In addition to airplanes and cars, Steve also loves trains and riding on them. And I have no complaints about them either! During one of our travel planning sessions he noticed that our route would take us near two popular train excursions; one on the Verde Canyon Railway near Cottonwood, AZ and the other on the Grand Canyon Railway. One was all about the journey, while the other had an unforgettable destination.
Verde Canyon Railroad – it’s all about the journey!
First we hopped aboard the Verde Canyon Railroad in Clarkdale, just a few miles from our campsite at Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Steve wanted to travel in style so he booked First Class passage (no kids allowed!). The ride is a four hour, 40-mile round trip on a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville, into Arizona’s most scenic wilderness of Verde Canyon.
The moment we stepped into the vintage car we felt transported back to a time of luxurious and leisurely train travel, especially when champagne was served upon boarding. That was a sign of great things to come as we sat back to relax and enjoy the ride.
It was a narrated trip, which made it interesting to learn about the history of the railroad that was built in the late 1880’s to supplement mining in the Mingus Mountains. Mining has since ceased there, but the railroad endured and has become a wonderful excursion into the wilderness.
Under new ownership, today’s train is transporting us modern tourists into the isolated, rugged backcountry that originally challenged early pioneers. We marveled at the pristine scenery only accessible through this tour.
Here are the highlights of this unforgettable experience:
Despite the mostly overcast sky we enjoyed the trip immensely and thought a summer or fall trip would offer another perspective. This journey through remote and protected areas gave us a glimpse of what life might have been like during the railroad’s heyday, and it was a wonderful foray into the wilderness.
Grand Canyon Railway- this one’s about the destination!
We purposely went 40 miles out of our way to camp in Williams, Arizona just so we could ride the Grand Canyon Railway, one of Steve’s long-time bucket list items.
Again, we booked first-class dome car seats – hey, we’re only going to do this once!
In 1901 the first locomotive took passengers from Williams to the Grand Canyon, thanks to William Owen “Buckey” O’ Neill. It’s heyday lasted until the advent of cars, and by 1968 train travel here died and the town of Williams struggled.
It wasn’t until 1989 when Max, a crop duster pilot, and his wife Thelma revived the railway system. Their vision paid off, and here we were en route to the Grand Canyon aboard a fully restored vintage passenger car. They say the west was won not by cowboys or cavalry but by the iron horse, and the people with visions of grandeur made it happen.
The train departed from the Williams Depot for a two-hour journey that covered 65 miles across high desert with endless vistas:
We had 3.5 hours to check out our destination, the Grand Canyon. Not nearly enough time for a complete exploration, but fortunately this was our second visit. There’s plenty to see and do at Grand Canyon National Park, and this time we walked the Trail of Time which was new to us since our last visit more than a decade ago.
After lunch we walked the trail to Yavapai Point and the Geology Museum. I would have loved to stay longer at the museum, but this trip did not afford enough time to go through all of the displays and read about the geological story of the canyon.
So we learned about the geological history of the canyon through displays as we strolled along the South Rim, while taking in the timeless expansive vistas. The 4-mile round trip walk took us 2 1/2 hours, with many photos taken along the way.
Here are some glimpses of the 277-mile long, one-mile deep canyon that covers a total of 1,900 square miles – the natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon:
Capturing the spectacular colors of the rock layers here is best done at sunrise or sunset, but this time I had to make do at midday 😦
Our two train tours were filled with railroad history and beautiful scenery. It’s a way to see places that you can’t by other means, and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it!
Lowes Travels 
Both train rides look like a lot of fun. The Grand Canyon is so pretty with a dusting of snow. Glad you enjoyed your train adventures. Great checking off those bucket list items!
Wonderful photos! your photo composition is exquisitely done!
Thank you Terri, glad you are enjoying the sceneries I captured.
We were recently in the same vicinity. Did you camp at the Railway RV Resort in Williams? We got 8 inches of snow while there and enjoyed it immensely (but were happy to leave when it was time). I wish now we had taken the time to ride the train, especially Verde Canyon. Your photos are lovely! Dawn
Yes we camped at the Railway RV Resort. We arrived the day after the snow storm and was happy to see the snow dusting at the Grand Canyon and left over snow at the campground.
Fun Fun Fun! You always take amazing photos. I want to take those train rides some time. Enjoy your freedom!
We enjoyed trips on both trains, albeit years apart. They offer different experiences but both fun. I’m glad the eagle showed up for you!
The bald eagle did put on a show hovering before perching on the rocks. Those are train rides I would do again on a different season.
We really enjoyed the Verde Canyon trip too…that’s one where I accidentally deleted my photos without downloading them! You were fortunate to see a bald eagle!
Oh, bummer, I too, had accidentally deleted a whole memory card too, after our trip to Great Sand Dunes! Fortunately I had a second camera.
So sweet to check off bucket list items. We have not done either trips. Both look like lots of fun…especially with champagne in first class!
Steve has a long list of bucket list and we both enjoyed ticking them off. Both were relaxing trips!
I would love to do both of these Mona Liza and I know David would too. That picture of you with the sign to open the post just makes me want to jump into the picture with you. Gorgeous shot of the Verde River with the cloud covered skies. What a bald eagle shot. And the one going through that tunnel too. Looks like they just sent the train through a crack in the rock. I’m with you both. Life is short, on a train it’s first class. Love those snow capped mountain on the way to the Grand Canyon. We spent hours on the Trail of Time. So well done. Your mid day pictures are really amazing. I don’t know how you got such good color.
Sherry I used a filter on my camera to minimize bleaching of photos. Thank you we enjoyed both rides and showed us some beautiful remote areas only trains can access.
Thank you for the info on the Verde Canyon Railway. We weren’t cognizant of that one. It looks awesome and we’ll add it to the ol’ bucket list (33 pages and growing). I’ve been on the Grand Canyon Railway many years ago, but not in first class. We had bandits put on a show.
There was a bandit show and they robbed the train riders, I forgot to include them in the post:)
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MonaLiza, your photos are stunning! I didn’t know about the Verde Canyon Railroad, but it looks like something we would enjoy. We debated about doing the Grand Canyon Railway Tour the last time we were in Williams. Now we have to go back! I definitely like Steve’s approach—first class all the way! 🙂
Both train rides exemplify a journey and a destination.
I can just imagine Steve’s grin during both trips. Definitely first class is the way to go. Your photos are gorgeous. This is the way for our drivers to get a chance to enjoy the scenery, too:)
Absolutely, right!
Gorgeous scenery. We visited GC ages ago over Christmas … loved how crystal clear it was with no heat haze and the snow frosting the cliffs added an extra dimension to the scenery. We too enjoy train rides so next time we’re in the area we’ll do athe ride to GC, too.
This post transported me back through time. As Sedona was our home for several years, we have enjoyed both train rides. You captured the scenery beautifully MonaLiza! Glad you got to experience both.
We’ve done the Verde Valley train ride and thoroughly enjoyed it. We’ve been to the Grand Canyon but now thanks to you, the Grand Canyon train ride is on our bucket list.