Jason offers breathtaking tours across the American West.
Established in 2013, Southwest Adventure Tours has flourished into a premier tour operator for small groups seeking natural beauty in the American West. What began as the singular passion of founder Jason Murray has grown to include an expanded operations team and a network of over 60 guides that lead groups through America’s national parks.
What is a sampling of your tour itineraries, and what has proven popular with groups?
Our main niche is small group travel, which is typically 15 passengers or less. Our most popular tours are our Mighty Five Tours, which travel from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas and include stops in Utah’s five national parks. We also have a National Parks of Colorado tour that started a few years ago and has continued to grow in popularity, and it includes stops at Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain National Park. We also offer a Trail of the Ancients trip that incorporates the Ancestral Pueblo lands of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico that has proven very popular.
What sort of themed itineraries does Southwest Adventure Tours offer?
All of our tours have the ability to be photography tours, and we offer custom private photography experiences. All of our guides are versed in the general basics of good photography and can point guests to particular National Park areas at certain times to capture a photo. We also have wildlife biologists, geologists and anthropologists who are part of our staff.
What do you feel are the benefits of operating with smaller tour groups?
In the current environment, it’s been huge for the health of the company. We’ve been operating since June of 2020, with groups going out weekly. Just as important is the personal attention you can give a guest in a smaller group. Travel is all about the experience, enriching your life, going to a new place and experiencing new things. Our guests can have intimate oneon- one time with other members of the group and create lifelong friends.
Southwest Adventure Tours has grown so much and you supervise a large team, but do you still lead and supervise tours yourself?
I do. Even though I’m the owner of the company, I still try to join a day tour or multi-day tour once a month, so I can continue to interact with the clientele and get feedback from them. Travel is always changing, and the needs and wants of the customer are always shifting. To understand those changes and be able to respond to them is one of the things I try to do to stay relevant in this industry.
What is your favorite region to explore in Colorado?
Personally, I love Southwest Colorado. I fell in love with the Ancestral Puebloan history, their culture, the ruins sites and the joy of traveling on the Million Dollar Highway all the way up to Grand Junction. There are so many untouched places in that region that are so beautiful
