The Ultimate Summer Train Trip Feasts on Rocky Mountain Scenes
by Trains Unlimited, Tours

The tour I’m taking this summer will be a grand sightseeing experience through some of the greatest scenery in the West by train and motor coach. It will include spectacular rides in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, and feature the scenic Columbia River Gorge, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and the Rockies of Montana and Colorado.

It will start in Portland, Oregon on July 27. I’ll spend some time exploring the Oregon coastline, including seaside resorts in Astoria and Tillamook, with magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean. I’m looking forward to seeing Tillamook, a verdant region that's the West’s oldest major dairy center and which has the largest cheese factory in the world.

I know that no visit to the Pacific Northwest would be complete without a tour of Portland, a city that has quietly become a rival to Seattle in population and one of America’s most livable metro areas over the past 20 years. Portland combines an exciting density, natural wonders (the Willamette River, nearby Mt. Hood, the Columbia River, extensive woodlands, parks and gardens) and great urban amenities – professional basketball, light-rail transportation, several highly regarded colleges and urban art seemingly everywhere. This is one of America's up-and-coming cities.

After Portland, it'll be time to move on with a train ride on Amtrak's “Empire Builder” along the Columbia River Gorge. The views of the river from the train will be breathtaking. They’ll include the steep cliffs that define the gorge, including the precipice where Multnomah Falls, at 600 feet Oregon’s highest, drops to the Columbia. There will be glimpses of Beacon Rock, the great monolith that guided Lewis and Clark on their last miles down the river in 1804.

The group I’m with will be based in the town of Mt. Hood, near the heart of the gorge. Our experiences will also include a cruise on the sternwheeler Columbia Gorge, which will sail from Cascade Locks up the river. There will also be a train excursion on the Mt. Hood Railroad, running south from the Columbia through the foothills of majestic Mt. Hood. The ride will roll through some of Oregon's most beautiful scenery, with Mt Hood and Washington State’s Mt. Adams as backdrops. In one of the stops, Parksdale, I plan to browse gift shops on the town’s historic boardwalk, built from timbers felled near there almost 100 years ago.

Another beautiful place I’ll see on the Gorge will be Crown Point, with its breathtaking view of the Columbia. Further upriver there will be stop at the Dalles Dam for a guided tour. This dam is one of the great barriers built during the Depression to tame the Columbia River. In those days the river was an almost wild watercourse that ran to its outlet with far more power than even the Mississippi.

From there, I’ll continue out of the Gorge with a visit to the Toppenish and Yakima areas, the heart of Washington State’s apple industry. Then I’ll work my way to Spokane, eastern Washington’s major city, which has its own noted waterfall, and is the site of Gonzaga University, the Jesuit school that gave Bing Crosby his degree. Surrounding Spokane are low, forested mountains, outriggers of the Rockies.

The next day my Montana Rockies train adventure will begin with a bus ride from Spokane to Sandpoint, Idaho. There I’ll board a first-class luxury train for a two-day journey across Montana. The group I’ll be in with will share a dome car. This will be a grand rail journey through the Rockies onboard vintage railroad cars from the golden age of railroading. My companions and I will enjoy some pampering, including meals in a restored dining car with white linens, fresh flowers and dishes prepared by onboard chefs cooking fresh regional cuisine.

The route will follow the old Northern Pacific line along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho, surrounded by rugged mountains. In Montana, the train will run mile after mile along the Clark Fort River, unfolding the state’s scenic wonders around every bend as it approaches Missoula, where I’ll spend the night.

Come morning, I’ll re-board the train and continue eastward, starting to ascend the Rocky Mountains, following the Little Blackfoot River and the continental divide, and winding down to Livingston. I’ll pass the night in Gardiner, just outside of Yellowstone National Park.

I'll happily spend the next day in Yellowstone, the oldest, and perhaps greatest, of the U.S. national parks. Big game, countless hot springs and geysers, immense forests and churning rivers are the wonders here. When the day is done, I’ll sleep in West Yellowstone, an energetic little town that seems like a world crossroads in summer. The next day, it will be back to Yellowstone, then south only a few miles past the park boundary to Grand Teton National Park. The chiseled peaks of this park, soaring 7,000 feet over the valley floor of Jackson Hole, are the most famous in America. Their steepness and sheer relief make them the U.S. version of the Alps and Himalayas.

The overnight at Jackson Hole will be in one of the few places left in this country where the land remains as wide open and untouched as it was when America's European settlers first came through. Here, cowboys still rope cattle and ride the land as a way of life, and  wildlife like moose and bison still roam freely. People are friendly, too – tips of the hat and warm hellos haven’t been lost yet to fast-paced city ways. This is a good place to learn the meaning of “country style” when it comes to living.

Next, I’ll head south, skirting the Wyoming/Utah border through lovely countryside to Heber City, Utah. Here, I’ll board the “Provo Canyon Limited,” pulled by a steam locomotive. I’ll rise on the Heber Valley Railroad through an alpine countryside, along the shores of Deer Creek Lake, and into the rugged Provo Canyon. After the train ride, I’ll visit Bridal Vail Falls, deep in the canyon, then continue on to Provo for lodging. Provo is the home of Brigham Young University, one of the country’s biggest independent schools. Like any college town, it has small restaurants and hangouts where the food is good, cheap and plentiful.

Early the next morning I plan to board one of Amtrak's most popular trains, the “California Zephyr,” for a grand 525-mile journey across Utah and Colorado, through the heart of the Rockies.  This is considered the most scenic rail line in the Amtrak system, as it follows the Colorado River for hundreds of miles. After arriving in Denver, I’ll board a motor coach south to Colorado Springs for lodging.

In the morning I’ll visit the red sandstone formations of Garden of the Gods, then head to nearby Manitou Springs to board the world's highest cog railway for a trip to the summit of Pikes Peak, at 14,110 feet. As the train climbs up the mountain on grades of 25%, the vistas will open up to towering mountains, and on the final leg, an unparalleled view of the Rockies and plains. At the summit, I’ll see Colorado Springs, Denver, Cripple Creek and the continental divide. If I’m lucky, and the day is clear, I’ll be able to see all of eastern Colorado, and parts of New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The next day, I’ll go down to Canon City and board an excursion train on the Royal Gorge Railroad for an awesome ride along the Arkansas River through the deep canyon of Royal Gorge. At one point we’ll pass under the Royal Gorge Bridge, 1,000 feet above, famous as the suspension bridge that passes over the deepest chasm of any span in America.  It is one thing to drive over Royal Gorge and catch a glimpse of its depth; it’s another to plunge into it and experience it fully on a train.

After the ride in the canyon, I’ll go to the top of the canyon rim for a grand view, looking back down to the railroad and river far below. I’ll then follow the Arkansas River in a  motor coach to Salida, and then turn north to head for the old mining town of Leadville in the heart of the Rockies. 

In the morning, I’ll board the remote Leadville, Colorado and Southern Railroad, which will go up to the headwaters of the Arkansas River at an elevation of 11,120 feet. This won’t be as steep a climb as it seems – at 10,190 feet, Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the U.S. Although the railroad will climb only a little less than 1,000 feet higher up, I’ll be enjoying spectacular scenery. This is deep Rockies, a place where 14,000-foot peaks are common, and travelers are immersed in a sense of having arrived at the top of the world.

In the afternoon, I’ll ride a bus to Silver Plume, another mining town, to take a ride on the steam-powered Georgetown Loop Railroad. The trip here will pass through scenic mountainous terrain and over the famous Devil's Gate Viaduct, a spectacular 96-foot-high curved trestle where the train will loop around and go under the track it has just passed over.

After this last train ride it will time to come down out of the Rockies to Denver. From there, it will be home for me and all the others on this tour. Wherever we return, we’ll look back on the train journeys we took as some of the best available in North America. 

Trains Unlimited, Tours