tuba City for touring of the Explore Navajo Museum where you will learn about Navajo history, culture and art. The Navajo Code Talkers exhibit is also a highlight of the Museum.  After time for lunch on your own, depart and travel across the heart of the Navajo Nation on your way to world-famous Monument Valley, one of the most majestic – and most photographed – points on earth, and historic Goulding’s Lodge for an overnight stay.  (Gouldings Lodge or similar, Monument Valley)

After checking in, meet your Navajo guide and board a 4-wheel drive vehicle for a scenic tour of Monument Valley, location for scores of famous western films, television programs and commercials. As you travel through the valley and visit famous locations such as John Ford Point, Artist Point and The Totem Pole, you will also learn more of the Navajo traditions and way of life.

Tonight, you experience an evening of Navajo culture, food and entertainment. (B,D)

Day 4 – Arches National Park

Travel north this morning to Blanding, UT where the Anasazi Indians will come alive as you learn of their history and discover their artifacts at Edge of the Cedars Museum & Ruins.  Here you view the largest collection of Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) pottery on display in the Four Corners Region and explore an authentic Puebloan village behind the museum.

Next, make your way to the town of Moab, also known as the “Adventure Capitol of Utah,” and have some free time for shopping and lunch on your own.

Then you are off to nearby Arches National Park for a sightseeing tour. The 18,000 square-foot Visitors Center will introduce you to the unique geologic forces that created the highest concentration of natural arches in the world with over 2,000 named arches within its 73,000-acre boundary.  Visit all the park highlights including Park Avenue, Balance Rock, The Windows and Delicate Arch.

This evening, you will enjoy a unique experience as you take a Sunset Jet Boat Ride on the mighty Colorado River through spectacular red rock canyons. As the sun dips in the west, the canyon colors come to life while you learn about the river’s ecosystem, geology and history.  After a thrilling ride, enjoy a delicious cowboy-style BBQ dinner served on the banks of the Colorado River before returning to your hotel. (Archway Inn, Moab or similar).  (B,D)

Day 5 – Capitol Reef National Park & Bryce Canyon

This morning travel to Dead Horse Point State Park for one of the most spectacular scenes in the southwest. You will see the expanse of Canyonlands National Park stretching to the south and the mighty Colorado River 2,000 feet below.

Next, is Capitol Reef National Park for a wonderful picnic lunch under towering cottonwood trees and sightseeing of ancient petroglyphs, beautiful rock formations, deep canyons and pioneer history. The park was established to protect a 100-mile wrinkle in the earth’s crust called The Waterpocket Fold, your Tour Manager will discuss it.

This afternoon you drive on one of America’s most spectacular roads, Scenic Highway 12. It has been designated as an “All American Road,” the crown jewel of the Scenic Byways system. Drive up and over Boulder Mountain reaching altitudes over 9,000 feet with incredible views of Capitol Reef, the Circle Cliffs and the Henry Mountains.  Stop in the town of Boulder to tour Anasazi State Park with its ancient Indian ruins. Then travel through Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, with vast expanses of cream and rose colored Navajo sandstone. There are dramatic cliffs, high mesas, beautiful streams and deep canyons in multi-hued colors across the 1.9 million acre monument.

This evening arrive Bryce Canyon and check into your hotel located just outside the park for an overnight stay (Best Western Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel or similar).    Dinner is on own this evening. (B)

Day 6 – Bryce Canyon & Cedar Breaks National Monument

This morning begins with Bryce Canyon National Park.  The hues and intricate shapes of Bryce Canyon carry even the most mature adult away into a fairyland fantasy.  The Paiute Indians used a word to describe Bryce that translates into, “red rocks standing like men in a bowl-shaped canyon.”  Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce, for whom the canyon was named, described it as “a hell of a place to lose a cow.”

Then take a short drive to see Utah’s best kept secret, Cedar Breaks National Monument. Hidden within the mountains above Cedar City is the brilliant geology and vibrant environment of Cedar Breaks National Monument. The geologic amphitheater and surrounding environs are home to cool hiking trails, ancient trees, high elevation camping, and over-the-top views along the “Circle of Painted Cliffs.”

Cedar Breaks’ majestic amphitheater is a three-mile-long cirque made up of eroding limestone, shale, and sandstone. Situated on the western edge of the Markagunt Plateau, the raised area of earth located in Southern Utah between Interstate 15 and Highway 89, the monument sits entirely above 10,000 feet. The Amphitheater is like a naturally formed coliseum that plunges 2,000 feet below taking your eyes for a colorful ride through arches, towers, hoodoos, and canyons.  Stunning views are common throughout so keep your camera nearby.

Late this afternoon you depart for St. George, UT for an overnight stay (Best Western Abbey Inn or similar, St George, UT).   A farewell dinner is included tonight at the hotel. (B,D)

Day 7 – Las Vegas & Depart for Home

This morning travel across the Nevada desert returning to the for your departure home.  (B)

Featured Hotels are subject to availability on the dates you choose.

Tour Map