Collect your hire car on arrival in Rapid City, your base for exploring the Black Hills of South Dakota. The city itself boasts a vibrant downtown area with shops, restaurants, boutiques and galleries, a historic district, museums and attractions, so you will find plenty to do. 

The Black Hills are home to the iconic Mount Rushmore National Memorial - 60-foot-high mountain carving of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Close by you can visit Crazy Horse Memorial – the massive granite carving honouring the Native American warrior will stand 563 feet high and 641 feet long when complete. Custer State Park is the second largest state park in the nation and home to 1,500 bison and granite outcroppings. Drive the 18 mile Wildlife Loop Road. 

Head to the western Black Hills and drive the incredible Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. If you are feeling adventurous, take the one hour drive from Spearfish into Wyoming to admire Devils Tower National Monument, America’s first national monument reaching 1,194 feet into the western sky. Then head to the Old West town of Deadwood where the legends of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane live on. Visit the Days of 76 Museum or try your luck at one of the town’s numerous gaming parlours.

Stay three nights in Rapid City. 

This morning explore downtown Rapid City and spend some time at the Journey Museum to learn about the history of the Black Hills and Native American culture. Then take the short drive east to Badlands National Park - a maze of buttes, canyons and gullies formed by millions of years of erosion. Stop for lunch in the small gateway town of Wall to visit Wall Drug. Spend a night in the Badlands area to view constellations, stars and planets in the incredibly clear night sky. 

Stay one night in the Badlands National Park area.

Bismarck is the capital city of North Dakota and lies on the banks of the Missouri River that divides the city into Bismarck-Mandan. Step back in time at the newly renovated North Dakota Heritage Center, visit the Native American Earth Lodges in Mandan and walk in General George Armstrong Custer’s footsteps at Fort Abraham Lincoln.

Stay one night in Bismark.

Head west to Medora, diverting slightly south to admire the Enchanted Highway, a 32-mile stretch of paved county highway that features spectacular giant concrete and metal sculptures. In Medora visit the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame and then take in the nightly outdoor Medora Musical and Pitchfork Fondue dinner in the summer with the dynamic landscape of the North Dakotan Badlands as your backdrop. 

Medora is your base for visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the only national park named after a person, and North Dakota’s Badlands which have been shaped by millions of years of wind, rain, erosion, fire and the meandering Little Missouri River. Head to Painted Canyon Overlook for spectacular views of the Badlands and keep your eye out for wildlife along the way – bison, wild horses, elk, deer, pronghorn sheep and prairie dogs all call the park their home.

Stay two nights in Medora.

Make your way west into Montana and Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument which serves as a symbol for both sides – the U.S. Cavalry and Native American Indians, who fought on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. In Billings, Montana’s largest city, visit the Western Heritage Center, which features over 17,000 Native American objects and artefacts. Shop ‘til you drop at the Rimrock Mall and enjoy a meal in one of the many downtown restaurants.

Stay one night in Billings.

Take a stroll around historic downtown Billings before heading west toward Livingston and Bozeman. Visit the Museum of the Rockies, home to one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils, as you pass through. On arrival in Helena, wander around the pleasant blocks of Last Chance Gulch, pop into the impressive State Capitol Building or view the fine collection in the Holter Museum of Art. 

Stay two nights in Helena.

Take a boat tour through the Gates of the Mountains, a dramatic stretch of the Missouri River, with 1,200ft cliffs on either side. Then make your way to spectacular Glacier National Park to discover glacial-scoured valleys, towering peaks, tumbling waterfalls, verdant forests and wildflower-strewn meadows. Keep an eye out for grizzly bears, elk, mountain goats and bighorn sheep. Drive the magnificent 53-mile Going-To-The-Sun-Road and hike some of the 700 miles of trails. In the evening enjoy the unique restaurants, shops and art galleries of the pretty mountain town of Whitefish.

Stay two nights in Whitefish.

As you head south, admire the crystal clear waters of Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the west, and the picturesque small town of Bigfork which has been honoured as one of the 50 Great Towns in the West and brims with art galleries, fine restaurants and high-end boutiques. Continue into Idaho and on to Coeur d’Alene, surrounded by dozens of lakes left behind by the glaciers from the ice age. Take a leisurely bike ride along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s bike path and watch the sun set and moon rise over Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Stay one night in Coeur d’Alene.

Continue your travels south following in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark on the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway to the Nez Perce National Historic Park, one of Idaho’s most important Native American attractions. The park’s 38 sites tell the story of the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) people – the Lewis & Clark Expedition considered them the most hospitable tribe they met. Make a stop in the pretty town of Riggins nestled deep in the canyon where the Salmon River and Little Salmon River come together. Spend the night in McCall, a laid back mountain town on the shores of Payette Lake.

Stay one night in McCall.

Make a day of the drive between McCall and Sun Valley to take in the incredible mountain scenery as you travel along not one, but four scenic byways - Payette River, Wildlife Canyon, Ponderosa Pine and Sawtooth. Along the way stop at Kirkham Hot Springs for a relaxing dip in the natural geothermal pools and waterfalls, and Sawtooth National Recreation Area for epic views of mountain peaks and ice blue lakes. Reflect on a day of beautiful scenery with a night at Sun Valley resort, the birthplace of the chairlift and home to old Hollywood Glamour, or nearby Ketchum.

Stay one night in Sun Valley or Ketchum.

This morning visit Craters of the Moon National Monument, formed during eight major eruptive periods between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago. It contains three major lava fields which are some of the best examples of rift cracks in the world. Just outside the town of Rexburg you’ll find Yellowstone Bear World, a drive through wildlife park of free-roaming Rocky Mountain goats, bison, moose, white tail deer and even grizzly bears. Travel through the forests of eastern Idaho to thundering Upper and Lower Messa Falls before crossing into Montana. 

The nation’s first national park, Yellowstone is best known for the geysers, hot springs and mud pots that make it one of the most active geothermal areas on the planet. The awe-inspiring landscape covers 3,000 square miles with over 10,000 thermal features and hundreds of animal species. Popular sites include Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, Midway Geyser Basin, Norris Geyser Basin, Lamar and Hayden Valleys and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with its inspirational view of Lower Falls. 

Stay two nights in West Yellowstone, or inside Yellowstone National Park.

Continue your exploration of Yellowstone National Park. At the end of the day exit via the East Entrance to journey along the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway to the western town of Cody. If you are in town early enough, find your inner cowboy or cowgirl at the Cody Nite Rodeo, held daily during the summer.

Stay one night in Cody. 

In the morning lose yourself in the expansive Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a fascinating complex of five thematic museums. Then head south to Thermopolis. Greek for ‘Hot City’, Thermopolis has two large natural hot spring complexes as well as a free public bathhouse. Temperatures range from cool to 41°C (106°F), and visitors have the choice of a soak or fun on the water slides. Then make your way to Riverton through stunning Wind River Canyon to admire geology dating back to the Triassic (208-245 million years old) and Precambrian (570-2,900 million years old) periods.  

Stay one night in Riverton.

Travelling west you’ll come to the town of Dubois (pronounced Dew-boyz) where rustic log buildings line the main street looking much as they did when the town was first settled in the late 1800s. In the distance, you’ll soon begin to see the Tetons, a jagged 40-mile stretch of the famed Rocky Mountains. Explore Grand Teton National Park by driving the 42-mile Scenic Loop and visit the Visitors Center. Why not try a wildlife safari, scenic float trip or take the Aerial Tram to the top of the mountains? 

Spend time in Jackson which features wooden sidewalks, elk antler arches and shops that range from the chic to the traditional. Toast the end of an epic adventure in true western style by saddling up at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar or enjoying live music at the world-famous Silver Dollar Bar.

Stay two nights in Jackson.

Drop-off your car at the airport in time to check-in for your flight.