Dear Friend of the National Parks,

It’s no accident that NPCA partners with a tour company called Off the Beaten Path. We’ve always encouraged our members and supporters to take the road less traveled, far from the main tourist track, to discover lesser-known parklands.

What better way to explore these hidden wonders than with expert guides, pre-arranged transportation and lodging, and a small group of like-minded adventurers (no more than 16 people) who are as curious and enthusiastic about the parks as you are?

Next spring, we are offering trips to some of the more remote destinations, including Big Bend National Park, a hidden gem along the country’s southern border, in the Chisos Mountains of West Texas … and Chaco Culture National Historic Park on the Colorado Plateau in northern New Mexico.

Puebloan Mystery: Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly
(April-May, October 2020)

Over a thousand years ago, an indigenous group known as Ancestral Puebloans built highly engineered settlements in modern day Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. There are several different theories as to why the people who built these elaborate sites abandoned them, but we do know that their descendants still live in the Four Corners region, occupying various modern-day pueblos such as the Acoma Pueblo, a mesa top community that has been occupied for more than 800 years.

On this seven-day adventure, you’ll explore this mystery and delve deeper into the story at each stop. You’ll start at Mesa Verde, one of the most iconic Puebloan sites, with its picturesque cliff dwellings. From there, you’ll journey to Chaco Culture National Historic Park (a personal favorite!), which NPCA has been fighting for years to protect from oil and gas leasing threats.

Then, at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona, your Navajo guide will share traditional knowledge and insight on a fascinating daylong, Jeep excursion. One of your culminating explorations will be at Acoma Pueblo, where your local guide will help you connect the stories from this rich cultural landscape.

Big Secret, Big Bend
(March-April, September-October 2020)

Tucked like a hidden treasure into a sweeping turn of the Rio Grande in far West Texas, Big Bend National Park is one of the least visited and most pristine wilderness areas in North America. Encompassing more than 800,000 acres, the park includes three distinct environments: the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains and snaking river canyons.

On this seven-day adventure, you will dig deeply into the region’s cultural and natural history with your naturalist guide. Hike sandy washes and mountain trails, explore the dramatic limestone formations of Boquillas and Santa Elena canyons, walk cottonwood-lined riverbanks, and listen for the distant howl of coyotes. Your lodge inside the park makes a great base for exploration while allowing you to really settle in. Come with us to explore this off-the-beaten-path treasure of the National Park System.

It is not too late to book a trip in 2019! Save $200 per person on any 2019 departure.

For more great trip ideas, check out our full lineup of tours, featuring 2019-2020 departure dates, rates and day-by-day itineraries.

You can always reach out to me directly at 800.628.7275 or at [email protected].

See you in the parks!

Jared Dial
Travel Program Manager

Here's one more great reason to travel with us: Every time you join an NPCA small-group tour, you support NPCA’s work to protect our national parks for current and future generations.

Photo: Doorways of Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park © Gnagel/Dreamstime.

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E-mail us at [email protected], write to us at 777 6th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001, or call us at 800.NAT.PARK (800.628.7275).

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