Elemental experiences
in the Great American West
Feel the power of the elements in these four wild states
Words: Lauren Jarvis
Let your mind drift and imagine a journey of discovery in the legendary land of the Great American West.
Like early Indigenous hunter-gatherers who followed thundering bison herds across the prairies, timeless vistas connect you to the earth, air, light and water. And from the rugged badlands of South Dakota, to the aurora borealis dancing across North Dakota’s dark skies; the vibrant autumn colours in Wyoming to Idaho’s rumbling falls, this wildly beautiful realm allows freedom and space to reconnect with yourself, too.
EARTH
South Dakota
Travel through millions of years of geological history in South Dakota, as you hike the canyons in Badlands National Park, following in the footsteps of extinct giant beasts like the rhino-like Brontothere, found fossilised and excavated in the park. See palaeontology in action at the Fossil Preparation Lab, before heading to Hot Springs, home to The Mammoth Site, where more than 60 of these Ice Age icons have been unearthed.
Also immortalised in stone, the carved heads of four American Presidents – Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln – loom large at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the Black Hills. Nearby, Crazy Horse Memorial rears up from Thunder Mountain, honouring Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse. While the carving remains under construction, visitors can view the sculpture and learn about the Lakota at The Indian Museum of North America. Indigenous heritage is also celebrated in the striking 50-foot-tall statue, Dignity of Earth and Sky, which portrays a Native American woman overlooking the Missouri River.
The bison is the star attraction at the annual Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival in Custer State Park, while the gold rush town of Deadwood provides the perfect backdrop to live out your Wild West dreams.
If you have more time
Stay a little longer to explore the trails in the other wonderfully wild states of the Great American West, like the 15-mile Hiawatha Cycling Trail in Idaho, which follows a historic railway line through the spectacular Bitterroot Mountains. Step back in time at the Wyoming State Museum with its dinosaur and Native American exhibits, or saddle up for an authentic ranch stay. In North Dakota, the MHA Nation Interpretive Center offers an immersive journey through Indigenous culture, while the International Peace Garden stands as a symbol of unity and friendship on the US-Canadian border.
Explore Wyoming’s spectacular Grand Teton National Park to see wild bison and, if you’re lucky, grizzly bears and wolves: animals long held sacred by Native American tribes. And at Devils Tower National Monument, Indigenous legends of spirit bears surround the mesmerising 867-feet-tall rock formation featured in the Steven Spielberg classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
AIR
North Dakota
Whether you’re gazing at the northern lights rippling across the night sky, or watching balloons drift above the badlands in the Medora Hot Air Balloon Rally, prepare to feel your spirit soar in North Dakota.
This is the land that shaped President Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas about conservation, and today the state’s largest national park honours his name and protects 70,446 acres of wilderness where he found “perfect freedom” in the late-1800s. The immersive new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, opening in summer 2026, will highlight what we can learn from – not about – the “Conservation President”.
Rich in Native American heritage, North Dakota hosts the United Tribes Technical College International Powwow, which brings together Indigenous communities in a celebration of sport, music and dance. The state also honours Native American interpreter and guide, Sacagawea, at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Nearby stands a replica of Fort Mandan, the encampment where the legendary expedition party overwintered in 1804-05, offering the chance to reflect on their journey through the interior to the Pacific Ocean.
Saddle up at The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame to learn about ranchers and rodeos as well Native American history and for aviation enthusiasts, the Fargo and Dakota Territory Air Museums showcase vintage planes and military jets.
If you have more time
The dark skies above North Dakota blanket Idaho, Wyoming and South Dakota too, and aspiring astronomers will find opportunities to convene with the heavens at South Dakota’s Badlands Observatory and Wyoming’s Snow King Observatory and Planetarium, reached by a scenic gondola ride. The Great American West’s designated International Dark Sky Parks dazzle with stars, so remember that “half the park is after dark” when you explore Wyoming’s Sinks Canyon State Park and Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.
While they no longer take to the skies, the historic aircraft at The Warhawk Air Museum in Idaho see the stories of heroic veterans take flight and on the 2.2-million-acre Wind River Indian Reservation, museums and an audio tour bring the tales of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes to life. Time your Wyoming adventure to watch the Indigenous Eagle Spirit Singers and Dancers perform at the Museum of the American West in Lander, too.
LIGHT
Wyoming
Sunlight paints rainbows on tumbling cascades in Yellowstone National Park, home to some of the most stunning, vibrant geological and thermal wonders in the world. In neighbouring Grand Teton, rays filter through branches of fir and aspen, dappling the backcountry and drawing marmots from their burrows to bask on the rocks. If you’re hiking, you’ll need to keep an eye on the trail, but be sure to look up, breathe and blink-in Wyoming’s luminous beauty, too.
The USA’s oldest national park, Yellowstone is a wonderland of other-worldly delights from the eye-popping Grand Prismatic Spring, to the sky-soaring Steamboat and Old Faithful geysers and the steaming crystalline steps surrounding Mammoth Hot Springs.
At night, the inky dark skies over Jackson Hole, Flaming Gorge or Sinks Canyon State Park reveal the marvel of the Milky Way, while ranger-led full-moon hikes uncover ancient myths and mystery at Devils Tower National Monument.
This is gold rush country and Wyoming’s ghost town of South Pass City invites you to stroll along the historic boardwalk and back to the 1800s, where you can tour the Carissa Gold Mine and drink an ice-cold sarsaparilla. In autumn, you’ll find treasure in “them thar hills”, too, as verdant forested slopes throw on their cloak of ochre, scarlet and gold.
If you have more time
The myriad stars shimmering above the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve and stunning aurora borealis that illuminates North Dakota meet their match in the Festival of Lights Parade in South Dakota’s Rapid City. Each winter, festive floats dazzle their way through Downtown, while 30,000 visitors warm up with hot chocolate or a skate around the city’s open-air ice rink.
The North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum sheds light on more than 12,000 years of human history and offers a unique welcome in the Northern Lights Atrium, inspired by Native American design. A glimmer of precious metal could see your fortunes change at the Broken Boot Gold Mine in Deadwood, South Dakota, as you follow in the footsteps of long-gone miners and pan for gold. Or strike it rich with a stay in the state’s Firefly Treehouse and watch an epic sunset, before being lulled to sleep by a light installation replicating fireflies and stars.
WATER
Idaho
Wherever you go in Idaho, you’re never far from the healing power of water, and whether you’re a kayaker, sailor, swimmer, or someone who simply likes to sit, read or dream, the state’s rivers, lakes and waterfalls will deliver experiences and memories you’ll never forget.
Keen paddlers and those eager to ride their first rapids will find 3,100 miles of navigable whitewater to explore, passing through rugged desert gorges and pristine mountain wilderness.
At Hells Canyon – the deepest in North America – take a thrilling jet-boat tour through the Frank Church Wilderness Area on the Salmon River, looking out for bears, deer and elk. Or for a slower, more serene adventure, hop on a paddle board to explore the Boise River or take a boat cruise of the stunning Lake Coeur d’Alene.
The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail follows the route of their 1803-1806 expedition through the homelands of 60 tribal nations, with many significant landmarks in Idaho. The Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural and Education Center near Salmon, the “Birthplace of Sacajawea”, lies in the beautiful Lemhi Valley, known for its sparkling rivers and streams. And be sure to stroll the Idaho Falls Riverwalk and visit the “Niagara of the West”, the spectacular Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, named after the Native American tribe who held the falls sacred.
If you have more time
There are soul-soothing water-based adventures to be had throughout the Great American West, whether you’re rafting a wild river or hiking around a mountain lake.
On the banks of the Missouri River in North Dakota, you’ll find a replica of a keelboat, similar to the one used by Lewis and Clark, and hiking and biking trails along the river, which was plied by steamboats until the railroads took their place in the late 1800s.
In Wyoming, join a scenic raft float along the Snake River surrounded by the soaring peaks of Grand Teton National Park, paddle the crystal lakes of the Wind Rivers Range in the epic Rocky Mountains, or go kayaking or whitewater rafting along the Shoshone River near Cody. And it may be the largest city in South Dakota, but even in Sioux Falls, you’re just a stone’s throw from a wet and wild adventure, as the Big Sioux River rumbles its way through epic cascades formed in the Ice Age.
