About Xanterra Parks & Resorts.

For Immediate Release

Photos Available

DENVER, August 6, 2008 - Back-to-school season is almost here, and students are already shopping for essential supplies and clothes. Not all students, however, are buying paper, pencils and calculators. In sports and outfitter stores across the country, grown-up "students" from their 20s to their 80s are purchasing different kinds of "school" supplies - hiking boots, rain gear, binoculars and moleskin - in preparation for trips to nature's classrooms - national parks.

National park visitation drops dramatically from August to September in nearly every major national park. In Grand Canyon National Park, for example, total visitation in July 2007 was 604,185 while visitation in September was 424,493. In Yellowstone, visitation dropped from 822,773 to 463,994.

"Our guest demographics change significantly in the fall," said Judi Lages, vice president of sales and marketing for concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts. "We see fewer children and our interpretive programs such as motorcoach tours, trail rides and interpretive boat tours tend to be mostly adults."

The first two weeks of September are often a good time to find prime rooms in national park lodges, said Lages. "Right before and after kids head back to school travelers will often find rooms available in lodges that have been sold out for most of the summer," she said.

Xanterra operates lodges, restaurants, gift shops, tours and activities in Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Death Valley, Rocky Mountain and Petrified Forest National Parks and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The company has developed numerous programs to enhance visitors' experiences by educating them about a park's geology, history, wildlife and environmental challenges.  Fishing guides in Yellowstone, for example, are quick to teach guests the proper way to hold a fish to minimize stress and about the merits of the park's catch-and-release program. They'll also provide information about the pervasive nature and potentially devastating effects of the lake trout population in Yellowstone Lake.

At Petrified Forest National Park, Xanterra works with the National Park Service to educate visitors about the petrified wood found in the park and to prevent precious park resources from disappearing. Situated in the Xanterra-operated gift shop is a display with a large selection of reasonably priced petrified wood collected outside the park's borders. Signs explain that park resources are in jeopardy and outline steps taken to ensure protection of the park's natural resources.

Other examples of educational programs include:

· The four-night Roosevelt Rendezvous Lodging & Learning program offers visitors an opportunity to immerse themselves in a variety of Yellowstone topics, including wildlife, human history, geothermal features, hiking and photography. The program includes lodging in the historic Roosevelt Lodge, meals, in-park transportation and excursions with naturalists/guides. The program is offered Sept. 5, 9 and 13. Price is $639 per adult based on two adults per room.

· The Desert View Tour along the East Rim of Grand Canyon National Park travels to the Watchtower, an architecturally and historically significant building 52 miles from Grand Canyon Village. It is priced at $40 per person and lasts 3.75 hours. Children under the age of 16 ride free with paying adults.

· Every national park offers free National Park Service ranger programs. Schedules are posted at visitor centers. At Zion National Park, for example, hikers can ask rangers about the terrain and challenges of popular hikes such as Angel's Landing and The Narrows. Many of the trailheads are located near Zion Lodge, open year-round.

· The popular National Park Service Visitor Center at Mount Rushmore National Memorial explains the history of one of the world's most famous sculptures and is a perfect place to start before walking the Presidential Trail for close-up views of the mountain. Xanterra Parks & Resorts operates a restaurant and gift shop at Mount Rushmore.

· Yellowstone's famous Washburn Expedition is highlighted during a four-hour tour that follows the course taken by the group of 1870 explorers. Their discoveries - including the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - eventually prompted the U.S. government to designate Yellowstone the country's first national park in 1872. The Historic Yellow Bus tour travels through some of the most scenic areas of the park while drivers talk about early explorers and others who helped transform Yellowstone from an unprotected wilderness to the world's first national park. Xanterra offers several other Historic Yellow Bus tours departing from various park locations. The Washburn Expedition tour departs from Lake Hotel, Fishing Bridge RV Park and Canyon Lodge and is priced at $76 for adults and $38 for children.

For more information about learning vacations in national parks visit www.xanterra.com.

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Xanterra Parks & Resorts® (consisting of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. and Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C.) operates lodges, restaurants and other concessions at national parks and state parks and resorts. Xanterra Parks & Resorts is the country's largest park concessioner. Xanterra operates concessions in the following locations: Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Rocky Mountain and Petrified Forest National Parks, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial; and at the Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif.; and eight Ohio State Parks. Its affiliate Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. operates concessions at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Xanterra also operates the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Ariz.

Long committed to the preservation and protection of the environment, Ecologix, Xanterra Parks & Resorts' environmental program, includes a variety of proactive environmental stewardship programs in each location. Xanterra has been repeatedly recognized for its environmental leadership in the hospitality industry and is the recipient of many honors, including major awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Travel Industry Association, Colorado Department of Public Health, State of Arizona, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

For more information about Xanterra, links to individual properties and reservations numbers, visit www.xanterra.com.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts

6312 S. Fiddlers Green Circle

Suite 600 North

Greenwood Village, Co 80111

Media contact:

Mona Mesereau

(1) 720-842-5271

mona_mesereau@msn.com