Sometime in your life, you’ve got to see the American West whether it’s the canyons of Utah or the mountains and hot springs in Wyoming. We happen to think the best way to see this region is on a bike tour or hiking tour of the American West.

Backroads offers active tours to Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and more, giving you the opportunity to see these glorious vistas in the open air as you pedal through each state or hike on your own two feet. Smell the wildflowers, see the mountains unobstructed and drink in the fresh alpine air.

Here are a few of our top Western vacations that we think you should consider this year:

New Mexico Biking: Santa Fe & Taos – This 6-day, 5-night New Mexico bike tour takes you through the land that inspired artist Georgia O’Keefe, across the fifth highest bridge in the US, a chance to bike the Enchanted Circle around Wheeler Peak and through Spanish and Indian ruins. Runs May, June, September & October.

Wyoming: Yellowstone and Tetons Multisport – This is your chance to see mud pots, spouting geysers and steaming vents, along with the beautiful peaks of the Tetons and the Snake River as you white-water raft  down it. This 6-day 5-night tour screams adventure! Get ready to bike Wyoming, hike Grand Teton National Park and kayak Yellowstone Lake. This Wyoming adventure is offered as a Classic Tour June-September, for Singles-Solos  in July, for families June-August and as a deluxe camping experience June-August.

Montana Biking – Right next door to Wyoming is beautiful Montana where you’ll get to bike the Going-to-the-Sun Road and take in the true alpine beauty of the American West. As you bike Montana, pedal past Lake McDonald, sparkling waterfalls, through glacier-carved valleys and even take a trek into Canada and visit a National Park. As the finale, raft down the Flathead River. This is a 6-day, 5-night trip that runs July-August as a classic tour and June and August for Singles-Solos.

Utah: Bryce & Zion Biking – Red rocks galore are what you’ll find on this bike trip through Utah. You’ll see rocks of all shapes and sizes from whimsically-shaped formations to towers and arches. Get ready to be amazed at what Mother Nature creates! On this Utah bike tour, you’ll also work your way through many canyons, bike through Zion National Park with its colored pinnacles, spires and hoodoos, as well as marvel at Mount Carmel’s white sandstone Elkhard Cliffs. This bike tour of Utah runs 6 days and 5 nights June-September and is also available for Singles and Solos in July.

Where have you always dreamed of heading out West? Don’t forget to bring your cowboy boots and cowboy hat – oh yeah, and your sense of adventure!

To book any of our active trips to the American West, please call us daily 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific time at 800-462-2848.

Can you imagine going from never having changed a bike tire to leading a group of 60 on a bike tour to one of the country’s most popular regions? Meet Backroads Trip Leader Matt Sulkis! It’s not a challenge he shied away from!

In fact, Matt came to Backroads as a bit of a surprise. “I was not a cyclist, did not know how to change a tire and had never planned on traveling or guiding for a living,” says Matt. But he heard about Backroads’ adventure tours through a friend while he was still working for an environmental consulting firm in Vancouver. He decided to give it a go.

Fast forward three years and Matt is now leading Backroads’ annual Bikefest bike trip through Wine Country. On this sojourn, which we like to describe as deluxe camping, singles and solos bike through the rolling hills of northern California, sip wines from myriad wineries and enjoy rollicking campfires and live music every evening. It is a “fest” indeed!

Now, says Matt, “I now own a quiver of bikes and have been moving all over the world nonstop for three years. It has been quite a gift.”

“I think that seeing the world by bicycle is unique,” says Matt. “You are engaging so many of your senses, have complete control over where you go and what you see, and are being green in the process. I love that our guests choose to see the  world this way.”

If we haven’t convinced you to travel with Matt yet, well, then check out his tent set-up skills in this quick, fun video below. On a Backroads deluxe camping adventure tour, our Trip Leaders set up camp for you, so all you have to do is show up, relax and lay your head on the pillow. Take a look:

Interested in our Singles Bikefest? We’ve added a second date for 2013 due to its popularity last year. Party with us in either July or September. [Read our blog on Bikefest for more information] or call us at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily to save your spot!

You know how people joke around that “camping” for them is staying in a hotel? We know a few people who say that and we firmly believe that if they ever took a Backroads Deluxe Camping Trip, they’d: A.) Love it. B.) Wish they were camping with Backroads the next time they had to stay in a hotel.

That’s a bold statement, but if you’re familiar with Backroads, you probably know that we do a lot of planning and organizing and that we do a lot of the work so you can really relax and enjoy your experience. Here’s the secret to our Deluxe Camping Trips: We apply these same principles to the campground. While some call our camping style, glamping, we prefer to stick to the term “deluxe.”

After a great day of biking, hiking and sightseeing, when you arrive at the camp site, you’ll find that the trip leaders, camp chef and camp assistant have already taken care of setting up a spacious dome tent and put your luggage inside. They’ve also put down an extra-thick sleeping pad and rolled out your plush sleeping bag. Next they’ll prepare the meal, including kid-friendly fare!

No wrestling with the tent, the sleeping bag or trying to set up an area to cook, much less figuring out WHAT to cook. We do it all for you. What’s for dinner? It depends on where we are, but the chef will whip up anything from broiled salmon and roast chicken to fresh salads and rich desserts. What’s for breakfast? How does sourdough French toast, fresh melon and eggs cooked-to-order sound?

Backroads offers Deluxe Camping Trips in North America and we pick the best camp sites we can find. Previous guests have said the Deluxe Camping Trips were “superb” and that our guides “worked together like synchronized swimmers, seamlessly executing a daily dance that made every element of the camping experience an effortless joy for everyone.”

That may not sound like any camping trip you’ve ever heard of, and that’s OK. Backroads is here to offer you an experience of a lifetime seeing the world on the back roads … and to change your perspective on camping. We don’t call it Deluxe Camping for nothing!

For more information, visit Backroads’ website or call one of our trip consultants today between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time at 1-800-462-2848.