What it's like to ride the Rocky Mountaineer through Utah and Colorado

30.05.2024 - 07:21 / lonelyplanet.com

“You’ve never seen Glenwood Canyon quite like this.” Over lunch in Salt Lake City, my guide Shawn Horman explains the singular experience of riding a train through one of Colorado’s most spectacular scenic drives.

“Glenwood is a nice drive,” he continues, referring to the swath of I-70 that snakes through the canyon. “But it’s pretty hectic – busy, winding around curves.” If you’re driving, he says, you have to keep your eyes on the road. On the train, you can sit back and relax and watch the mountains pass by.

I’m in Utah to board the Rockies to the Red Rocks train route, traveling from Moab to Denver. For the next two days, I'll travel over 350 miles through towering canyons, historic towns and desert buttes. It’s the only US route by Rocky Mountaineer, a Canada-based company that also runs train trips from Vancouver to spots like Whistler, Jasper and Banff in British Columbia. Known for its luxury services and glass-domed train cars, Rocky Mountaineer has run train routes in British Columbia since 1990.

Shawn’s here to show me around Moab – he’s with Southwest Adventure Tours, an outfit that runs individual and group trips all around the Southwest US. Basic Rocky Mountaineer packages just include the train from Moab to Denver or reverse (from $1699 for the 2024 season), but passengers can purchase add-on excursions to sites like Arches National Park, Canyonlands or even to the Grand Canyon. From Salt Lake City, Shawn and I drive to Moab. A haze from wildfires out west lingers over the city skyline and surrounding Wasatch Mountains.

We spend the day wandering around Arches National Park. After over a decade of travel writing, I've gathered a few cliches to avoid and hack phrases to that come up when writing about special places – "otherworldly," "wonderland" and "surreal" just to name a few.

At Arches, these words all spring to mind. The landscape seems carved by hand, shaped to some blueprint designed to inspire awe. To think that it was simply the right mix of minerals, time and erosion that birthed these precariously balanced rocks, deep canyons and of course the eponymous sandstone arches boggles the mind.

The detour is an excellent start to the trip. With my boots dusted with red dirt, I feel ready to board the train and see more.

The following afternoon, I arrive at the station, excited to see more of the scenery from the comfort of the train. As we board, I notice that the other passengers appear to be mostly retirees, although I do spot the occasional younger couple looking to see the Rockies from the comfort of a train car.

The car is spacious and comfortable. Reclining leather-like seats have plenty of legroom, and every one is a front-row view of the passing landscapes. Tall windows that curve up