First, you will be picked up at your hotel and dropped off at the Williams Train Depot, where you have a ONE-WAY, northbound coach class train ticket (upgrades can be made depending on availability). The train leaves from Williams, Arizona, which is located along Interstate 40 in northern Arizona, approximately 32 miles west of Flagstaff for your 1.5 hour train ride.

Streamliner-era coaches that get you to the canyon and back with style and grace. Enjoy comfortable bench-style seating in these classic air-conditioned 1950s era passenger cars. Strolling musicians roam the cars playing the tunes of yesteryear while your passenger service attendant will be there to add insight and answer questions.

Of all that may pull you to the splendor of the Grand Canyon, nothing is more powerful than Grand Canyon Railway's fleet of vintage locomotives. As the mighty giant pulls you closer, you'll discover you're more than content to watch a remarkable world go by as you tour the countryside from the comforts of your classic train car. Out your window, watch as the terrain changes from high desert to prairie, prairie to pine. It's a view that's ever-changing until you come across a view that changes so dramatically, it could very well change you. Welcome to the Grand Canyon.

On your train journey, you will enjoy a nice picnic lunch. After arriving at the Grand Canyon Village, you will have time to explore the views and extrodinary historical buildings, then rejoin your guide, where you will travel via touring van to see the magical south and east rim views, and after a delightful day of beautiful views, great information and fun stories from your guide, you will be dropped off at your point of departure.

The Ride of Another Lifetime

For history, one would be hard pressed to compete with the five million year old Grand Canyon, but at Grand Canyon Railway, we try our best. Each train engine and each train car has been painstakingly restored to its original state by a staff of mechanics who see their work as more a labor of love than a job. During the train tour, your crew is no less enthusiastic. Each is bursting with local and Grand Canyon folklore and history, as well as Grand Canyon Railway knowledge. Strolling musicians catch you up with what was hot way back when. And there's even fun recreations of an old fashioned shoot out and a train robbery. In other words, we take you to the Grand Canyon. And back.

Grand Canyon Railway made its first journey to the South Rim in 1901, long before Arizona was dubbed the "Grand Canyon State." With the arrival of the train, people could get to the legendary canyon with ease and comfort. Today, you can travel to Grand Canyon National Park along the same rail line your parents or grandparents did. Select from one of four vintage classes of service which have been lovingly restored. Journey to Grand Canyon National Park aboard Grand Canyon Railway and take a trip not only to America's most recognized spectacle, but a trip back in time.

The Original Grand Canyon Tour
Long before there were Grand Canyon helicopter tours, air tours, white water rafting tours or even mule tours, there was the Grand Canyon's train. Before paved roads, Grand Canyon hotels and restaurants, and even before the canyon was made a national park or Arizona made a state, let alone the "Grand Canyon state", the Grand Canyon Railway brought interested travelers from all over the world to stand on the rim and ponder the feeling that touches all of humanity in a similar manner when they gaze upon the spectacle.

Grand Canyon Native
The train was the lifeline to Grand Canyon National Park in the early 20th century. It was the railroad, along with the Fred Harvey Company, that commissioned and built most of the historic structures that still exist along the South Rim. The historic train almost faded into history itself when passenger service to Grand Canyon National Park stopped in 1968 as train travel gave way to the popularity of automobile travel. But like any legend it refused to die. As fate would have it, Grand Canyon Railway was reborn in 1989 when entrepreneurs brought the Grand Canyon's train back to life. Today, the Railway carries well over 200,000 people by rail to the canyon each year.

Please note: This tour is NOT available on Christmas Day/December 25, or New Years Day, January 1st.