The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals.
Nothing against autumnal car rides or hikes, but leaf peeping deserves your full, undivided attention. Trade the traffic on Kenosha Pass for a taillight-free ride on one of Colorado’s many railroads this year.
Whether you’ve got time for a short loop or a longer journey across state lines, you can choose the route that’s right for you. No matter which locomotive you board, you’ll get to keep your eyes on Colorado’s colorful fall foliage—not oncoming traffic or the rock-strewn trail beneath your feet—the whole time. Below, five of our favorite Centennial State train rides.
The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway
- Route: One-way or roundtrip options from Manitou Springs to the top of Pikes Peak (or vice versa)
- Cost: Starting at $67 per adult when booked online
Leaf peep all the way to Kansas (on a clear day) when you climb aboard the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The railway carves a nine-mile ascent through the reds, oranges, and yellows of numerous aspen-clad stretches on its journey from Manitou Springs to the 14,115-foot apex of the train’s namesake peak. Guzzle water on the way (that elevation is no joke) so you can fully enjoy the view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Collegiate Peaks—the very scenery that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to pen a poem-turned-song about spacious skies, purple mountain majesties, and amber waves of grain.
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
- Route: Choose from full excursions between the Colorado hamlet of Antonito and Chama, New Mexico (8 hours 15 minutes); out-and-back routes to the turnaround at Osier Station (6 hours 55 minutes); and quicker express trips from Cumbres Pass (4 hours 5 minutes)
- Cost: Starting at $135 per adult, $85 per child
This National Historic Landmark’s vintage cars have long lured Hollywood: The coal-colored engines appeared in Wyatt Earp and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Full- and half-day rides offer cinematic scenes, too, including a peek down the 800-foot walls of the Toltec Gorge as the train inches along its rim. Snap a glare-free photo of the changing foliage from the open-air gondola car.
Canyon Spirit: Rockies To The Red Rocks
- Route: One-way options from Denver to Moab, Utah (or vice versa)
- Cost: Starting at $1,739
From the moment you board Canyon Spirit (formerly known as the Rocky Mountaineer) at Denver’s Union Station, you’ll be treated like a Vanderbilt. First, you’ll wind west through the Front Range before the tracks sidle up next to the Colorado River, its banks lined with golden leaves, on your way to Glenwood Springs. There, sneak away for a relaxing soak in the mineral pools before tucking yourself into a cozy, king-size bed at a partner hotel. On day two, the forest gives way to tawny-hued canyons and thin rock spires called hoodoos. Don’t pack a lunch: Hosts serve regionally inspired meals—and describe the sights, like the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel, as they pass by outside your nearly panorama-windowed passenger car.
Georgetown Loop Railroad
- Route: Round-trip options from Georgetown available year-round; round-trip options from Silver Plume available late May to mid-October
- Cost: Starting at $32.86
For a family-friendly autumnal experience, choo-choose a 75-minute ride on the historic Georgetown Loop Railroad. The three-foot, narrow gauge railroad has been wowing tourists eager to see the “wild ruggedness and romance” of the West since 1884. Though visitors today pay a bit more than that era’s $3 fare, they still feel the breeze on their cheeks thanks to open-air cars, so bring a jacket. Enjoy the engine’s rhythmic chug while your iron horse sweeps across Devil’s Gate High Bridge and through groves of changing color toward its turnaround in either Georgetown or Silver Plume (depending on your starting point). If the leaves above haven’t quite quenched your thirst for gold, take matters into your own pans: Add a tour of the once-operational Lebanon silver mine to your package, and you’ll have a chance to try gold panning.
Royal Gorge Route Railroad
- Route: Out-and-back from Cañon City
- Cost: Starting at $109 per adult, $104 per child, plus a $10 historic preservation fee
With rugged canyon walls soaring more than 1,000 feet overhead, this Arkansas River–adjacent route is a geologic and historical marvel. Two railroad companies feuded in the 1870s to claim right of passage through the Royal Gorge to Leadville’s silver mines. Modern-day train operators spin tales of those times while you enjoy a scratch-made meal with ingredients largely sourced from Colorado (such as brioche from Denver’s Harvest Moon Baking Company and chicken raised at Englewood’s RedBird Farms) during the roughly 2.5-hour ride. For Oktoberfest-inspired entrées and beers, choose the 12:30, 3:30, or 6:30 p.m. departure between September 18 and October 31. Late-season peepers can take a haunted jaunt on the Halloween train that runs each Saturday night in October at 6:30 p.m.. Prizes are awarded for the best costumes.
