On arrival into Rapid City Regional Airport, pass through security and collect your bags, before collecting your rental car and driving to your hotel in downtown Rapid City.

Downtown Rapid City is easily walkable with life-sized bronze statues of every American president standing on the street corners. A brief stroll will introduce you to Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. You will also find authentic western shops, local breweries and relaxed restaurants all in the downtown area.

If you have time then we recommend a visit to the Journey Museum, where you can learn more about the pioneer history and local Native American Heritage from the local area.

Hotel Alex Johnston, Rapid City, or similar

Rapid City is your gateway for visiting the Badlands National Park. Less than an hour’s drive from the city outskirts, will transport you to another world, where a dramatic landscape of coloured rock buttes and pinnacles punctuate the prairies.

You can easily see the park’s highlights in four to six hours by stopping at key overlooks like Pinnacles, Big Badlands, and Panorama Point, taking a short hike on trails like Door Trail or Notch Trail, and perhaps spotting bison, bighorn sheep, or prairie dogs along the way.

The colours of the Badlands are at their best either early in the morning, or late in the afternoon and you could always combine your visit with a stop at the neighbouring quirky town of Wall.

Hotel Alex Johnston, Rapid City, or similar

This morning head southwest from Rapid City on Highway 16 for the short drive to Mount Rushmore. Here you can view the iconic rock carved presidents, walk the Presidential Trail for a closer perspective, and learn more at the visitor centre.

From Mount Rushmore, continue south along the scenic Iron Mountain Road with its pigtail bridges and granite tunnels that frame the monument, then enter Custer State Park via the scenic Needles Highway, a narrow, winding route through towering granite spires that’s one of America’s most stunning drives.

The Wildlife Loop Road, in Custer State Park, offers excellent chances to see bison herds, pronghorn, and burros, while Sylvan Lake provides a perfect spot for a picnic or short hike. Exiting the park’s northern side, you’ll take Highway 385 north through the heart of the Black Hills, eventually reaching Deadwood.

Deadwood is a National Historic Landmark, with preserved Victorian-era buildings now housing saloons, restaurants and casinos.

115 miles

Deadwood Gulch Resort, or similar

You may like to begin your day in Deadwood with a stroll along Main Street, where each of the buildings have been beautifully preserved from the Victorian-era. You can visit the Adams Museum (free admission) to see fascinating artifacts from Deadwood’s gold rush days, including some of Wild Bill Hickok’s personal effects. From there, walk up to Mount Moriah Cemetery on the hillside above town, where you’ll find the graves of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and other legendary frontier figures. The cemetery offers both history and sweeping views of the surrounding Black Hills.

After lunch at one of the historic saloons or local eateries, explore Saloon No. 10, where Wild Bill was famously shot while holding his “dead man’s hand” of aces and eights. It’s a genuine piece of history mixed with tourist fun. If you’re interested in gaming, many of the Victorian buildings now house casinos with slots and table games.

For a different perspective, take the short drive up to the Tatanka: Story of the Bison interpretive centre featuring Kevin Costner’s impressive bronze sculpture installation, or follow the historic George S. Mickelson Trail.

You can end your day in Deadwood by catching a reenactment of the “Shootout on Main Street” (summer months only), enjoy dinner at a local steakhouse, or try your luck at the casino.

Deadwood Gulch Resort, or similar

Leaving Deadwood, you will initially wind northwest through the Black Hills on scenic highways, crossing into Wyoming where the forested hills gradually give way to open rangeland. About 90 minutes from Deadwood, Devil’s Tower National Monument rises dramatically from the surrounding prairie.

Devil’s Tower is a volcanic rock formation that dramatically reaches 867 feet into the air from the surrounding prairie. This awe-inspiring monolith is sacred to multiple Native American tribes and gained worldwide fame as the alien landing site in the movie ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. You can circumnavigate Devil’s Tower on a paved walkway around its base. The visitor centre also provides context about the tower’s geology and cultural significance.

From Devil’s Tower, continue northeast across Wyoming’s wide-open prairie landscape, where you’ll see working cattle ranches and expansive farms. The rolling grasslands and big sky create a quintessentially Western panorama. As you approach the Powder River Basin and turn toward Ucross, the terrain becomes more rugged with scattered buttes and creek bottoms lined with cottonwood trees.

220 miles

The Ranch at Ucross, or similar

Although still a working ranch, the Ranch at Ucross actually offers a peaceful retreat in authentic cattle country, far from tourist crowds. You can begin your day with a steaming coffee on the ranch porch, taking in the peaceful surrounding, broken only by the occasional mooing of cattle. The landscape here is typically western, with sagebrush covered ridges, cottonwood-lined creeks, and expansive views under that legendary big sky.

The ranch is a genuine working cattle operation, so you may be able to enjoy a horseback ride across vast pastures and rolling hills, where you can help move cattle, check fence lines, or simply explore the property’s thousands of acres with experienced wranglers as your guides.

You can also try your hand at fishing in the nearby Clear Creek, where it is possible to catch and release big brown and rainbow trout. Alternative you may prefer to swim or relax by the outdoor heated pool, with a backdrop of the Bighorn Mountains behind.

Ranch at Ucross, or similar

Your first stop as you head west from Ucross is the charming ranching town of Sheridan. Stroll down Main Street with its historic brick buildings housing Western boutiques, bookstores, and cafes, and visit the Trail End State Historic Site, a beautiful Flemish Revival mansion that offers an insight into early 20th-century Wyoming wealth and cattle baron culture.

Leaving Sheridan, heading west, the road climbs dramatically into the Bighorn Mountains, one of Wyoming’s most spectacular drives. The highway ascends through ponderosa pine forests and over Granite Pass at around 9000 feet high. You may like to stop at Burgess Junction to view the Shell Canyon. A short walk from the visitor centre to the overlook, will reward you with a view of shell creek plunging 120 feet through the narrow gorge. As continue your journey you will follow the river down the hills, gradually switching the mountains for more desert-like terrain.

Continue across the Bighorn Basin’s wide-open sagebrush plains before rolling into the town of Cody.

175 miles

Chamberlain Inn, Cody, or similar

Your stay in Cody is all about immersing yourself in the spirit of the Great American West. Perhaps begin your day by visiting the ‘Buffalo Bill Centre of the West’. This world class complex houses five different museums under one roof. You can explore the Buffalo Bill Museum chronicling the showman’s life, the Plains Indian Museum with exceptional Native American artifacts and art, the Cody Firearms Museum featuring one of the world’s most comprehensive gun collections, the Whitney Western Art Museum, and the Draper Natural History Museum.

Along Sheridan Avenue you can stroll along Cody’s wooden boardwalks, stopping in cowboy outfitters, art galleries, and eateries. You can even visit the the Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill himself in 1902, and named for his daughter.

From June to August, Cody hosts a rodeo every evening. It is a genuine ranch-country rodeo with bull riding, bronc busting, barrel racing, and all the classic events, plus they often invite visitors to participate in activities like calf scrambles. The atmosphere is authentic and family-friendly, with locals competing alongside professionals.

Chamberlain Inn, Cody, or similar

Leaving Cody this morning you will be heading towards Yellowstone National Park. Following the Shoshone River Valley, you will pass Buffalo Bill Reservoir and the town of Wapiti, past red rock formations and forest covered mountains.

Entering Yellowstone through the East Entrance, you will climb to the Sylvan Pass, with dramatic mountain views before descending to the shores of Yellowstone Lake. At Fishing Bridge, you can decide whether to head north briefly to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the powerful Lower Falls and colorful canyon walls are truly jaw-dropping and worth the detour if time allows, or continue west toward Old Faithful.

The road takes you through the Hayden Valley, prime bison and wildlife watching territory, then past the thermal features around Old Faithful (perhaps a quick stop if the timing works for an eruption). From there, continue to Madison Junction and exit through the West Entrance, arriving in West Yellowstone.

Your destination, Parade Rest Ranch sits just outside of town in the Gallatin Valley.

142 miles

Parade Rest Ranch, or similar

Parade Rest Ranch is an authentic Yellowstone Ranch with stunning wilderness areas that border the National Park.

The ranch is renowned for its exceptional horseback riding program, so you’ll likely start your morning saddled up for a trail ride through wildflower-filled meadows, aspen groves, and pine forests with the majestic Madison Range as your backdrop. Rides are tailored to your ability level, from gentle valley trails to more challenging mountain terrain, and experienced wranglers share their knowledge of the area’s ecology, history, and ranch life as you go.

After a hearty ranch-style lunch, the afternoon might be spent fly fishing in Grayling Creek, which runs right through the property, or nearby waters teeming with trout. Alternatively, you might explore the property on foot by hiking into the surrounding national forest, or simply relax in the peaceful ranch setting, perhaps reading in an Adirondack chair while watching horses graze in the pasture.

In the evenings you can gather for a family-style dinner where guests and wranglers share stories from the day, then enjoy the crystal-clear night sky far from any light pollution. The ranch atmosphere is wonderfully unpretentious and intimate, with genuine Western hospitality.

Parade Rest Ranch, or similar

Wildlife is most active at dawn, so you may want an early start to enter the park, keeping an eye out for bison, wolves and bears. Drive into the park and head north to Madison Junction, then follow the Firehole River through Lower Geyser Basin, where you can stop at Fountain Paint Pot to see bubbling mud pots, colorful hot springs, and steaming fumaroles that showcase Yellowstone’s volcanic power.

Continue to the iconic Old Faithful area, timing your arrival for an eruption if possible. Beyond Old Faithful itself, the Upper Geyser Basin contains the world’s highest concentration of geysers,walk the boardwalks to see Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser, and the stunning Morning Glory Pool.

In the afternoon you could choose to head north through the Norris Geyser Basin (the park’s hottest and most dynamic thermal area with features like Steamboat Geyser) and continue to Mammoth Hot Springs to see the dramatic white travertine terraces, or you may prefer to explore the Madison and Gibbon River valleys for wildlife viewing. Elk, bison, and sometimes grizzly bears frequent these areas.

Parade Rest Ranch, or similar

After re-entering Yellowstone National Park, head south along the Continental Divide, towards Yellowstone Lake. At West Thumb you may like to view the colourful hot springs that reach right to the water’s edge. Continue south along the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, through the forested area that connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park.

As you cross into Grand Teton National Park the landscape opens up dramatically with the Teton Range extending upwards from the valley floor. You can stop at Colter Bay for views across Jackson Lake to the jagged peaks, then continue south along the lakeshore and past Jackson Lake Lodge, where the viewing windows frame the mountains spectacularly.

As you enter the Snake River valley, pull over at the Oxbow Bend for a classic Grand Teton photograph of Mount Moran reflected in the calm waters. This is also prime moose habitat so keep your eyes peeled for movement in the undergrowth. A further stop at Jenny Lake provides opportunities for hiking, or simply marvelling at the impressive views.

Continue on through the mountain town of Jackson, to your last ranch stay at Spring Creek Ranch.

139 miles

Spring Creek Ranch, or similar

Wake up to sunrise illuminating the entire Teton Range from your window. The ranch’s location on East Gable Butte provides arguably the best panoramic views of the mountains available anywhere, and you can enjoy them from your private deck or at the main lodge with a cup of coffee before the day begins.

The ranch offers guided horseback rides that take you across the sagebrush-covered butte with sweeping vistas in every direction, or down into the valley toward the National Park. If you prefer, the ranch can arrange activities like fly fishing on the Snake River with expert guides, mountain biking on nearby trails, or even hot air ballooning over the valley at sunrise.

Many guests spend part of the day venturing into Jackson, just a 10-minute drive away, to explore the famous Town Square with its elk antler arches, browse high-end Western art galleries, shop for cowboy gear, or just to enjoy lunch at one of the excellent restaurants.

Alternatively from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village you can ride the aerial tram to the summit of Rendezvous Mountain. From 10,450 feet you are rewarded by breathtaking 360-degree views, and on clear days you can see into Idaho and Yellowstone.

Spring Creek Ranch, or similar

After breakfast at the ranch, you may have still have time to visit the town of Jackson for some last minute shopping of western goods, jewellery and art, before the short journey to Jackson Hole Airport, where you can drop-off your car and check-in for your onwards flight.

10 miles