Day 1

Fly from the UK to Rapid City, where you will stay for 2 nights.

Day 2

Rapid City is more than just the gateway to the Black Hills and Custer’s Trail. It boasts a vibrant downtown area with shops, restaurants, boutiques and galleries, a historic district, museums and attractions. Outdoor opportunities also abound with great hiking and mountain biking as well as horse riding.

Make sure you visit the city’s Journey Museum before starting your trip to get a great overview of the area through time, from the violent upheaval that formed the mystical Black Hills over 2.5 billion years ago to the continuing saga of the Western Frontier.

Day 3- (approx. 55 miles)

Head for Sturgis and Fort George Gordon Meade, which was established in 1878 as a cavalry fort to protect the new settlements in the northern Black Hills, especially the nearby gold mining area around Deadwood. Sturgis itself is famous for its motorcycle rally in August which each year attracts half a million bikers to the Black Hills.

Spend two nights in Deadwood. In 1874 the Black Hills Gold Rush and gave rise to the town of Deadwood, which quickly reached a population of around 5,000. The town attained notoriety for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok, and Mount Moriah Cemetery remains the final resting place of Hickok and Calamity Jane, as well as slightly less notable figures such as Seth Bullock.

Day 5- (approx. 55 miles) Deadwood to Custer, SD

Custer is the oldest city in the Black Hills and a great base from which to explore Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument and Custer State Park itself. Jewel Cave National Park and Wind Cave National Park are also close by. The downtown area has a great collection of boutiques and galleries, as well as some good local restaurants. The area is full of fascinating history relating to Custer and his expedition to find gold and the ensuing battles.

Spend two nights in Custer.

Day 7- (approx. 235 miles)- Custer to Pierre, SD

En-route to Pierre, stop at Badlands National Park, containing the world’s richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating back 34-25 million years. Bison, bighorn sheep, and endangered black-footed ferrets roam one of the largest, protected mixed-grass prairies in the United States.

Stay one night in Pierre, South Dakota’s state capital, on rocky river bluffs overlooking the Missouri. Take a tour of the South Dakota Capitol, view historic military outposts at Fort Pierre, enjoy water based activities on the Missouri River, and learn more about the state’s history at the Cultural Heritage Center.

Day 8- (approx. 210 miles)- Pierre to Bismarck, ND

Travel directly north to Bismarck, the capital city of North Dakota and stay one night in the Bismarck / Mandan area.

Visit Custer House and tour the last home and command of General George Armstrong Custer. It was from here that Custer and his 7th Cavalry rode to meet their fate at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. To the south of Mandan, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is located on the Missouri River’s banks. Its history goes back over 300 years when it was home to the Mandan Indians and later it was the site of a military garrison in the mid-to-late 1800s. Exhibits relate to the life of the Mandan Indians and the military history of the fort.

Day 9- (approx. 130 miles) Bismarck to Medora, ND

The Custer Trail follows closely to the Old Red/Old 10 Scenic Byway to Medora. This authentic Old West cow-town was founded in 1883 and today offers great live music, trail rides, mountain biking, hiking, museums, gift shops and restaurants.

Spend two nights here and visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Named for the 26th President, you can tour the Visitor’s Centre and Theodore Roosevelt’s cabin from the Maltese Cross Ranch. The loop drive provides opportunities to see buffalo, deer, elk, big-horn sheep, wild horses, mule deer and prairie dog towns.

Make time for the Custer Trail Auto Tour, which will guide you through all the significant places where Custer and his men made their expeditions. The North Dakota Cowboy Hall Of Fame (or Center of Western Heritage and Cultures) provides the history and heritage of the trail drivers, homesteaders and rodeo stars and the horse's impact on life on the North Dakota plains.

Day 11- (approx. 255 miles) Medora to Hardin, MT

Hardin is situated on the banks of the Bighorn River and on the edge of the Crow Indian Reservation. The reservation offers two mountain ranges, the rugged Pryor and Bighorn mountains, with rolling hills and semi-arid plains surrounding the peaks. South of Hardin is the Little Bighorn Battlefield, where the Northern Plains Indians defeated Custer and the U.S. Army. The world famous Custer's Last Stand Re-enactment, one of Custer Country's biggest annual attractions, is celebrated in Hardin.

Day 13- (approx. 50 miles) Hardin to Billings, MT

On your way, stop at to Pompeys Pillar, bearing the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. On the face of this 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley. Later Custer and his men camped across the Yellowstone from Pompeys Pillar and apparently swam in the Yellowstone here.

Spend your last two nights in Billings and enjoy this small city with modern shopping, Western history and culture, and its surrounding countryside, perfect for outdoor activities, wildlife viewing and scenic drives.

Day 15