Exploration and discovery for the whole family in the national parks of America's wild west

After a brief tour of San Francisco, head east through California's historic gold country. Yosemite National Park region is our base for the next three nights and offers abundant activities for parents and kids alike.

There's bicycling right in the valley and many hiking trails to escape the crowds, or you can float down the Merced river on an inner tube, overlooked by the granite formations of Half Dome, El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks. Turning south, visit Mariposa Grove with its towering sequoias before proceeding through the Sierra Nevadas to our campground located in the high desert.

Next Zion National Park and a full day to hike to Emerald Pools, ford the Narrows, climb to Angel's Landing or mountain bike to the remains of a nearby ghost town where the kids can pretend to be the Sundance Kid.

Bryce Canyon National Park follows with its maze of unique turrets and spires to be explored, and then a short drive to a lovely campsite at Kodachrome Basin State Park. Continue on to Lake Powell arriving at a lakeside campground for some aquatic family fun. Water ski, jet ski or take a boat trip to secluded canyons. Then on to the Navajo Tribal Lands of Monument Valley, where we will discover some of the valley's hidden secrets and learn more about the culture and way of life of Native Americans on our included jeep tour with the Navajos.

The awesome Grand Canyon is our next stop, where we will have two days to fully experience one of the Earth's greatest natural wonders. Take a scenic flight or a ranger-guided nature walk along the rim, be blown away by the audio-visual wizardry of IMAX or, for the really active, hike into the canyon itself. After visiting so many of nature's impressive creations, we finally head to a completely man-made one - Las Vegas - the glitziest city in the world, where our tour ends.

Footloose Tip: We also offer a fully accommodated version of this popular tour, the 12 day Western Discovery Lodging tour.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE JUNIOR
RANGER PROGRAM

The goal of the program is to introduce children to the wonders of the national parks and their role in preserving them for the future.To become a Junior Ranger in most national parks families will need to purchase an activity newspaper, complete the requirements described and have it checked at one of the visitor centres. Children are then awarded an official Junior Ranger patch. Requirements for completion vary from park to park but may include attending a ranger-led program, hiking on a park trail, or completing activity pages that encourage direct experience and discovery learning in diverse park environments.

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Features our full range of Footloose small group adventures in North & South America.

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Foot Notes pdf
Our Foot Notes provide additional information including day by day descriptions, joining instructions, weather, packing lists and what to expect on your trek.

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