8-Nights Western Rails & Canyons With Canyon Spirit Rail Journey from $5,819

Western Rails & Canyons With Canyon Spirit Rail Journey

Day 1: ARRIVE IN DENVER, COLORADO Welcome to Colorado! At 6:00 p.m., meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers for a welcome drink.

ENHANCED FREE TIME
Explore more in Denver with a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Art Museum, or enjoy a walk through the mile-long pedestrian-friendly 16th Street Mall. Your Tour Director has suggestions for your free time.



Day 2: DENVER–COLORADO SPRINGS The Mile-High City See Denver’s historic Union Station, Mile High Stadium, and more on an orientation tour en route to Colorado Springs. Explore Garden of the Gods Park, featuring towering 300-foot sandstone rock formations against a backdrop of snow-capped Pikes Peak and brilliant blue skies. Take a thrilling ride on the Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the highest cog railroad in the world. Travel up to the summit of 14,115-foot Pikes Peak, the place that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write America the Beautiful. Tonight, enjoy a [LF] cowboy-style barbecue dinner with western music under the stars at the historic Flying W Ranch (weather permitting). (B,D)

LOCAL FAVORITE
Savor the tastes of the old west with Rocky Mountain hospitality and live music at Flying W Ranch. Feel free to don your western garb and tap along to music to get you in the spirit at this working cattle ranch in the Colorado foothills!



Day 3: COLORADO SPRINGS–GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK–DURANGO Peak Perfection Travel along the Highway of Legends Scenic and Historic Byway, with views of the Sangre de Cristo Range, home to ten 14,000-foot peaks, and through meandering ranchlands to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Later, continue deeper into the Colorado wilderness passing through the San Juan National Forest to Durango. Tonight is free to explore Durango to visit the local restaurants, saloons, speakeasies, and more on historic Main Street. (B)

TOUR HIGHLIGHT
A sandbox of epic proportions, the entire dune field encompasses 30 square miles, with the tallest dune towering 750 feet high. With the highest dunes in North America, Great Sand Dunes National Park is a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, and soaring peaks. Enjoy free time to explore the dune field trails.



Day 4: DURANGO. RAIL JOURNEY TO SILVERTON Rocky Mountain Highs This morning, board the [LF] Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for a scenic ride through San Juan National Forest. Enjoy leisure time in Silverton’s authentic western downtown. Return to Durango on the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway for a free evening. (B)

LOCAL FAVORITE
The legendary Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train hugs steep canyon walls as it winds its way through Rio de las Animas Canyon to Silverton, a National Historic Landmark. Silverton, once a major mining town, owes its name to an early miner’s claim, “We have no gold, but silver by the ton!” Spend time visiting the breweries, boutiques, and saloons that dot the thriving Greene Street.



Day 5: DURANGO–MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK–CANYONS OF THE ANCIENTS–MOAB, UTAH Ancient Mystery Today is a journey into ancient landscapes and living Indigenous history. Visit Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where ancestral cliff dwellings reveal centuries of Puebloan culture. Continue to the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum in Southwestern Colorado’s Four Corners region to learn how Indigenous communities lived, farmed, built, and adapted to the desert environment over thousands of years. Arrive in Moab for a 2-night stay and enjoy a free evening to explore the lively, charming downtown. (B)

TOUR HIGHLIGHT
Discover the legacy of the Ancestral Puebloans at Mesa Verde National Park, including views of Cliff Palace, one of the largest 700-year-old cliff dwellings. At Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center & Museum, explore Native American and historic cultures and walk the Escalante Pueblo Trail to see traces of communities that once thrived on this high desert plateau.



Day 6: MOAB. EXCURSION TO CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK & DEAD HORSE STATE PARK Canyons & Colors Visit magnificent Canyonlands National Park and Visitor Center for some of the most dramatic scenery in Utah - colorful cliffs, deep canyons, towering mesas, and unusual rock formations. Continue to Dead Horse Point State Park to see a vast mesa with an incredible view of the Colorado River as it twists through a gooseneck canyon 2,000 feet below. Return to Moab for a free evening. Perhaps venture to Main Street for regional Southwest cuisine and quaint shops or stretch your legs on the Mill Creek Parkway Trail. (B)

TOUR HIGHLIGHT
Explore the spectacular views of Canyonlands National Park to see deep canyons and distinctive rock formations formed by the Colorado River and its tributaries over millions of years. Beyond its dramatic canyons and mesas, Canyonlands National Park is home to a diverse desert ecosystem. Juniper and pinyon trees, sagebrush, and other desert plants provide habitats for animals such as mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, coyotes, and numerous bird species.



Day 7: MOAB–ARCHES NATIONAL PARK–CANYON SPIRIT RAIL–GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO Rockies by Rail Today, explore the incredible landscape of Arches National Park, containing more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch. Then embark on Canyon Spirit (formerly Rocky Mountaineer) for a scenic train ride in Signature Class. Travel east through the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area. See Parachute Creek and Mount Logan while following the scenic Colorado River. Take in the beautiful red rock formations, desert cliffs of Ruby Canyon, and mountain vistas. Tonight, stay in historic Glenwood Springs, Colorado. (B,L,D)

TOUR HIGHLIGHT
Canyon Spirit travels through spectacular scenery on the journey to Glenwood Springs and Denver. Signature Class features a single-level glass dome coach offering reclining seats, meals served at your seat, an outdoor viewing area, and panoramic views from oversized windows. Enjoy live narration and an onboard culinary experience featuring regional cuisine and ingredients local to the Southwestern U.S.



Day 8: GLENWOOD SPRINGS–CANYON SPIRIT RAIL–DENVEROn Top of the World A full day aboard the Canyon Spirit through the Colorado high country. Arrive in Denver this evening for a farewell reception hosted by your Tour Director. (B,L,D)

TOUR HIGHLIGHT
From dense wooded forests and snow-capped mountains of White River National Forest to the picturesque Byers and Gore Canyons and the tranquil mountain lakes of Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, you’ll experience the journey of a lifetime. Cross the high elevations of the Continental Divide with a sparkling wine toast while riding through the six-mile-long Moffatt Tunnel.



Day 9: DENVER Safe travels until we meet again! Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. Want to explore more in Denver? Extra nights are available for purchase. (B)