12 Day Tour: July 7-18, 2026
Best Pacific NW National Parks Trip EVER! Pricing Base Tour Pricing
- Base Pricing is always calculated for double occupancy.
- $1300 supplemental for Solo Travelers.
Tour Highlights
- Mt. St. Helens
- Lassen Volcano National Park
- Alcatraz
- Mt. Rainier National Park
- Yosemite
- Redwoods National Park
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Portland
- Crater Lake
- Olympic National Park
- Lake Quinault
- 3 UNESCO Sites
- 6 National Parks!
Tour Includes
- Roundtrip airfare from Chicago
- First Class Hotel Accommodations
- Daily Breakfast
- 7 Dinners
- Deluxe Motorcoach Transportation
- Admissions to all listed Attractions
- Roundtrip airport transfers in the Chicagoland area
- Guided by Bill Ball
- Baggage Handling
- All Gratuities
Tour Itinerary
Day Day One We fly from Chicago to San Francisco, California, the Golden Gate City, considered by many to be America’s most beautiful city. Our city tour presents us with a myriad of views…cable cars, Chinatown, Nob Hill, Golden Gate and the Bay bridges. Tonight, we enjoy a welcome dinner at Pier 39. We see the bay lit up by millions of lights.
Day Two Destination: Alcatraz—The Rock. Once considered escape-proof, this former federal prison housed America’s toughest criminals, Al Capone and the Birdman of Alcatraz included. National Park Service rangers bring “The Rock” alive with stories of inmates and guards. This afternoon we head to Yosemite National Park where you will stay in the park itself! Nature will be just outside your door.
Day Three We explore Yosemite, focusing on its valley. Dazzling panoramas take in El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks, and 620-foot-high Bridal Veil Falls. The valley was once under a sea of ice over 2000 feet deep. We will also visit the giant sequoia trees, some as old as 2700 years. Yosemite National park is the first UNESCO World Heritage site we visit on this tour.
Day Four Our travel brings us to Redding, California. We take a leisurely drive offering beautiful vistas—farms, ranches, forests, vineyards, lakes and more. We discuss the history and settlement of the area, the Gold Rush lore, and the geological and biological forces at work. We visit our second national park today—Lassen Volcano. Lassen Volcano is one of the most scenic parks in America, yet few know of it. Steam vents, giant cinder cones, multi-colored landscapes—this is not to be missed.
Day Five We start our day in Redding exploring the natural history of the area in a surprise worthy of Bill’s extras. We next explore Redwood National Park, our second UNESCO site. You will feel the cool, moist air and a peacefulness as you gaze up at these tall sentinels, the earth’s tallest living things. Touring within the park and along its 40 miles of rugged coastline, we marvel at the giant redwood trees—some over 3500 feet tall.
Day Six Crater Lake National Park—pristine, hidden away in dense forestland. This incredible lake is six miles wide, with water so intensely blue it looks like ink, and completely ringed by towering cliffs up to 2000 feet above the surface of the lake. Created by Mt. Mazama’s final eruption in 5700 BC, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US at 1900 feet. Today we explore the geology, ecology, flora and fauna. Black bears and bobcats, deer and marmots, eagles and hawks share the slopes of this 70,000 year old dormant volcano. We overnight in Crater Lake Lodge, the most beautiful in all the national parks.
Day Seven Travel with us to Portland, Oregon today. Enroute we enjoy spectacular forest and mountain scenery. We tour Yamhill and Skidmore National Historic District, which preserves beautiful 19th century cast iron architecture. We see City Hall, said to be the most beautiful in the US, and Forest Park, the largest urban wilderness in America, known for over 150 species of wildlife.
Day Eight We head to the ocean before going back into the mountains for one of the 50 natural wonders of the US—Cannon Beach. Named so for the cannon like rocks scattered along it. One of those is the most accessible Puffin colony in the world along with many other seabird species. From there we head to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This volcano erupted, blowing its top in 1980, laying waste to mile upon mile of virgin timber. See firsthand how nature repairs and replaces itself. From an overlook we can look into the crater itself. We drive to and overnight in Mt. Rainier National Park.
Day Nine Today we experience and explore Mount Rainier National Park, which sits astride one of the world’s most massive volcanoes. It is so gigantic that it dominates the horizon for 100 miles before you reach it. Its height is 14,410 feet (almost 3 miles). Look closely, and you may see a black bear, marmot or pika. Mt. Rainier’s 25 major glaciers form the largest collection of permanent ice on a single US peak south of Alaska.
Day Ten We tour Seattle, a crown jewel of the Pacific northwest. On our city tour we visit Pioneer Square Historic District, a starting point for the gold rush; Pike Place farmer’s market and of course we see the famous Space Needle. We end the day inside the Olympic National Park on one of the most scenic lakes in the world.
Day Eleven Olympic National Park is so truly unique it has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The park’s temperate rainforests occur near some of the nation’s wildest coastline. In the Quinault temperate rainforest you experience lush foliage, cathedral-like glades of Douglas fir, western red cedar and other conifers. Look also for beaver dams, deer, bald eagles, osprey, and other sea birds. With over 200 inches of precipitation per year, this is the wettest climate in the lower 48 states. We cover the fabled Hoh Rainforest and the top of the Olympic Mountains. This is one of the most diverse parks on earth.
Day Twelve We fly home having seen so many unique National Parks, savoring memories of this great adventure with nature and our fellow travelers after one more Bill Ball Surprise.
