National Parks of the Southwest

Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, Phoenix / Days 1-2 / Superior First Class

The sprawling Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort provides a relaxing retreat with an endless array of amenities.  The resort offers two restaurants and a pool bar, eight swimming pools with rock features and waterfalls, 18-hole championship golf course, lighted tennis courts, fitness center, full spa with a range of treatments, laundry service, and complimentary Wi-Fi internet access.  Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, separate living space, minibar, coffee-making facilities, TV, and phone.

Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, Williams/ Day 3 / First Class

The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel offers a history-infused stay in Williams, Arizona. As railways expanded into this part of the country in the early 1900s, a string of hotels arose alongside the rail lines to house these first passengers. Today’s Grand Canyon Railway Hotel stands adjacent to the railway depot and was built to resemble the 1908 Fray Marcus Hotel, one of these original railway lodging houses. Amenities include two restaurants, an indoor pool and hot tub, fitness center, gift shop, laundry and dry-cleaning services (for a fee), and complimentary Wi-Fi internet access. Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, coffee-making facilities, TV, and phone.

Thunderbird Lodge Grand Canyon / Day 4 / First Class

The Thunderbird Lodge provides a comfortable home base ideal for Grand Canyon exploration.  Situated directly on the Grand Canyon’s south rim, the hotel is within walking distance of restaurants, gift shops, walking trails, and more.  Amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi internet access, restaurant, and picnic area.  Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, tea- and coffee-making facilities, minifridge, in-room safe, TV, and phone.

Lake Powell Resort, Page / Day 5 / First Class

Lake Powell Resort enjoys a striking location on the shores of Lake Powell, just a few hundred feet from the border between Arizona and Utah and offering long views across the lake and striated sedimentary hills of the region.  The resort’s amenities include a restaurant, bar, and lounge; outdoor swimming pool; walking paths along the lake; fitness center; gift shop; sauna; fishing and water sports activities (for a fee); laundry service (for a fee); and complimentary Wi-Fi internet access in public areas.  Air-conditioned guest rooms are decorated with Native American accents and have private bath with hair dryer, coffee-making facilities, private balcony or patio, TV, and phone.

Best Western Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel, Bryce Canyon City / Days 6-7 / First Class

Rustic, spacious, and comfortable, this hotel is nestled among the red rock cliffs of Bryce Canyon National Park.  It features spacious common areas, a restaurant, fitness center, pool, complimentary Wi-Fi internet access, and laundry and dry cleaning services.  The dining room provides a lodge-like atmosphere complete with wooden beams stretching across the vaulted ceilings, and a brick fireplace in the center of the room.  Each of the 164 air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, coffee maker, microwave, in-room safe, minibar, and TV.

Hampton Inn & Suites Springdale/Zion National Park, Springdale / Days 8-9 / First Class

Hampton Inn & Suites Springdale/Zion National Park sits amidst the magnificent red rock cliffs of Zion National Park, adjacent to the Virgin River.  Recently constructed in 2013, the hotel features modern décor and amenities and offers free shuttle service to the entrance of Zion National Park, less than a mile away.  The hotel also sits within walking distance of downtown Springdale and its array of quaint shops, cafes, dining and art galleries.  Hotel amenities include a snack bar, complimentary Wi-Fi internet access, fitness center, outdoor heated swimming pool, hot tub, and fireplace.  Each spacious guest room has private bath with hair dryer, coffee-making facilities, TV, and phone.

Westin Las Vegas, Las Vegas / Day 10 / Deluxe

The Westin Las Vegas enjoys an ideal location:  just a block from the Las Vegas Strip in the heart of downtown.  While many of the country’s finest casinos and restaurants sit just a short walk away from the hotel, the Westin offers a tranquil retreat from the city and features a restaurant and bar, fitness center, heated rooftop swimming pool, spa, gift shop, laundry and dry cleaning service (for a fee), and complimentary Wi-Fi internet access.  Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, in-room safe, tea- and coffee-making facilities, minibar, TV, and phone.

John Annerino
Colorado Plateau, Wild and Beautiful
A coffee table tribute to the geological wonderland of “Red Rock Country.” Award-winning photographer and writer John Annerino takes us through the echoing canyons, towering hoodoos and cliff dwellings of the region’s beautiful parks and reserves.

Edward Abbey
Desert Solitaire
One of the great works on the value of the desert, eloquent and laugh-out-loud funny. Although Abbey writes specifically about his experiences as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah, his message is universal.

David Williams, Gloria Brown (Illustrator)
A Naturalist’s Guide to Canyon Country
A compact field guide to the wildlife of the high desert of the Colorado Plateau and the nine national parks of the region. Williams includes an overview of the history, geology and ecology of the high desert, along with basic information on identifying common plants and animals.

Nicky Leach
Insight Guide Arizona & the Grand Canyon
This lavishly illustrated guide includes excellent color maps and thoughtful short essays on history, culture and attractions. With chapters on numerous destinations including Phoenix, Sedona, Navajo and Hopi reservations and ghost towns.

Borch Maps
USA Southwest, Southern Rockies Map
A map of the American Southwest at a scale of 1:3,000,000 with roads, parks and topography.

National Geographic
Grand Canyon National Park Destination Map
A fold-up map of the Grand Canyon, shown at a scale of 1:70,000.

National Geographic Maps
Zion National Park
A detailed hiker’s topographic map of Zion National Park at a scale of 1:38,000, printed on tear-resistant, waterproof paper.

Jeff Campbell
Lonely Planet Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks
A practical guidebook in the popular series, with up-to-date advice on what to see and what to skip. Includes highlights, suggested itineraries, updated contact info, 65 full-color maps and much more.

Rough Guides
Rough Guide Pocket Las Vegas
Neither too big nor too slight, these handy guides include just the right amount of information on neighborhoods, shops, hotels, restaurants and sites for a short visit. Well-organized and with an excellent pullout map.

Kathleen Bryant
Sedona: Treasure of the Southwest
A short visual tour of Sedona, covering the region’s many beautiful attractions and breathtaking landscapes through gorgeous color photos and brief text.

Jamie Allen
Picturing America’s National Parks
A fascinating look at how we “picture” America, this art book traces the history of national park photography, featuring a wide variety of the most magnificent parks (from Acadia to Zion) and the historic work of artists such as Ansel Adams and Lee Friedlander.

Jared Farmer
Glen Canyon Dammed, Inventing Lake Powell and the Canyon Country
Focusing on the example of Glen Canyon, Farmer traces the development and exploration of the Four Corners region, and discusses the role of tourism in changing the face of the West.

John Wesley Powell
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons
The classic tale of adventure and exploration of the rivers and canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau, originally published in 1875 — and still terrific reading for any traveler to the Grand Canyon.

Tom Miller
Revenge of the Saguaro, Offbeat Travels Through America’s Southwest
Tom Miller’s digressive, witty and willfully eccentric account of travel and obsession in the American Southwest (originally published as Jack Ruby’s Kitchen Sink) captures the spirit of his beloved homeland.

Joseph Wood Krutch
The Desert Year
Joseph Wood Krutch celebrates the austere beauty, rugged plants and many animals of American Southwest in this classic account of his first year in Arizona, winner of the 1954 John Burroughs Medal for a Distinguished Book of Natural History — and still enchanting today. With 33 original illustrations by Rudolf Freund.

Lance Newman (Editor)
The Grand Canyon Reader
Both an English professor and river guide, Lance Newman selects well from the accounts of early explorers, popular fiction and contemporary literature by writers as diverse as John McPhee, Ann Zwinger, Edward Abbey and Barry Lopez.

Eric Magrane
The Sonoran Desert, A Literary Field Guide
Melding literature and biology, this diverse collection of work contains eco-poems and essays, illustrations and detailed scientific information. Think of it as a “guidebook with an imagination.”

Jon Ortner (Photographer)
Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest
This unprecedented collection of photographs explores the diverse canyon country of the Colorado Plateau, including: Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion and Arches. Quotations by authors and explorers accompany the 200 color photographs.

Marc Reisner
Cadillac Desert, The American West and Its Disappearing Water
The definitive history of water development in the American desert — and a now-classic chronicle of wrong-headed policies and misadventures in controlling the great rivers of the West.

Halka Chronic
Pages of Stone: Geology of Western National Parks and Monuments, Grand Canyon and the Plateau Country
An informative guide to the geology of the Colorado Plateau, some of the most ruggedly beautiful land in the Southwest. With mostly black-and-white photographs, maps, diagrams and glossary.

Stephen Whitney
A Field Guide to the Grand Canyon
A compact guide to the natural history of the Grand Canyon with 71 handsome color plates, maps and illustrations.

Pocket Naturalist
Field Guide to the Grand Canyon
This handy laminated card features color illustrations of commonly encountered birds, mammals and reptiles of the Grand Canyon. Can be easily slipped in your pocket.

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Cancellations and Refunds
You will receive a full refund for any cancellations made up to 95 days before departure . If you must cancel your tour, the effective date of can­cellation will be upon our receipt of your notification. Refunds for cancellations are subject to the following per person charges:

For all tours (except as noted)