TOURING - Brief Article

* Collette Tours packages "New England Back Roads," an eight-day loop from Boston. Vermont high-lights include the idyllic village of Newfane, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, and the Vermont Teddy Bear company. In New Hampshire's White Mountains, tour members enjoy scenic Franconia Notch and outlet shopping in North Conway. Also visited are Portland, Freeport, and Kennebunkport, Maine. Twin rate is $899 to $999. Contact: Collette Tours (TravelAmerica Magazine), 162 Middle St., Pawtucket, RI 02860; (888) 344-5578.

Rose Parade

* Dan Dipert Tours offers "Tournament of Roses Parade," a five-day New Year's whirl through southern California. Included are reserved seats for the nationally televised Pasadena parade and a behind-the-scenes preview of parade floats. Other sights include Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland. Twin rate is $854. Contact: Dan Dipert Tours (TravelAmerica Magazine), P.O. Box 580, Arlington, TX 76013; (800) 433-5335.

History Lessons

* Mayflower Tours packages "Washington, D.C., Williamsburg and Gettysburg," an eight-day, all-American tour that includes George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, Carter's Grove Plantation, and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville. Twin rate is $1,198. Contact: Mayflower Tours (TravelAmerica Magazine), 1225 Warren Ave., Downers Grove, IL 60515; (800) 323-7604.

Pacific Northwest

* Globus' "Islands of the Pacific Northwest" is an eight-day tour from Seattle to Vancouver with numerous cruises and ferry crossings, plus ample free time. Tour members visit Washington State's San Juan Islands, take a nature cruise off British Columbia's Quadra Island, and enjoy a rail journey on Vancouver Island. Twin rate is $1,479. Contact: Globus (TravelAmerica Magazine), 5301 S. Federal Circle, Littleton, CO 80123; (877) 325-0656.

Deluxe Train

* The American Orient Express luxury train presents "Rockies and Yellowstone," a seven-day swing from Denver to Salt Lake City. Excursions go to Colorado National Monument, Utah's Arches National Park, and Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Twin rate is from $2,990. Contact: American Orient Express (TravelAmerica Magazine), 5100 Main St., Downers Grove, IL 60515; (877) 854-3545.

Lake Michigan

* The West Michigan Tourist Association and Brenner Tours have packaged the "Lake Michigan Lighthouse Circle Tour," an 1,100-mile ramble along the shores of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In seven days, guests will visit four lighthouses, take a dune schooner ride at Michigan's Silver Lake, enjoy a Door County (Wisconsin) fish boil, see the sights of Chicago, and tour Mackinac Island by horse carriage. Remaining dates are August 11 and October 6. Twin rate starts at $977 from Grand Rapids. Contact: Brenner Tours (TravelAmerica Magazine), 2535 132nd Ave., Hopkins, MI 49328; (800) 338-5963.

Young Hawaii

* Contiki Holidays, a tour operator that targets ages 18 to 35, offers "Hawaiian Discovery," an eight-day tour of three islands. Cost is $935 from Honolulu. Contact: Contiki (TravelAmerica Magazine), 2300 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA 92806; (800) CONTIKI.

Smoky Mountains

* Collette Tours' new "Smoky Mountains" is a nine-day swing from Atlanta to Nashville. Highlights include Dahlonega and Helen, Georgia; Asheville, North Carolina; and Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Chattanooga, and Nashville, Tennessee. Twin rate is $1,299. Contact: Collette Tours (TravelAmerica Magazine), 162 Middle St., Pawtucket, RI 02860; (888) 344-5578.

Paddle Alaska

A 23-day Porcupine River canoe expedition into the depths of the Yukon and Alaska (July 26 to August 17) is offered by Wilderness Inquiry (TravelAmerica Magazine), 1313 Fifth St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55414; (800) 728-0719. Cost is $2,095.

Cowboy Life

Cattle drives in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are organized by American Wilderness Experience (TravelAmerica Magazine), P.O. Box 1486, Boulder, CO 80306; (800) 444-0099.

Eastern Seaboard

Delta Queen Coastal Cruises next year will offer a variety of cruise itineraries touching ports from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Miami. Its new 226-passenger ship will cover such routes as Portland (Maine) to Boston, Boston to New York, Philadelphia to Washington, and Norfolk to Jacksonville, plus roundtrips from Halifax and New York. The new line is a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Delta Queen Steamboat Company, (800) 543-1949.

Wagons Ho

Travelers can sample pioneer life on three-night wagon train adventures in the Pawnee National Grassland of northeastern Colorado. Guests of Pawnee Wagon Train Vacations sleep in tents, enjoy evening campfires, and feast on Western grub like steaks, bacon and eggs, and flapjacks. They can help care for the 2,200-pound Belgian horses that pull the wagons. Price ($550 a person with a 10 percent discount for kids under 12) includes transportation to and from Denver International Airport. Contact: Pawnee Vacation Tours (TravelAmerica Magazine), 130 N. Second St., Sterling, CO 80751; (800) 284-0357.

East Tennessee

A self-guiding "Great Smoky Mountains Photo Safari" brochure is available from the Greeneville/Greene County Chamber of Commerce (TravelAmerica Magazine), 207 N. Main St., Greeneville, TN 37743; (423) 638-4111. The route includes the Nolichucky River, Cherokee National Forest, country stores, and Andrew Johnson historic sites.