This great new rail and motorcoach tour take you to the beautiful National Parks of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, the true Wild West! Ride Amtrak’s luxurious Superliner-equipped Empire Builder over the legendary Great Northern Railway route from Seattle, traveling east along the shores of Puget Sound, over the Cascade Mountains and then across the Montana Rockies to Glacier Park Station. Other train rides include the new Copper King Express from Butte to Anaconda in the canyons of western Montana and two steam railways: the Alder Gulch Short Line at Virginia City, Montana and the Black Hills Central from Hill City to Keystone in the heart of South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Sightseeing spotlights two National Parks: Glacier and Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. In Glacier cross the Continental Divide riding the famous Red Buses on the legendary Going-to-the-Sun Road and cruise the emerald waters of St. Mary Lake. Your exploration of Yellowstone includes the geysers of Old Faithful and the thundering waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. You also visit Lake Yellowstone and less-familiar sights such as the former Union Pacific RR depot in West Yellowstone, which now houses the exceptional Museum of the Yellowstone. In the Black Hills you will marvel at the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore by day and illuminated by night!

Unique sightseeing experiences include a cruise on the Missouri River through the awesome canyon at the Gates of the Mountains, a tour of the restored Nevada and Virginia City ghost towns, a visit to the incomparable Buffalo Bill Historical Center (one of the world’s greatest museums of the old west, with wonderful galleries of western and Indian art) and a visit to the great volcanic monolith of Devils Tower National Monument. Wildlife is a tour focus. Watch for bear, buffalo, elk and moose in Yellowstone National Park. At West Yellowstone tour the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, and in Custer State Park, South Dakota, have a jeep safari into the buffalo herds that still freely range that area of the Black Hills.

Call 877-929-7245 for air or rail fares from your city

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• Amtrak’s Empire Builder
• Glacier National Park
• Scenic St. Mary Lake Cruise
• Missouri River Cruise
• Ride the Copper King Express
• Alder Gulch Shortline Railway
• Yellowstone National Park
• Old Faithful
• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
• Devils Tower National Monument
• Crazy Horse Memorial
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• Black Hills Central Steam Railway
• Wildlife Jeep Safari Custer State Park

• 9 Nights Hotel Accommodations
• All Rail Travel
• All Boat Fares
• All Motorcoach Travel
• All Sightseeing as included below
• 12/14 Meals as noted below
• Luggage Handling
• Professional Tour Manager

Day One, Tuesday, July 22 (D for sleeper passengers)
Amtrak’s Empire Builder over the Cascade Range. Board Amtrak’s famous Empire Builder Superliner this afternoon at Seattle’s King Street Station and roll east. First the line takes you directly along the shores of the Puget Sound for sweeping vistas over the distant peaks of the Olympic Range. Turn inland at Everett and begin a steep climb along the Skykomish River toward the towering peaks of the Cascade Range.

In early evening you traverse the 7.9 mile-long Cascade Tunnel before descending through narrow gorges to the Columbia River at Wenatchee. Overnight in comfortable leg-rest reclining coach seats or, at the modest additional costs noted below, in your choice of Pullman sleeper accommodations. The diner-lounge car is open to all passengers. Sleeper passengers enjoy included choice of the menu dining. The Empire Builder is the flagship of western trains. Its diner offers fully-prepared-on-board dining from a menu of western specialties.

Day Two, Wednesday, July 23 (B for sleeper passengers, L for all passengers)
Glacier National Park. Dawn finds the train deep in the mountains. Overnight a dome-lounge car was added, which you can enjoy this morning as you climb the rugged grades in the Rockies. Departing Whitefish, you begin the legendary assault over the Continental Divide at Marias Pass on the supremely scenic former mainline of the Great Northern Railway, now operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

In mid-morning you detrain at Glacier Park Station and begin your exploration of Glacier National Park. Lunch and a very scenic cruise by lake launch on the emerald-green waters of St. Mary Lake are included. In replica 1930s “Red Buses” (White Motor Company open-topped touring cars) you re-cross the Continental Divide on the soaring loops of the Going-to-the-Sun Road over Logan Pass. The views of the eternally snow-capped peaks of the Rockies at the summit are unforgettable. Overnight this evening at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell, Montana.

Day Three, Thursday, July 24 (L)
Scenic Swan Lake Valley - Cruise the Missouri at Gates of the Mountains. You drive south this morning in the shadow of the towering peaks of the Continental Divide, passing lovely Swan Lake enroute to a lunch stop in remote Lincoln. This afternoon you follow the route of Lewis and Clark as you cruise the Missouri River through its deep canyon at the Gates of the Mountains. Overnight in Montana’s capital city, Helena, at the new Great Northern Hotel, which is decorated to commemorate the heritage of the Great Northern Railway.

Day Four, Friday, July 25 (CB, L)
Tour Helena - Ride the Copper King Express. This morning you visit the superb museum of the Montana Historical Society, then tour Helena on the Last Chance Tour Train. Lunch is included at the Mountain City Grill and Saloon before driving south to the copper mining center of Butte. Here you board the new Copper King Express train, which follows Rarus Railway’s former Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railroad line to Anaconda. Regular passenger service ended on this rugged mountain and canyon route over 50 years ago. Overnight at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, a legendary spa where we can “take the cure” by relaxing in their warm water pools.

Day Five, Saturday, July 26 (L)
Nevada City - Bovey Restorations - Virginia City - Steam Alder Gulch Shortline. Follow the route of the pioneers to the restored mining camps of Nevada City and Virginia City. First you explore the Bovey Restorations at Alder Gulch, a collection of original historic buildings brought in from all over Montana. This interesting “town” has been used in several movies. You then ride to Virginia City on the steam-powered narrow gauge Alder Gulch Shortline Railway. After an included lunch at Virginia City’s Star Bakery, there is free time to explore the restored silver-rush camp before driving to West Yellowstone, where your hotel for two nights is the Stagecoach Inn.

Day Six, Sunday, July 27
Museum of the Yellowstone - Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center - Yellowstone National Park and Old Faithful. Begin with a visit to the Museum of the Yellowstone, housed in the beautifully restored terminal of the former Union Pacific Railroad Yellowstone Branch. The railways opened up Yellowstone National Park, and the U.P. built a beautiful combined station and restaurant here to serve its summer park tours. The center contains wonderful exhibits about the early days in the park during the era of railway touring. U.P. passenger service directly to West Yellowstone ended in the early 1960s.

Next you visit the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, which not only tells the life-story of the great bears, but also serves as an animal rehabilitation center for grizzly bears and other native animals such as wolves. This is a most unique wildlife park!

After a short drive into Yellowstone National Park, there is time to purchase lunch at Old Faithful (there are several restaurants adjacent to the geysers) and enjoy several hours viewing the active geysers. An Old Faithful eruption is certain, but there also is time to take the easy boardwalk paths to view other geothermal wonders, including hot springs, thermal pools and less-well-known geysers. On the return to West Yellowstone, you follow the Madison River and stop at additional geothermal sites for photography of the hot spring wonders.

Day Seven, Monday, July 28 (L,D)
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - Lake Yellowstone - Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Take a different route through Yellowstone for most of the day today. Your first stop is the awesome gorge at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Here you will marvel at the spectacle of the yellow and gray walls of the canyon and the thundering Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. As you motor south to the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, pass through one of the best areas in the park to see bear, elk and especially buffalo. Lunch is included at the restored Lake Yellowstone Hotel, overlooking the vast blue waters of Yellowstone Lake, the highest large natural lake in the Rockies.

You leave the park through the East Gate and descend a deep canyon to the “wild west” town of Cody, Wyoming. This was home to the legendary scout and showman Buffalo Bill Cody. His collections became the nucleus of one of the world’s great museums of the west, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, which you tour this afternoon. The collections here include one of the most comprehensive collections of western firearms, Cody’s personal “kit”, American Indian artifacts, and an incomparable collection of paintings and sculptures. Treasures include Bierstadt landscapes, Remington paintings and sculptures, saddles, Native American art, blankets and much more. Enjoy dinner this evening at what was once Buffalo Bill’s own hotel, the Irma. Overnight at the Holiday Inn at Buffalo Bill Village Resort.

Day Eight, Tuesday, July 29 (L)
Drive the Big Horn Range - Sheridan - Bradford Brinton Memorial and Museum. The Indians called the Big Horn Range rising to the east of Cody the “Great Shining Mountains”. These peaks were sacred to the Sioux and still are a place of great natural beauty. Drive across these glorious yet little-known ridges this morning to Sheridan, Wyoming. Lunch is included here before touring a restored cattle-barons’ ranch, the Bradford Brinton Memorial and Museum. Later you have a unique stop to ride the restored carousel at Buffalo! Overnight in the “black gold” coal mining town of Gillette, Wyoming at the Holiday Inn Express.

Day Nine, Wednesday, July 30 (CB,L)
Devils Tower National Monument - High Plains Western Heritage Center - Deadwood. This morning you stop to visit the remarkable mass of columnar volcanic rock that forms Devils Tower National Monument. Drive into South Dakota, stopping for an included lunch in Spearfish. After lunch you tour the High Plains Western Heritage Center. Live buffalo and long-horn cattle graze here at a unique museum devoted to pioneer days. Treasures in the collection include an original Spearfish-Deadwood stagecoach and 17,000 square feet of exhibits from pioneer ranches, farms and Native American settlements. Continue to the gold-rush town of Deadwood in the rugged Black Hills and see Boot Hill, the ghost mines, and historic sites related to the lives of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Overnight for two nights at the railway-themed Best Western Golden Spike Inn in Hill City.

Day Ten, Thursday, July 31 (D)
Crazy Horse Memorial - Mount Rushmore National Memorial - Black Hills Central steam railway. Monumental sculpture is a theme today. This morning you visit the fascinating Crazy Horse Memorial, which still is being carved from the entire peak of a rugged mountain. When finished, this will be the largest single carving in the world. It depicts the great Sioux Warrior Crazy Horse on his horse, pointing across the Black Hills range held sacred by the Sioux. Already much of the face is visible, and there is a Native American museum and cultural center to explore.

Later you board the “1880s Train” of the steam-powered Black Hills Central Railroad for a round-trip from Hill City to Keystone and return. This line was built as a three-foot narrow gauge line, but then rebuilt by the Burlington Railroad as standard gauge track in the early 20th century. The trip features extremely rugged grades and offers sweeping vistas of the peaks enroute. It frequently has been featured in Hollywood movies and TV shows.

Finally you experience Mount Rushmore National Park. First you see the awesome carvings of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and (Teddy) Roosevelt in the warm afternoon light. After a wonderful Farewell Dinner in Keystone, return to the park for the evening illuminations.

Day Eleven, Friday, August 1 (L)
Wildlife jeep safari in Custer State Park. You have a wonderful final tour event this morning, a wildlife jeep photo safari through the open range country of Custer State Park. Here in the heart of the Black Hills is one of the largest free-ranging buffalo herds. Your jeep driver-guides provide commentary as you seek these great animals out for photos. Your lunch is at the landmark Alex Johnson Hotel in Rapid City before the tour ends at the Rapid City airport in time for afternoon flights to cities throughout the country.

   

   

   

 Departure Dates:

• July 22 to August 01 - SOLD OUT

 Per Person Rates:

• $2,499 per person (double occupancy)
• $2,999 per person (single occupancy)

 Sleeping car add-ons on Day One:
 This on-on price includes dinner on Day One and breakfast on Day Two and your sleeper  room on the night of Day One. Please note Deluxe Bedrooms are very limited.

• Add $42.50 per person, double occupancy, in an Economy Bedroom (Roomette)
• Add $85.00 per person, single occupancy, in an Economy Bedroom (Roomette)
• Add $110.00 per person, double occupancy in a Deluxe Bedroom
• Add $220.00 per person, single occupancy in a Deluxe Bedroom