I Took My Toddler on The Polar Express in Durango, and It Made a Believer Out of Us Both

10.12.2024 - 21:45 / matadornetwork.com

As a travel editor, few things make me prouder than taking my three-year-old daughter, Olivia, with me on the road. For someone her age, she’s spent an exorbitant number of nights in hotel rooms, and recently completed a two-week road trip across central Mexico with more composure than most American adults would be able to muster. Often, though, our travels aren’t solely focused around her, so it was with great excitement that my wife, Alisha, and I brought her four hours south of our home in Palisade, Colorado, to ride The Polar Express train in Durango. Running nightly from late November through early January, the experience is centered around the kid’s Christmas tale – and it does a fantastic job of bringing it to life. Here’s what to know about The Polar Express including what it’s like, how long it takes, and how much it costs.

The “Hero Boy” gives a performance before the crowd boards the train. Photo: Tim Wenger

The first Polar Express train departs the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station in downtown Durango in late November each year, with the 2024 season kicking off November 22 and ending January 4. Trains depart nightly at 4:55, 6:30, and 8:00 PM, with fares ranging from $39 to $93, depending on whether you book early, peak, or late season, and on which cabin you reserve (Coach, Deluxe, and First Class tickets are available). Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Passengers in all classes are served hot cocoa and cookies, and receive a commemorative Polar Express mug to take home.

Many kids, including Olivia, arrive in pajamas (some adults do, as well, though Alisha and I Scrooged out on that). The attitude is quite casual, but Santa hats are common and many people take the experience quite seriously – not just the kids. Nostalgia runs deep, we learned.

We arrived at the station about 15 minutes before boarding to pick up our tickets. Coffee and refreshments were available for purchase, and the D&SNGRR gift shop was, of course, open. After grabbing our tickets we headed out to the platform, which was packed with revelers awaiting the start of the show. Spirits were high – and not just because we’d just come from dinner and drinks at Steamworks Brewing Company a few blocks away – a festive and appropriately train-themed place to gather before the ride.

The Big Guy himself was, of course, the star of the show. Photo: Tim Wenger

I often maintain a drab outer shell when it comes to festiveness, but come December a minor spritz of holiday spirit bursts through. It happened early this year, the exact moment being when a character portraying the “hero boy” from the Polar Express book (oddly enough, none of the book’s primary characters are actually named) took to a makeshift stage in