27011 Canyons & Clouds: Utah & Colorado

Day 1

Day 1: Thursday, June 3, 2027
Davenport to Kearney, Nebraska
Your Western adventure begins as you depart towards Nebraska. Today is a comfortable travel day, giving everyone time to settle into the rhythm of the road, meet fellow travelers, and begin building excitement for the spectacular landscapes ahead.
Rest stops and meals will be on your own along the way. As the miles pass, the familiar Midwest scenery gradually opens toward the Great Plains — the perfect beginning to a journey that will eventually lead to red rock canyons, desert mesas, mountain passes, and national parks.
Arrive in Kearney, Nebraska, for your overnight stay at La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Kearney. Dinner is on your own this evening, giving travelers a relaxed night before continuing west.

Day 2

Day 2: Friday, June 4, 2027
Kearney to Rawlins, Wyoming
After breakfast, continue west across Nebraska with rest stops along the way. Today’s route gives travelers a true sense of the open road — wide skies, long horizons, and the gradual transition from the Great Plains toward the mountain West.
The journey includes a stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming’s state capital, for short sightseeing. Cheyenne carries the spirit of the Old West, with railroad history, frontier character, and a proud Western identity. It is a fitting introduction to the landscapes and stories that will unfold over the next several days.
Continue west to Rawlins, Wyoming, for your overnight stay at the Hampton Inn Rawlins. Dinner is on your own this evening.

Day 3

Day 3: Saturday, June 5, 2027
Rawlins to Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake Temple Open House
After breakfast, depart Rawlins and continue following the historic Pioneer Trail toward Salt Lake City. Today is when the journey begins to feel especially meaningful, as the group arrives in Utah and meets the local Southwest Adventure Tours tour director who will guide the experience from Salt Lake City to Denver.
Upon arrival, enjoy free time for lunch on your own at City Creek Center, a lively shopping and dining destination in downtown Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake Temple Open House
This afternoon brings one of the most unique and memorable experiences of the entire tour: the Salt Lake Temple Open House.
According to the itinerary, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tour the Salt Lake Temple during a public open house following a five-year renovation project. The document notes that the last time the Salt Lake Temple was open to the general public was in April 1893, just prior to its initial dedication. After dedication, access is limited to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a temple recommend, making the 2027 open house an especially rare public opportunity.
For travelers interested in history, architecture, faith traditions, sacred spaces, or landmark restoration, this experience is truly remarkable. The Salt Lake Temple is one of the most recognizable religious structures in the American West, and the chance to step inside during this special open house adds a powerful sense of occasion to the tour.
Afterward, check into the AC Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown for a two-night stay.
This evening, join your guide for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant — a wonderful way to celebrate the official start of the guided Western adventure.

Day 4

Day 4: Sunday, June 6, 2027
Tabernacle Choir, Salt Lake City, Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island
After breakfast, begin the day with one of Salt Lake City’s most treasured musical traditions.

Tabernacle Choir Broadcast
This morning, enjoy the heavenly sounds of the Tabernacle Choir during its weekly broadcast. The itinerary notes that the broadcast is held weekly from the Salt Lake Tabernacle and primarily features performances by the Tabernacle Choir, often accompanied by the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ and the Orchestra at Temple Square.
It is a moving and beautiful way to begin a Sunday morning in Salt Lake City. The sound, setting, and tradition make this experience memorable whether you are a longtime admirer of choral music or simply appreciate a powerful live performance.

Salt Lake City Tour
Next, enjoy a guided tour of Salt Lake City, including the State Capitol, downtown, The Avenues, and This Is the Place Monument.
Salt Lake City is framed by mountains and layered with pioneer history, civic pride, religious heritage, and modern urban energy. The tour offers a well-rounded introduction to the city’s historic and cultural identity.
After the city tour, enjoy free time at City Creek Center for shopping and lunch on your own.





Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island State Park
In the afternoon, the group heads out for adventure, education, and exploration at the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island State Park.
This landscape is unlike anywhere else on the tour. The Great Salt Lake is vast, shimmering, and otherworldly, while Antelope Island offers wide-open views, rugged shoreline, wildlife habitat, and a surprising sense of quiet.
The itinerary includes a visit to the historic Fielding Garr Ranch, along with opportunities to view free-ranging bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, and millions of birds that gather along the lake’s shores.
This stop is a beautiful reminder that the American West is not just red rock and mountains. It is also salt flats, islands, wildlife, wetlands, and wide-open silence.
The evening is free to explore Salt Lake City and enjoy dinner on your own.

Day 5

Day 5: Monday, June 7, 2027
Capitol Reef, Scenic Highway, Grand Staircase,
Escalante and Bryce Canyon
After breakfast, depart Salt Lake City and travel south into the heart of Utah’s red rock country.
Today is a showstopper.



Capitol Reef National Park
Arrive at Capitol Reef National Park, a place of ancient petroglyphs, dramatic rock formations, deep canyons, orchards, cottonwood trees, and pioneer history.
Capitol Reef sometimes feels like one of Utah’s quieter treasures, but that is part of its charm. Its cliffs, domes, canyons, and historic landscapes tell stories of geology, Indigenous presence, settlement, and survival in a rugged desert environment.
A picnic lunch beneath towering cottonwood trees adds a relaxed and memorable touch to the visit.

Scenic Highway
Next, travel one of America’s most spectacular roads: Scenic Highway 12.
The itinerary notes that Scenic Highway 12 has been designated as an All-American Road, the highest classification in the Scenic Byways system. The drive climbs up and over Boulder Mountain, reaching elevations over 9,000 feet, with incredible views of Capitol Reef, the Circle Cliffs, and the Henry Mountains.
This is not just transportation. It is part of the experience.
Every curve seems to reveal a new panorama — cliffs, mesas, forests, canyons, and far-off desert formations layered in color and distance.

Grand Staircase,Escalante National Monument
Continue through Grand Staircase–Escalante
National Monument, an immense landscape of cream and rose-colored Navajo sandstone, dramatic cliffs, high mesas, streams, deep canyons, and multi-hued desert scenery.
The scale is enormous. The colors are unforgettable. This region feels wild, ancient, and beautifully untamed.




Bryce Canyon National Park
In the late afternoon, arrive at Bryce Canyon National Park for sightseeing.
Bryce Canyon is famous for its hoodoos — tall, thin spires of rock that rise from the canyon amphitheaters in shades of orange, red, pink, and cream. The itinerary shares a Paiute description of Bryce as “red rocks standing like men in a bowl-shaped canyon,” while Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce famously called it “a hell of a place to lose a cow.”
Both descriptions fit in their own way.

Bryce feels playful, strange, grand, and almost enchanted. The formations are so intricate that they seem carved by imagination as much as by erosion.
Check into the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel, located just outside the park.

Ebenezers Barn and Grill and Stargazing Tour
This evening, enjoy western food and entertainment at Ebenezer’s Barn and Grill.
Later tonight, join the group for a special Stargazing Tour. Bryce Canyon is a certified International Dark Sky Park, and the night sky here can be breathtaking. With high-powered telescopes, scientific insight, and stories of the constellations, your guide will bring the cosmos to life.
After a day of canyons, red rocks, and scenic highways, ending beneath a glittering desert sky is pure magic.

Day 6

Day 6: Tuesday, June 8, 2027
Zion National Park
After breakfast, depart Bryce Canyon and travel toward Utah’s oldest and most famous national park: Zion National Park.

East Zion and Mt Carmel Highway Tunnel
Just outside the park, transfer to smaller vehicles for a guided trip from the eastern side of the park into Zion Canyon. These smaller vehicles allow the group to explore East Zion and pass through the dramatic Mt. Carmel Highway Tunnel, which offers stunning views of Zion Canyon.
The transition into Zion is unforgettable. The road winds through a landscape of carved sandstone, cliffs, tunnels, and sudden views that open like theater curtains.
The itinerary notes that an early Mormon settler described Zion’s massive formations as “temples built by hands, not of man.” It is easy to understand why. The cliffs rise with such scale and dignity that the entire canyon feels cathedral-like.

Zion Canyon
There will be time for lunch on your own, followed by the opportunity to explore Zion Canyon.
Zion is a brilliant green canyon framed by sheer red cliffs, with occasional waterfalls fanning out from the rocks. The contrast of colors is stunning — emerald cottonwoods and riverbanks against sandstone walls that glow gold, rust, and crimson depending on the light.
This is a place that makes people look up. A lot.
Later in the day, travel to nearby La Verkin for your overnight stay at La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham La Verkin–Gateway to Zion. Dinner is included at a local restaurant.

Day 7

Day 7: Wednesday, June 9, 2027
Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend
and Kayenta
After breakfast, travel east through Colorado City to Kanab, known as “Little Hollywood,” for a fun rest stop. Kanab earned its nickname because of its long history as a filming location for Western movies and television productions.
From there, continue across the Arizona Strip toward the Lake Powell National Recreation Area for a day of unforgettable desert scenery.

Antelope Canyon
The first major experience is a Navajo-guided tour of Antelope Canyon.
After a short jeep ride, your guide will lead the group through the mesmerizing curves and undulations of this intricate sandstone slot canyon. Antelope Canyon is famous for its flowing shapes, warm colors, narrow passageways, and shafts of light that seem to move across the walls like silk.
Your guide will also assist with the best photo spots, which is especially helpful in a place where every turn feels like it belongs on a magazine cover.
This is one of the most photogenic and unforgettable stops of the entire tour.

Lake Powell Scenic Cruise
After lunch on your own, enjoy a Scenic Cruise on Lake Powell.
Here, emerald waters meet towering red rock cliffs under brilliant blue skies. The contrast is striking: water and desert, soft reflections and rugged stone, calm surface and ancient canyon walls.
A cruise gives travelers a completely different perspective on the Southwest. After days of scenic drives and canyon overlooks, being on the water adds a peaceful and refreshing dimension to the journey.

Horseshoe Bend
Before leaving the Lake Powell area, make one more stop at Horseshoe Bend, one of the most dramatic viewpoints in the West.
From the overlook, the Colorado River curves in a near-perfect horseshoe around a massive rock formation far below. It is one of those views that makes people go quiet for a second. The scale is enormous, the colors are rich, and the scene is instantly memorable.

Continue across the heart of the Navajo Nation to Kayenta for your overnight stay at the Hampton Inn Kayenta. Dinner is included this evening.

Day 8

Day 8: Thursday, June 10, 2027
Monument Valley and Moab
After breakfast, a short drive brings you to world-famous Monument Valley and historic Goulding’s Lodge.

Monument Valley Navajo Guided Tour
Meet your Navajo guide and board a 4-wheel-drive vehicle for a scenic tour through Monument Valley, one of the most iconic landscapes in the American West.

Monument Valley is instantly recognizable, with towering sandstone buttes rising from the desert floor. The itinerary notes its connection to scores of famous Western films, television programs, and commercials — and once you see it, you understand why filmmakers returned again and again. The landscape feels mythic.
During the guided tour, visit famous locations such as John Ford Point, Artist Point, and The Totem Pole, while learning more about Navajo traditions and way of life.
This is one of the most culturally meaningful and visually powerful experiences of the tour. The scenery is magnificent, but the guidance and interpretation add depth, context, and respect for the land and its people.
After this memorable experience, enjoy an included lunch.
Travel to Moab
Depart Monument Valley and travel north to Moab, Utah.
Moab is one of the great adventure towns of the West, surrounded by red rock landscapes, national parks, rivers, trails, and dramatic desert scenery. After checking into the Homewood Suites by Hilton Moab, enjoy time to explore the town and have dinner on your own.
This evening is a chance to stroll, browse, dine, and soak up the relaxed energy of a town built around outdoor wonder.

Day 9

Day 9: Friday, June 11, 2027
Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point,
and Glenwood Springs
After breakfast, depart for nearby Arches National Park.



Arches National Park
Begin at the park’s visitor center, which introduces the unique geologic forces that created the highest concentration of natural arches in the world. The itinerary notes that Arches contains more than 2,000 named arches within its 73,000-acre boundary.
Then set out to see park highlights including Park Avenue, Balanced Rock, The Windows, and a view of Delicate Arch.
Arches is a landscape of stone sculpture. Massive fins, towers, windows, bridges, and arches rise from the desert in shapes that seem impossible until you are standing in front of them. The rock glows in shades of red and orange, and the blue desert sky makes every formation stand out like a monument.
For many travelers, Arches is one of the most visually exciting parks in the West.

Dead Horse Point State Park
After lunch on your own, travel to Dead Horse Point State Park for one of the most spectacular views in the Southwest.
From the overlook, you can see the expanse of Canyonlands National Park stretching to the south and the mighty Colorado River 2,000 feet below. The view is sweeping, dramatic, and deeply memorable.
It is the kind of place where distance becomes part of the beauty. Layer after layer of canyon, mesa, river, and sky stretches outward, reminding you just how vast the Colorado Plateau truly is.

Glenwood Springs
Depart the Moab area and follow the Colorado River into the state of Colorado on your way to Glenwood Springs.
The drive itself is scenic and beautiful, with river bends, canyon walls, mountain scenery, and changing landscapes guiding you east.
Check into La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Glenwood for the night. Dinner is included at a local restaurant.

Day 10

Day 10: Saturday, June 12, 2027
Rocky Mountain National Park and Denver
After breakfast, depart Glenwood Springs for a scenic drive toward Grand Lake, where the group will enjoy a rest stop before entering Rocky Mountain National Park.

Trail Ridge Road and Rocky Mountain National Park
Today brings a dramatic shift from desert canyon country to high alpine mountain scenery.
Travel along the famed Trail Ridge Road, which crests at over 12,000 feet and offers access to subalpine and alpine environments. The itinerary describes this as an afternoon of mountain roads, wildlife, and breathtaking views — a true Colorado Rocky Mountain High.
Trail Ridge Road is one of America’s most spectacular high-elevation drives. Depending on conditions and visibility, travelers may see sweeping valleys, rugged peaks, tundra landscapes, forests, and wildlife. The air feels different here. The views reach farther. The mountains feel immense.
A picnic lunch is included today.

Estes Park and Denver Area
In the late afternoon, arrive in the mountain town of Estes Park with free time to explore. Estes Park is known for its mountain-town charm, shops, scenery, and gateway location near Rocky Mountain National Park.
Then drive south along Colorado’s Front Range to the Denver area and check into the Drury Inn & Suites Denver Westminster.
This evening, join your local guide for a farewell dinner and recount the incredible journey through the Mighty 5 & More. After so many parks, landscapes, stories, and miles together, this final dinner is a chance to celebrate the adventure and the memories made along the way.

Day 11

Day 11: Sunday, June 13, 2027
Denver to Lincoln, Nebraska
After breakfast, say goodbye to your local Southwest Adventure Tours tour director and begin the journey home.
Travel across the northeast corner of Colorado and into Nebraska, with a stop for lunch on your own along the way. Pass through Kearney before arriving in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the final overnight stay.

Check into the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lincoln I-80. Dinner is on your own this evening.
This travel day gives everyone time to relax, revisit photos, and reflect on the incredible variety of scenery experienced over the past week — salt lake, red rock, desert canyon, Navajo lands, stone arches, river overlooks, and alpine peaks.

Day 12

Day 12: Monday, June 14, 2027
Lincoln to Davenport
After breakfast, enjoy a final day of travel as the group passes from Nebraska into Iowa, with rest stops along the way.
Later in the afternoon, arrive back in Iowa, marking the end of the tour.
You return home with more than photographs. You return with the memory of starlight over Bryce Canyon, the hush of Antelope Canyon, the bold silhouettes of Monument Valley, the red arches of Moab, the sweeping curves of Horseshoe Bend, and the high mountain views of Rocky Mountain National Park.
This is the kind of trip that stays with you because the landscapes are not ordinary. They are vast, colorful, humbling, and unforgettable.