America's Majestic National Parks (2012)

South Dakota • Wyoming • Montana • Utah • Arizona • Colorado
  • 18 days
  • from only:
  • $2995
  • $167 per day
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
What Makes This Trip Unique
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Pre-Trip Extension
The Dakota Badlands
Optional Tours
Program Directors
Know Before You Go
Your Travel Handbook
Air Information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your vacation, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle vacation that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington, DC (Dulles)

6hrs

Boston

7hrs

Denver, Minneapolis

2hrs

Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson

5hrs

Newark

4hrs

Chicago

3hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Rapid City, South Dakota. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

ALSO SEE:
2012 Itinerary and Prices
Photo Gallery
Solo Friendly Travel
Frequently Asked Questions
View All Program Directors for this Trip
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Pre-Trip: The Dakota Badlands

2 nights from only $445

Visit Badlands National Park, with more than 200,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed-grass prairie in the United States. It's a splendid way to begin your vacation in America's Majestic National Parks.

Single Supplement: FREE

Please note: This extension may not be available on all departures. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 2 nights in Rapid City at the First-Class Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza or similar
  • 2 meals: 2 breakfasts
  • 2 included tours: Badlands National Park, Deadwood
  • Exclusive services of a Grand Circle Program Director
Day 1
Depart home city/Arrive in Rapid City, South Dakota

Arrive today in Rapid City. Your Program Director can provide suggestions for dinner, which is on your own tonight.
Day 2
Rapid City/Badlands National Park

After breakfast, depart for Badlands National Park for an included tour and picnic lunch. Established as Badlands National Monument in 1939, the area was designated  a national park in 1978. Badlands National Park contains the world’s richest Oligocene Epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million yearsago,andthe Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America.

The bizarre landforms called badlands are, despite the uninviting name, a masterpiece of water and wind sculpture. They are near-deserts of a special kind, where rain is infrequent, the bare rocks are poorly consolidated and relatively uniform in their resistance to erosion, and runoff water washes away large amounts of sediment. This is a place of stark beauty, whereyou'll find adelicate balance between creation and decay. Erosion is so rapid that the landforms can change overnight as a result of a single thunderstorm.

From there, you’ll go to Wall Drug Store, a famous roadside attraction that got its start in the Depression by offering free ice water to thirsty travelers. Enjoy lunch on your own at one of Wall Drug’s three cafeterias and explore the souvenir and jewelry shops, a large shopping mall, and a backyard filled with 1,400 historical photos, South Dakota-made products, and a toy emporium.It also features an enormous art gallery, historical museum, and educational exhibits about real cowboys and Native Americans.

Return to your hotel mid-afternoon to enjoy the rest of your day is at leisure.
Day 3
Rapid City/Deadwood

This morning, get a taste of the Wild West during a visit to the town of Deadwood. Located in the heart of the Black Hills, Deadwood was infamous in the 1800s for its outlaws and gamblers, and is now a national historic landmark. During time on your own here, you'll have an opportunity to visit the Adams Museum and Adams House, which chronicles the history of the Black Hills. Or, you may choose to explore the town itself, the whole of which has been carefully preserved.

This afternoon, return to your hotel for dinner on your own, and to meet your fellow travelers joining the main trip.