Top 10 California Train Trips Best Places to Ride Trains

Napa Valley Wine Train: Travel Past Vineyards and Wineries

Napa Valley Wine Train has been in operation since 1989. The wine train can carry nearly 400 passengers through Napa Valley and usually makes two daily trips. A  tier 4 locomotive engine pulls the Napa Valley Wine Train and travels adjacent to Highway 29 on a 3-hour journey through the valley. The train station is located at 1275 McKinstry Street, Napa, California. https://www.winetrain.com/

Roaring Camp Railroad Santa Cruz

Roaring Camp Railroad offers two different tours to suit your tastes. The Roaring Camp & Big Trees is a steam-powered narrow-gauge line using Shay and Heisler locomotives. Starting at the Roaring Camp depot in Felton, California, the line runs steep winding grades through the redwood forest to the top of nearby Bear Mountain. 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton, California. https://roaringcamp.com/

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner travels along the California coast from San Luis Obispo and ends in San Diego. Some sections of the trip are inland. However, there are many sections where the train travels adjacent to the Pacific. Oceanview areas of the trip include Point Conception, Gaviota Coast, Santa Barbara Coast, North, and Central San Diego County coast.

Fort Bragg Skunk Train

The Fort Bragg Redwood Company originally built the Fort Bragg Skunk Train as the Fort Bragg Railroad in 1885. Today, the Skunk Train takes passengers on a seven-mile round trip. The train lets passengers enjoy beautiful Northern California scenery with views of redwood trees.

Poway-Midland Railway

While this trip may be short, it’s worth checking out the Poway-Midland Railroad. Visitors can ride on a vintage 1907 Baldwin Steam Locomotive during the summer and holiday weekends. The rest of the year, the Poway-Midland Railroad uses a Los Angeles Yellow Trolley Car for trips around the park.  A 1950 Fairmont Speeder can be seen rolling along the track on special occasions.

Pacific Southwest Railway Campo

Pacific Southwest Railway takes passengers on a 12-mile round-trip journey along the old San Diego & Arizona Railway track. A Diesel-electric locomotive pulls vintage passenger cars over this historic railroad route. There is also an excellent museum on-site with rolling stock and railroad artifacts. This train is a little off the beaten path, but worth the effort it takes to get there.

Niles Canyon Railway Sunol, California

Niles Canyon Railroad operates along a portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad constructed in the 1860s. The railway runs excursions on Sundays year-round, usually every week during the summer and less frequently during the winter. Niles Canyon Railroad also operates special train excursions during the year, including wine-tasting trains, beer-tasting trains, holiday excursions, and summer school trains.

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad. The Sierra National Forest’s majestic woods provide the backdrop for the narrow gauge journey back in time. The two steam locomotives operate daily during the summer months. Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad 56001 Hwy 41, Fish Camp, CA 93623.

Sacramento River Fox Train

Pulled by a diesel locomotive, the Sacramento River Train features two dining cars, a club car, a concession car, and two open-air cars. The Sacramento River Fox Train runs from West Sacramento 10 miles to the outskirts of Woodland and back.

Fun places to ride trains in Nevada

Southern Califonia Railway Museum

Roaring Camp Railroads Santa Cruz

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