Six magnificent North American train trips

In the 19th and 20th centuries, railroads revolutionized North American transport, forever accelerated the pace of travel across the continent. Today, many of these railway tracks host a historic assortment of field trips, inviting riders to enjoy a relaxed and spectacular day. Today, many of the same trucks host a historic field trip train assortment, inviting riders to enjoy a relaxed and spectacular day.

The train below is a destination in itself, offering a mix of spectacular sightseeing, onboard food and a glorious outdoor observation vehicle. They cross deserts, mountains, forests and canyons, pulled by diesel and steam, taking steam into parts of nature that can only be reached by rail. They are rolling lessons in geology and ecology, not to mention history. Most are accessible and do not cost more than $150. Each offers a window into the diverse beauty of this continent.

Canada, Ontario

Agawa Canyon Tour Train

One of Canada's most scenic train routes begins in the town of Sault Ste. Marie, just above the Michigan-Ontario border. Originally devised to transport the area's timber and iron ore, the previous Argoma Central Railway has been delivering passenger services that focus on some form of recreation for decades through the Agawa Canyon 1.2 billion years ago, and have been cutting them picturesquely.

Today it is the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, offering an all-day excursion to spend plenty of time enjoying the views both on board and on foot. The train runs for four hours at 8am through the 114-mile wilderness of Canada Shield, highlighting the committee's comments, highlighting points of interest along the way. At Mile 102, the train will descend 500 feet to the canyon floor (accessible only by rail). Passengers can descend for 90 minutes and explore Agawa Canyon Park, the panoramic observation deck and the waterfall before returning home.

Trains cost $150 (approximately $104) for Canadian dollars and daily during peak leaf season ($166). Riders can pre-order food or upgrade to their own new Stonegardner “Theatre Car” using swivel lounge chairs and a huge rear window ($500 including breakfast, lunch and drinks). Also special train outings with onboard guides from both the Canyon-led Indigenous-led cultural tours, as well as the Canadian BushPlain Heritage Centre and the Entomycaine Sectorium, perhaps the only aviation and entomology-themed train tour in the world.

California

Skunk train

In 1885, the Western California Railroad was built to help extract timber from the forests of Mendocino County, Northern California. A century and a half later, the railway is an accessible, scenic way to see the rest of the old, grown redwood, the tallest creatures on the planet.

Nicknamed the exciting gas-powered railcar, adopted in the 1920s, the Skunk train carries tourists to vintage passenger coaches (now odorless) and along reused outdoor freight vehicles. From Willits, the Wolf Turn Excursion offers a two-hour, 16-mile round trip to Noyo River Canyon, thick in 1,500-year-old Redwood. At halfway point, riders can descend and surprise the wolf trees named after the route, one of the oldest and largest forests in the forest. (Tickets ranging from $65 from March to December. Trains run 4-5 times a week in the summer and fall.)

At the other end of the line, Pudding Creek Express is a trackside clearing in Redwood gloves alongside the estuary on a 3.5-mile run from Fort Bragg to Glenblair Junction. The return trip is flexible. After a quick leg stretch (1.5 hours round trip), return to the same train and take the later train or walk back along the gravel road (guided walking tours and rail buffet excursions are also available). Traveling runs all year round (from $50) on various schedules and can also be drawn out by Superskunk, a restored Baldwin steam locomotive. On some weekend nights, the junction will be transformed into a Glenbrair bar. Glenbrairbar has a watering hole hidden between live music, games and redwoods with smores.

West Virginia

Potomac Eagle Scenic Railway

West Virginia is a heritage railroad breeding grounds. One of the mainstays is the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad. This invades tourists into troughs deep in the Appalachian forest, which can only be accessed by train or on foot. The route is packed with scenic historic punches. George Washington named the canyon during a 1748 research expedition. Its steep ridge is a habitat for vulture nests that helps guides onboard to find the ride from the train.

The usual Potomac Eagle ride is a 35-mile round trip from the town of Romney to the Trough, with a scenic bridge intersection. Passengers are mounted on the train, and its five classes of services each feature their own vintage diners, from bench seat and b lunches to four levels of onboard dining. Two outdoor observation cars conclude the train set, which was regularly carried by former nerdy operators of the railroad, Baltimore and Ohio, 1950s restored diesel.

In addition to a standard three-hour trough trip (adult tickets starting at $74 from April to November), plus a trip to sunset trips on summer evenings, Potomac Eagle occasionally ends in Petersburg.

Sinaloa & Chihuahuas, Mexico

El Chepe

The passenger railroad is spending a moment in Mexico, with Yucatan's new Tren Maya and Cost Tren Intercecho kicking off an ambitious plan to revitalize the rails of cities around the country. But take El Chepe, known as the Copper Canyon Train, for a dedicated Mexican tourist train excursion.

The 390-mile copper canyon online opened in 1961 after 60 years of construction, connecting the desert city of Chihuahua to the coastal Los Mochis, crossing a canyon system that is bigger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. The railroad is an engineering wonder, rising to a peak elevation of 7,800 feet from the sea level. In one of the 86 tunnels, the truck descends 100 feet and makes a 180-degree turn within the canyon wall.

Until recently, El Chepe (short for Chihuahua al Pacifico) is one of Mexico's few passenger trains, a regular, regular registered train for the El Chepe Regional, and still crosses the entire length of the line. Since 2018, the Elchepe Express, a panoramic barker that runs between Los Mochis and the Mountain Town of Criel (first class with priority access to an outdoor terrace bar and domed restaurant car). The full nine-hour one-way trip starts at 2,900 P.S., or around $143 (first class, 5,400 P.S.), but short segments (and multi-night itinerary) are also available to book. El Fuerte to Creel, which includes most of the 39 bridges on the line, is a must-have scenic stretch.

Built in 1880 and now a national historic landmark, this narrow 64-mile gauge line bills itself as the “longest and best” steam railroad in North America, running between Antonie, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico, crossing the border 11 times as it passes through Aspen Forest, High Plain and Prince of Mammals. (Fans of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades” may recognize the cumbless and Tortec in the film's opening chase scene.)

The train navigates two scenic high points on the line, embracing the faces of thin cliffs, skirting the 800-foot Tortec Valley rims and passing through the highest rail mountain range in the United States, a 10,015-foot Cambrespass. The alpine meadows of the summit can be seen shaking in the snow even in the summer.

Various excursions depart from each Terminus between May and October, most including lunch at halfway points. One-way trip along the complete route takes 7 hours and an hourly return trip by bus (tickets starting at $135). There are four classes of services, including a mahogany panel parlor vehicle, not to mention the clear analog thrill that all riders will be drawn out by a historic guide app for GPS activation and one of the five restored steam locomotives.

New Hampshire

Mount Washington Cog Railway

Pt Barnum called it “the second greatest show on earth” when it opened in 1869, but the Cog Railroad on Mount Washington is full of top-notch. It is the second softest railway on the planet, the world's first mountain climbing cog railway, climbing the highest peak in the northeast using a rack and pinion system. Its summit – the subpolar tundra – is known to have record-breaking weather events, including the highest surface winds ever observed (231 miles in 1934) and low temperatures in Fahrenheit (before the winds get cold).

However, “COG” runs all year round and offers an hour-long winter round trip along the mountains from Marshfield Base Station (2,700 feet).

From May to October, trains depart hourly for the summit (6,288 feet). Here, riders can explore the original summit hotel (now the museum), Chip Top House. Biodiesel locomotives power most of the trip, but some are still pushed up the mountain by coal-fired steam engines. Tickets range from $52 to $99 in winter and $99 for a 3-hour round trip in summer.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for Travel Dispatch Newsletter for expert tips on smarter travel and inspiration for your next vacation. Are you dreaming of a future vacation or travelling an armchair? See 52 locations in 2025.