Discover Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons

Our trip begins in Salt Lake City, the gateway to some of the USA's most dramatic national parks. We'll meet our Tour Leader and the group at the Crystal Inn Salt Lake Hotel before driving north immediately to Pocatello.

Our minibus will leave the hotel at 12pm, so in order to arrive at the hotel for this time, the latest your flight can arrive is 10am. We don't provide arrival transfers on this tour, but information on how to reach the hotel will be provided in your final documentation.

We travel together as a group out of the city, planning to stop at Antelope Island State Park for a view over the Great Salt Lake itself. This lake is a hot topic for Salt Lake City residents at the moment; it is 'drying up' at an increasing rate, with potential drastic consequences for the city. Witnessing this ourselves is a great introduction to this unique area. We should hopefully get our first sighting of an American Bison here, as the park is home to some of Utah's free-roaming herd.

After our visit, we continue north to Pocatello, which will take around two and a half hours (170 miles). On arrival, the Tour Leader will give us a briefing for the trip ahead and we'll go out for a group meal.

If flight times into Salt Lake City prevent you from landing at 10am, we recommend booking an additional night's accommodation. The city has plenty of scenic attractions, most notably the headquarters of the Mormon Church at Temple Square, where you will find the majestic 19th Century Salt Lake Temple and the neo-Gothic Assembly Hall. Stay: Best Western Pocatello Inn (Comfortable)

We drive to West Yellowstone this morning, taking the highway to pass through Idaho Falls, before pulling off onto The Mesa Falls Scenic Byway. This 28 mile route winds through the fields and pines of the Targhee National Forest, diverting travellers off the main highway and into a much more picturesque setting. We'll stop off at the highlight - Mesa Falls - a powerful set of two drops, fed by water that thunders through a steep volcanic canyon on the Snake River.

From here we'll continue to West Yellowstone, checking into our hotel before making our way to the national park. Sitting on an average altitude of 2400m (which can make the nights cold) and surrounded by five different mountain ranges of the Middle Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone is a gigantic park covering almost 9000 square kilometres in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. It is an ancient volcanic plateau home to more than 10,000 geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots. Buffalo Bill was the first to bring tourists here (often royalty he'd met on his travels) and these visitors, like us, marvelled at the spectacular scenery. The volcanic activity frightened the Native Americans who believed this to be the land of evil spirits, and so the wilderness remained unexplored until it was declared America's first national park in 1872.

Our first taste of the park begins with a walk around Mammoth Hot Springs, a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine. The most well-known is the Minerva Terrace, boasting a wide range of bright hues and ornate travertine formations.

There are more geysers in Yellowstone than anywhere else on earth. Today we explore some of these, including the most famous - Old Faithful. As the name suggests, Old Faithful never disappoints its spectators - eruptions occur about 20 times a day, reaching a height of 30-55m.

Walking to the Upper Geyser Basin from here, we'll visit the site of the highest concentration of geothermal features in the park. Although scenery is the primary draw of this area, the park abounds with wildlife. Having been protected from hunters since the park's inception, bear, moose and elk are frequently seen. We'll be on the lookout for all kinds of wildlife over the course of our time here.

We'll also explore both the Mid Geyser and Lower Geyser Basin areas today, visiting the Grand Prismatic, the largest hot springs in the park and the third largest in the world. After a day walking the trails and admiring these natural wonders, we return to our hotel in West Yellowstone. (B)

Exploring some more of Yellowstone today, we take in the parks impressive geysers, mud pools and its very own Grand Canyon. We'll visit Artists Point, a spectacular canyon viewpoint, and follow a trail along the south rim to the Upper Falls, negotiating our way through a breathtaking landscape of forested hills and thundering waterfalls. Whilst smaller than its more famous rival to the south, Yellowstone's Grand Canyon is still an impressive 32 kilometres in length and drops down over 360 metres in parts.

We'll also drive to Fishing Bridge and the Mud Volcano. This cauldron of boiling mud and fumeroles has an impressive loop walk which takes around an hour to complete, and gives us excellent views of some of the main features - the Black Dragon Cauldron and Mud Geyser are just two aptly named sites.

We'll drive back to our hotel this evening. (B)

Route 191 runs the length of the USA, from the Canadian border in Montana right through to the Arizona-Mexico frontera, and straddles much of the mountainous 'Continental Divide' that separates the watersheds of the Pacific and the Atlantic. The 150 mile section that we'll drive today, from West Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, is one of its most gloriously scenic, taking us from wild Yellowstone to the mountains of the Grand Tetons.

We'll descend through the heart of Yellowstone National Park, passing Old Faithful before winding our way through to Lewis River Falls and the magnificent Lewis River Canyon. As we continue to descend, passing through the South Entrance of the park and leaving Yellowstone officially behind us, we'll slowly start to see a change in geography. The mountains of the Grand Teton range will start coming into view, with Jackson Lake appearing in the foreground.

We'll stop at Colter Bay and visit the Indian Arts Museum, before taking a walk on the Hermitage Trail. It's an easy 10 mile loop through forest and wetland, with the payoff being the awe-inspiring views of the lake and the Tetons in the background.

On the final stretch towards Jackson Hole, we'll stop at the Snake River overlook. This stunning bend in the river gives one of the most impressive and photogenic views of the snow-capped Tetons and the winding waters below. Then we continue to the lively cowboy village of Jackson, where it is possible to enjoy a cold beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Stay: 49'er Inn & Suites (Comfortable) (B)

We have the morning at our leisure in Jackson, an ideal place to wind down after the last few days. The downtown area still has the boardwalks that are typical of the first town in the west. It's also an excellent centre for outdoor activities, and there is the possibility to take a scenic wildlife river float on the Snake River. Moose and elk may be spotted on the banks, and bald eagles have several active nests here, as well as the possibility to sight river otter or even the elusive beaver. With the impressive backdrop of the Tetons, it's a beautiful morning on the water.

In the afternoon we plan to drive to Jenny Lake, within the Grand Teton National Park. We'll follow the shoreline on foot, and continue on the scenic walk to to Hidden Falls. This round trip hike is around five miles and takes 3 hours to complete. On the return it is possible (instead of retracing your steps around the shoreline) to take the passenger ferry (optional), which zips across the blue waters of Jenny Lake from the Hidden Falls trailhead. High above hangs the Teton Glacier, a stunning finale to our walk. Stay: 49'er Inn & Suites (Comfortable) (B)

We leave the mountains behind this morning, as we return to Salt Lake City. On arrival there will be time to take a stroll around the centre. Founded by a group of believers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) in 1847, the city is now their international headquarters and some of the finest buildings belong to the church. The setting, below the Wasatch Mountains and beside the Great Salt Lake, is superb and makes this a pleasant city to explore on foot. Stay: Crystal Inn & Suites (Comfortable) (B)

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Salt Lake City.

There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Salt Lake City at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would like an airport transfer today, you need to depart from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) - a 10 minutes' drive from the hotel.