TOURS & CRUISES

MINNESOTA

Something to howl about

STALK the elusive gray wolf on a weeklong tour of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park in northern Minnesota.

The guided tour starts Aug. 15 with a visit to the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minn., before the group embarks by canoe on the interconnecting waterways of the 1.5-million-acre Boundary Waters park. The park is home to the largest gray wolf population in the Lower 48.

The group will learn about the wolves’ natural habitat and social behavior, including wolf pack hierarchy, predator-prey relationships, pup rearing, mating systems and pack communication.

Participants might communicate with the wolves themselves.

“Each day we do group howls,” said Jim Blauch, owner and outfitter of Moose Track Adventures.

Cost: $895 per person, including guide, all meals, canoes, gear and camping equipment. Transportation from Los Angeles is not included.

Contact: Moose Track Adventures, Ely, Minn.; (800) 777-7091, www.moosetrackadventures.com.

NEW MEXICO

Pueblos and pampering

ESCAPE to the Land of Enchantment for a week of opera, art and yoga on a tour of Santa Fe and Taos.

The women-only tours, scheduled for July 25 and Aug. 14, include a Santa Fe Opera performance of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville.”

The groups will visit the former homes of artist Georgia O’Keeffe in Abiqui and at the Ghost Ranch Conference Center.

They will also watch a flamenco dance performance in Santa Fe and attend a ceremonial Native American dance performance at Cochi or Zia pueblos.

Yoga sessions, shopping, spa treatments, swimming and other activities are available daily.

Cost: $1,100 per person, double occupancy ($200 single surcharge), including hotels, most meals, ground transportation, tickets, classes and museum fees.

Contact: Aventura Artistica, Del Mar; (800) 808-7352, www.newmexicotours.com.

MONTANA

Ranch for all types of dudes

SADDLE up for a horseback ride or sit back and enjoy a hayride on a five-day dude ranch stay for adults with special needs at Flathead Lakes Lodge near Kalispell, Mont.

The program, which begins Sept. 24, is for participants older than 16.

Activities include fishing, swimming, hiking, sailing, singing and sharing stories around the campfire. A support staff is available 24 hours a day

Cost: $1,275 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, meals, guides and supervision. Transportation to Kalispell is not included

Contact: Sundial Special Vacations, Seaside, Ore.; (800) 547-9198, www.sundialtour.com.

NORWAY

Fiords via ship and train

FATHOM the fiords of Norway aboard the 643-passenger Finnmarken on a 17-day cruise and rail tour.

The escorted tour, which begins Sept. 14, includes two nights in Oslo visiting the Munch Museum, the Viking Ships Museum and the sculpture gardens of Vigeland Park.

The senior-oriented tour includes a ride on the Bergen Line, Northern Europe’s highest railway, over the mountains of Norway with views of the fiords below to Bergen. In subsequent days, the group will visit 34 ports, stopping at tiny villages along the coast. The ship serves double duty delivering mail and provisions.

Upon return to Bergen, the group will stay two nights and tour the medieval city.

Cost: $4,228 per person, double occupancy ($1,372 and up single surcharge), including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, air taxes and fees, accommodations, most meals, train passage, sightseeing tours, baggage handling, port charges, government taxes, group travel and medical insurance.

Contact: Golden Circle Cruises and Tours, Laguna Hills; (800) 364-6533.

OREGON, IDAHO

Northwest scenery by rail

HOP the trains on six scenic railroads from the Oregon coast to Boise National Forest in Idaho on a 10-day trip.

The tour, which begins Aug. 28, travels by train or bus through the rain forest of Oregon’s Coast Range. Other Oregon stops include the Columbia River Gorge, Eagle Cap Wilderness, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and Elkhorn Scenic Byway.

In Idaho, the group will visit the Payette River and ride a jet boat on the Snake River through upper Hells Canyon.

Cost: $1,745 ($260 single surcharge), including hotels, bus and train transportation from Portland, Ore., most meals, admissions and tour guide.

Transportation from Los Angeles to Portland is not included.

Contact: Mountain Outin’ Tours Inc., Irvine; (800) 844-3985, www.mountainoutin.com.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. Send information to Tours & Cruises, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or write via e-mail to travel@latimes.com.