Personalized Tour: Hidden Gems and Local Insights

Your guide will impart personal knowledge about every facet of the tour and will introduce you to sites and highlights tailored to your preferences, leveraging years of comprehensive familiarity with the area. This includes locations that are typically overlooked by other tours.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Capitol Reef National Park - The journey to and from the Bentonite Hills includes a trip through the famous geology and cultural history of Capitol Reef National Park. Your guide will share insight into the regions geologic origins as well as more recent cultural history and both Native American Fremont Culture and Ancient Puebloan sites located within the region.
What's Included
  • Complimentary bottled water
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities not included
Location
877 UT-24
Utah 24
The meeting point address is The Hidden Falls gas station's parking lot. The same parking lot is shared with La Queva restaurant. Park under a big green sign with gas prices on. Your tour guide will arrive in a black or white SUV with the letters MERIDIAN on it.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(32 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
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1 star
Bev_b
Nov 1, 2024
Stunning views!! - We really enjoyed our Bentonite Tour with Mel. He took the time to find out what we would enjoy the most and he made it happen! Mel was very knowledgeable about the region and the history. The Jeep was amazing and comfortable. We highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Elvisa_a
Oct 28, 2024
The driver was really... - The driver was really nice and informative. He showed us how to find different type of rock in different land formations. There was this one part where there used to flow water, and in those sections of land you can find naturally tumbled rocks and crystals.
Review provided by Viator
Dyna_c
Oct 12, 2024
Wonderful - It was our first time to visit this part of Utah. Could not ask for a better company to show us around.
Review provided by Viator
Leslie_s
Sep 26, 2024
Wonderful! - We appreciated that Mel customized our itinerary to meet our objectives. We made the 'blue hour' at Bentonite Hills and it was amazing. Thanks Mel for a once in a lifetime tour!
Review provided by Viator
Karl_r
Sep 23, 2024
Exciting tour! - This tour is the best way to see bentonite hills up close. Our guide was a very kind and she was very educated and will answer most of your questions on what you will see in your journey aboard a jeep.
Review provided by Viator
Byshoes
Sep 16, 2024
We have traveled to many parks and more overwhelmed by the beauty and the knowledge on each of the two tours we took. - Mel and Jenny are outstanding tour operators. They are extremely knowledgeable and offer a comprehensive experience of the entire area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Edward_r
Sep 13, 2024
Mel is an exceptional... - Mel is an exceptional guide. His knowledge and expertise is very valuable. He knows his stuff. Would highly recommend. Ed
Review provided by Viator
Willem_v
Oct 7, 2024
Great experience - That's up to me - don't start a mandatory novel full of compliments. We likes what we saw, let's keep it with that.
Review provided by Viator
714stefaniev
Sep 1, 2024
Safety is not a priority - Safety is not a concern for these companies whatsoever. My friend and I booked a tour to the bentonite hills and cathedral valley for 8/23/24. We had been visiting multiple national parks that week and on 8/23/24 we had finally arrived to the pick up location. We had some time so we stopped at the visitor center to use the wifi and finalize our pick up time and location. Once we arrived at the visitor center there were several park rangers that we spoke to who we had mentioned we had a tour scheduled to the bentonite hills for that evening and the immediate response from multiple park rangers at the counter was not to go due to the rain that had been hitting the area for 7 days straight. They mentioned that rain and the bentonite will turn into clay and several cars(SUV, Jeeps, trucks) including the only tow truck in the town had been stuck out there for several days and it was extremely unsafe and irresponsible to even attempt to go out there. This information was concerning for us so we decided to call Meridian Tours since we haven’t heard from them. We voiced our concerns and relayed the information that was provided by the park rangers. Meridian Tours mentioned that they’ve been doing tours for 5 yrs and they know what they are doing and they won’t get stuck because they have a jeep and that the park rangers only want to hurt their business and not to worry. Then he mentioned that if we had more time the following day that it would be better . That comment made me feel unsafe and I asked to cancel and get a refund since the weather made it unsafe. The guide refused and said it was because it was booked via Viator even though the cancellation policy talks about weather being a reason to cancel outside of the 24 hour period. I hung up and called viator Viator asked to submit proof. I jumped on the National Parks Service website and submitted screenshots noting that the bentonite hills and Cathedral valley are closed and impassable. Then I submitted videos of the weather showing rain and thunderstorms along with a recording from the NPS also noting that the hills have been closed since 8/21/24. After all this proof Viator declined our request for a refund noting the proof wasn’t enough. To me customer safety is not a concern for them. I understand needing to make money but at what cost? I am so disappointed in Viator and Meridian Tours lack of care for customers safety and lack of adhering to their own cancellation policy. I travel multiple times a year and I will never use either of these companies.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stefanie_v
Sep 1, 2024
Safety is not a concern - Safety is not a concern for these companies whatsoever. My friend and I booked a tour to the bentonite hills and cathedral valley for 8/23/24. We had been visiting multiple national parks that week and on 8/23/24 we had finally arrived to the pick up location. We had some time so we stopped at the visitor center to use the wifi and finalize our pick up time and location. Once we arrived at the visitor center there were several park rangers that we spoke to who we had mentioned we had a tour scheduled to the bentonite hills for that evening and the immediate response from multiple park rangers at the counter was not to go due to the rain that had been hitting the area for 7 days straight. They mentioned that rain and the bentonite will turn into clay and several cars(SUV, Jeeps, trucks) including the only tow truck in the town had been stuck out there for several days and it was extremely unsafe and irresponsible to even attempt to go out there. This information was concerning for us so we decided to call Meridian Tours since we haven’t heard from them. We voiced our concerns and relayed the information that was provided by the park rangers. Meridian Tours mentioned that they’ve been doing tours for 5 yrs and they know what they are doing and they won’t get stuck because they have a jeep and that the park rangers only want to hurt their business and not to worry. Then he mentioned that if we had more time the following day that it would be better . That comment made me feel unsafe and I asked to cancel and get a refund since the weather made it unsafe. The guide refused and said it was because it was booked via Viator even though the cancellation policy talks about weather being a reason to cancel outside of the 24 hour period. I hung up and called viator Viator asked to submit proof. I jumped on the National Parks Service website and submitted screenshots noting that the bentonite hills and Cathedral valley are closed and impassable. Then I submitted videos of the weather showing rain and thunderstorms along with a recording from the NPS also noting that the hills have been closed since 8/21/24. After all this proof Viator declined our request for a refund noting the proof wasn’t enough. To me customer safety is not a concern for them. I understand needing to make money but at what cost? I am so disappointed in Viator and Meridian Tours lack of care for customers safety and lack of adhering to their own cancellation policy. I travel multiple times a year and I will never use either of these companies.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 10 guests
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January 2025
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