Riding the Rails to Nature’s Wonders: National Parks by Train

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While many people take a train to work every day, train travel still continues to spark the imagination for many,

waiting in anticipation at a station for the sight of a coal-plumed locomotive or a sleek electric train.

For those of us who love national parks and center our vacations around them, and also love trains,

it is possible to travel to national parks by railroad. Certainly not all parks, but some major destinations for sure.

Amtrak offers National Park Vacation Packages that include train travel combined with tours covering Rocky Mountain, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks.

A company called Vacations by Rail provides similar service to Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, and Canyonlands.

But many national park enthusiasts aren't looking for a vacation tour fitting into an itinerary planned by others.

What if you simply want to take a train to a national park and explore fully on your own with the ability to hike, boat, horseback ride, camp, or backpack on your own schedule?

Although it's not possible to travel to every national park this way, there are spectacular rail routes for some of the biggest and most popular national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Denali.

The secret to making the logistics work is that these parks have shuttle service and campgrounds or lodges that are easily accessible from the train depots.

I'm Jason Epperson, and today on America's National Parks, Discovering National Parks by Train.

The Grand Canyon is, in many ways, the quintessential American bucket list item.

The Grand Canyon Railway, with the slogan, Make a Grand Trip the Greatest, provides daily train service from Williams, Arizona, just outside Flagstaff.

This is not a one-size-fits-all experience either.

The railroad offers six different types of train cars, each offering something unique to fit a variety of budgets.

From 1920s Pullman cars with bench seats to 1950s air-conditioned coach class, first class, observation domes, and luxury parlor cars, you can customize your ride from the historic to the opulent.

Morning departures from Williams and afternoon departures out of the Grand Canyon make it possible to simply take a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

But, of course, many people will want to stay overnight, perhaps many nights.

With train cars named after regional national forests, such as Cocopelli and Coconino, the stage is set for immersion in the landscape before even boarding the train.

Indeed, the Grand Canyon Railway travels through the national forests, cutting a path between the evergreens and the rolling hills.

The scenery is a bit unexpected, a lot of greenery when headed into a place defined by its rocky landscape.

The train drops passengers right at Grand Canyon Village, bustling area of the park on the south rim.

Visitors simply don't need a car. Lodges and restaurants are steps from the train depot.

A short stroll leads to a visitor center and historic buildings, including the Hopi House and Cold Brothers Photography Studio, circa early 1900s.

But the options are not limited to these few landmarks.

The canyon itself stretches as far as the eye can see in either direction, and the Rim Trail provides a 13-mile paved hike or stroll flanking the canyon, and it's spectacular views the entire distance.

For the more adventurous, the Bright Angel Trailhead is also right in the village.

A rim-to-river trail allows hikers to descend the series of switchbacks all the way to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Train visitors to the Grand Canyon don't need to feel limited to the Grand Canyon Village area that contains the depot.

Grand Canyon Village is the meeting point of two shuttle bus lines, taking people to many iconic viewpoints as well as bike rentals for an all-encompassing Grand Canyon experience without a car.

The train to Glacier National Park is a completely different experience.

In contrast to the two-hour, 15-minute ride to the Grand Canyon, this train is a bit more of a marathon.

Accessed via Amtrak's Empire Builder route, the trip can start in full-service train stations in major cities such as Seattle, Portland, the Twin Cities, Chicago, or Milwaukee.

This is a modern double-decker train with standard Amtrak seating, cafe cars, and overnight sleeping compartment options.

There are no domed observation cars, but Amtrak trains typically have large picture windows for great views of the country passing by,

from cityscapes to the open prairie, the Rocky Mountains and Columbia River Gorge, and everything in between.

Amtrak provides four choices of where to disembark for Glacier, two of which directly border the park.

The West Glacier Stop is walking distance to lodges just outside the park, but also a shuttle is provided to take passengers directly into the park to Apgar Village and Lake McDonald Lodge.

Park shuttle bus service stops at both locations provide train passengers access to the east side of the park via Going-to-the-Sun Road with its many iconic viewpoints and a great variety of trailheads.

In Apgar, outfitters offer equipment rentals for bikes and kayaks. Horseback riding is available at a stable nearby.

Both Apgar Village and Lake McDonald Lodge sit right on Lake McDonald with a variety of boating opportunities.

The East Glacier Stop is a short walk to the historic Glacier Park Lodge.

This stop is more limited. The lodge is not actually inside the park, although buses are available and it's only open seasonally.

Rail access to Denali National Park is via the state-owned Alaska Railroad's Denali Star Train from either Anchorage or Fairbanks.

The Alaska Railroad is an exceptional experience and stops at many other locations as well, including Kenai Fjords National Park.

With as many options as the Grand Canyon Railway, the Denali Star has standard coach service as well as Gold Star service aboard a double-decker, full-dome observation car with meal service in a classic dining room below and an outdoor observation deck.

The route is Anchorage to Wasilla to Talkeetna to Denali to Fairbanks, providing an opportunity to visit Alaska beyond Denali National Park on the same train line.

The ride from Anchorage to Denali is moderately long at just under seven hours and available only during the summer season, mid-May through mid-September.

Weather permitting, the Great Mountain, Denali, is visible from the train and it's actually a better spot to see it than within the park itself.

The route passes many other stunning sights along rivers, over gulches, and between mountains.

Lucky passengers may even catch a glimpse of moose or bears from the train.

There are no national park lodges or hotels at Denali, just a few very remote privately-owned lodgings in the privately-owned wilderness areas of the park.

Everything else is outside in the nearby town.

However, there are several campground options very close to the train depot.

Alternatively, the Alaska Railroad will help riders craft a custom itinerary that includes nearby lodging, with transportation included.

The train depot at Denali is a short walk from the park's bus depot.

Buses are available to traverse the park, providing access to stunning hiking trails, opportunities to see wildlife like grizzly bears, moose, and ptarmigan,

and spectacular views of the scenery, which is far broader than simply the mountain.

Current end of the park's main bus route paints a picture of velvety green hills melting into a silt-colored, glacier-fed river.

Many people say train travel is the best way to see the country.

Since you're not bogged down with the actual driving, you're free to truly see the scenery unfold before you.

It alleviates the often long wait at vehicle entry points to a major park where cars can queue for hours before visitors finally land their feet on park soil.

But it can also be intimidating to think of being in a national park without personal transportation.

Many people love trains, but want to retain full independent control of your transportation,

with its accompanying freedom to bring as much luggage and supplies as you want without literally having to carry it.

To drive this scenic route of a park at your own convenience in the air-conditioned comfort of your own car at hours of the day not serviced by a park shuttle.

How can you combine a good old-fashioned train trip with a national park adventure without sacrificing that personal convenience?

A few national parks actually have train rides within the park.

Visitors arrive at the park in their cars, plan all their driving and adventure activities to suit their own schedule in their own vehicle, and still enjoy a train ride.

Three notable train experiences can be found at Steamtown National Historic Site in Pennsylvania,

Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park in Alaska.

Steamtown is a park exclusively dedicated to rail travel in the U.S.

Visitors could spend days exploring the rail excursions available at Steamtown,

from short half-hour rides through the park's rail yard to half- or full-day excursions through the Pennsylvania countryside,

including scenic trains through the Lackawanna Valley, the Delaware Water Gap, the Pocono Mountains, and alongside Roaring Brook through a hardwood forest.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park has its own train line, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad,

which travels through the park with stops at several stations where hikers can hop on or off.

The train is a succinct way to see the park and learn its history on a two-hour excursion through the woodland habitat that now covers this once-industrial site.

For a truly spectacular experience, explore the White Pass Unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park

on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway.

This section of the park is remote, and the best way to see it is via rail, with trains departing from the depot at Skagway.

The White Pass Summit train travels the original route of the prospectors in the Klondike Gold Rush

from the boomtown of Skagway to the remote and mountainous areas they traveled in their quest for riches,

traversing bridges and mountainsides of unparalleled beauty.

The railway also offers drop-off and pick-up hiker service in remote areas of the park and its surrounds.

For a more comprehensive excursion, they also offer the Bennett Scenic Journey, an eight-hour ride from Skagway into the Yukon Territory.

For train buffs, the National Park Service offers many opportunities to delve into the history of railroading in America

at numerous National Historic Parks across the country,

but it's also possible to experience the thrill of riding the rails both to and within national parks as well.

For a very grand adventure, Amtrak offers a Grand National Parks of America trip,

covering 12 national parks in 25 days, taking travelers by rail with coach transfers

to Mount Rainier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Rice,

Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite.

All aboard!

This episode of America's National Parks was written by Lauren Eisenberg Davis, and I'm your host, Jason Epperson.

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Today's show was sponsored by L.L. Bean.

Follow the hashtag BeAnOutsider and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.