The Great American West

Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower, Yellowstone, and More

Overview

From Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, to Custer State Park and Devils Tower, the West is a colorful storybook spilling over with strong personalities and profoundly historic landscapes. Discover some new chapters and add your own footnotes on this fun and engaging exploration.

The journey begins with explorations of the ruggedly beautiful landscapes of South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. Then you’ll be immersed in the mystic Black Hills, experiencing unique takes on Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, revealing the surprising solitude surrounding these otherwise-busy national memorials. The road trip continues west into Wyoming to Devils Tower, where a walk around the base of this sacred Lakota site lifts your spirit and your gaze. After crossing into Montana, the journey takes you to Sitting Bull’s campsite on the Little Bighorn River to hear a local guide recount the fateful battle.

Shifting gears, buckle up for one of the most beautiful and breathtaking mountain drives in the nation: over Beartooth Pass and down into Yellowstone National Park. An active, immersive exploration of Yellowstone opens your eyes to the wonders and workings of nature with the surreal thermal basins and abundant wildlife. This Off the Beaten Path road trip is fun, exciting, fulfilling and energizing for anyone enamored with the American West!

Off the Beaten Path is an authorized permittee of the National Park Service.

Price From

$6,395 USD
Trip Type

Small Group Adventure
Departure Dates

Jun 6 - 13, 2026
Jun 20 - 27, 2026
Jul 4 - 11, 2026
Jul 18 - 25, 2026
Aug 20 - 27, 2026
Aug 29 - Sep 5, 2026
Sep 10 - 17, 2026
Jun 6 - 13, 2027
Jun 19 - 26, 2027
Jul 3 - 10, 2027
Jul 17 - 24, 2027
Jul 24 - 31, 2027
Aug 18 - 25, 2027
Aug 28 - Sep 4, 2027
Sep 10 - 17, 2027
Mouse over or tap the departure dates to see trip prices.
Duration

8 days / 7 nights
Trip begins/ends
Rapid City, South Dakota / Bozeman, Montana

*Price per person based on double occupancy. Trip price includes all lodging, meals, ground transportation, guide services and activities as described in this itinerary.

Call Toll-Free 800-445-2995

Do you want to customize this trip?

We customize trips all the time! Email us today: [email protected].

Trip Details

Trip Highlights

What’s Included? Everything you need, plus everything you want.

Active fun and discovery: Stay busy and active but not hurried or harried on hikes and walks in some of the West’s most storied locations.
Treasured landmarks: On this trip, you'll visit Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park, Devils Tower, Custer State Park, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and Yellowstone National Park.
Wildlife: There could be wildlife at any turn. Watch for bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, wild turkeys, bears, wolves, moose, elk, and much more.
Fresh air and mountain scenery: Lots of time in the great, oh-so-beautiful outdoors is good medicine for all ages!

The Essentials

The Great American West

Trip Type: Small Group Adventure

Territory: North America

Region: Rocky Mountains

Trip Price: From $6,395

Single Supplement: $1,650

On-Trip Airfare: $0

Duration: 8 days/7 nights

Trip Begins/Ends: Rapid City, South Dakota / Bozeman, Montana

Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers

Maximum Travelers: 16 travelers

Select Terms & Conditions

Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.

Energy Index

No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities

Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration

High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun

The Great American West

The Energy Index for this trip is “No Sweat", with “Nice & Active” elements, at elevations ranging from 3,350 to 11,000 feet. Activities include hiking 1 to 3 miles per day, with elevation gain/loss not typically more than 300 feet. Travelers who can hike the minimum end of this range are a good fit for this trip. Contact a Travel Advisor for more details.

Make It Private

Make this trip all yours!

Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!

Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.

In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!

Trip Highlights
The Essentials
Energy Index
Make It Private

What’s Included? Everything you need, plus everything you want.

Active fun and discovery: Stay busy and active but not hurried or harried on hikes and walks in some of the West’s most storied locations.
Treasured landmarks: On this trip, you'll visit Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park, Devils Tower, Custer State Park, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and Yellowstone National Park.
Wildlife: There could be wildlife at any turn. Watch for bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, wild turkeys, bears, wolves, moose, elk, and much more.
Fresh air and mountain scenery: Lots of time in the great, oh-so-beautiful outdoors is good medicine for all ages!

The Great American West

Trip Type: Small Group Adventure

Territory: North America

Region: Rocky Mountains

Trip Price: From $6,395

Single Supplement: $1,650

On-Trip Airfare: $0

Duration: 8 days/7 nights

Trip Begins/Ends: Rapid City, South Dakota / Bozeman, Montana

Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers

Maximum Travelers: 16 travelers

Select Terms & Conditions

Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.

Energy Index

No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities

Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration

High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun

The Great American West

The Energy Index for this trip is “No Sweat", with “Nice & Active” elements, at elevations ranging from 3,350 to 11,000 feet. Activities include hiking 1 to 3 miles per day, with elevation gain/loss not typically more than 300 feet. Travelers who can hike the minimum end of this range are a good fit for this trip. Contact a Travel Advisor for more details.

Make this trip all yours!

Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!

Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.

In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!

Itinerary

Day 1: Rapid City, SD

Meet your guide and fellow travelers in Rapid City for a welcome dinner.

Day 2: Badlands / Mount Rushmore / Crazy Horse Memorial

After a morning spent in the dramatic, rugged, and other worldly landscape of Badlands National Park, we head to the Black Hills to meet Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial face-to-face. This isn't your average tour, as your guide takes a unique approach to both monuments. From there it’s on to Custer State Park, a 71,000-acre wildlife reserve, with terrific hiking terrain.

Day 3: Custer State Park and more

Take most of the day to hike and watch wildlife in picturesque Custer State Park. Perhaps we’ll walk the banks of French Creek, where Custer’s expedition first discovered gold in 1874, or visit the prairie dog town where the black-tailed prairie dogs scurry around feeding, grooming, and “barking.” We'll be back this evening in time to relax and enjoy dinner.

Day 4: Devils Tower / Buffalo, WY

Today, the road trip takes us to the Bighorn Mountains, stopping en route at Devils Tower. We’ll walk around the formation on a paved trail, marveling at nature’s own monument. After our walk we continue tracing the route many pioneers followed during the days of western settlement. Next stop Buffalo, Wyoming. We arrive in time to settle into our historic lodgings and enjoy the quaintness of this charming town.

Day 5: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument / Red Lodge, MT

A local guide will join us today as we follow the path of General George Armstrong Custer and his troops on that fateful day at the Little Bighorn. The guide will bring history to life through stories and the Native American perspective of events during that turbulent period. The day ends in historic Red Lodge, Montana, at the base of the imposing Beartooth Mountains.

Day 6: Beartooth Pass / Yellowstone National Park

We hit another high today driving up and over the famed Beartooth Pass, the “back way” into Yellowstone National Park, with opportunities for wildlife-viewing and some short sightseeing walks. Ultimately, we’ll arrive at the stunning Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Day 7: Yellowstone National Park

Today is packed with extraordinary sights and experiences in the world’s first national park, iconic Yellowstone. We follow the “Grand Loop” to see the parks’ iconic features even while our guide steers us off the beaten path, away from the crowds, to see some of the park’s hidden treasures. The park's geyser basins hold the most extensive concentration of geysers in the world (at least 30 named geysers, including Old Faithful Geyser), along with colorful hot springs and steaming fumaroles.

Day 8: Bozeman for departures home

Savoring the morning light and a bite of breakfast, we're off early to Bozeman, soaking up the last leg of our unforgettable Western road trip!

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Lodging

Hotel Alex Johnson

Alex Carlton Johnson (1861-1938), Vice President of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, built the historic Hotel Alex Johnson as a shrine and tribute to the Sioux Indian Nation, whose people he greatly admired. The hotel’s architecture blends the heritage of the Plains Indians with Germanic Tudor architecture, representing German immigration to the Dakotas. The hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1928, and has since hosted many U.S. presidents and celebrities. In the 1990s, the hotel was restored based on original photographs, and is greatly refreshed.

State Game Lodge

The State Game Lodge is a gracious native stone and wood lodge built in 1920 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It served as the ‘Summer White House’ for President Calvin Coolidge in 1927 and was visited by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. The Grace Coolidge Creek serenely winds through the valley where the property sits as a beacon of stature and grace.

Occidental Hotel

The Occidental Hotel is a historic building that hosted most of Johnson’s County’s political, social and cultural gatherings. Today the intimate 17 room hotel, furnished with antiques and decorated in elegant period style, is a living history museum that combines great service and wonderful food in an Old West setting. The hotel has been restored to its 1910 era condition and is the recipient of several awards including True West Magazine’s Best Hotel and has been included in the National Geographic Traveler’s Top 129 Hotels in North America.

Pollard Hotel

The Pollard is a historic hotel located in the former mining town of Red Lodge, Montana. The hotel that served Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane and other western legends reopened in 1994 after a complete restoration. Since then its old-fashioned comfort, modern conveniences, and attentive staff have earned wide recognition and many awards.

Canyon Lodge & Cabins

Located on the east side of the park near the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Canyon Lodge & Cabins is a great base of exploration. The renovated cabins all have private bathrooms, and the main lodge and restaurant is LEED Certified following a recent major renovation. The lodge is on the New York Times' list of 'Five Hotels for Eco-Conscious Travelers.'