12 Top Scenic Train Trips For Chasing Fall Foliage From Oregon To Vermont
Forget crowded leaf-peeping highways, true fall magic is best seen with your feet up, a warm drink in hand, and the sound of a train whistle echoing through the crisp October air. Across the country, rail journeys wind through golden forests, skim past mirror-like lakes, and climb into mountains where the trees seem to set the sky on fire.
Every bend in the track feels like unwrapping another autumn postcard, and these routes prove Mother Nature is the ultimate showstopper.
1. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
Hugging Tillamook Bay’s pristine shores, this coastal charmer delivers front-row seats to the Pacific Northwest’s autumn transformation. The vintage locomotives chug through tunnels of crimson vine maples and golden alders. Seagulls might photobomb your perfect shot as the train meanders between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. The 2¼-hour journey feels like traveling through a watercolor painting come alive!
2. Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
Straddling the Colorado – New Mexico border, a narrow-gauge time machine winds through golden aspen groves beneath sapphire skies.
Steam hisses dramatically as vintage carriages crest the 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass. The 64-mile ride crosses state lines 11 times, offering autumn’s splendor at breathtaking heights few travelers ever forget.
3. North Shore Scenic Railroad
Forget leaf-peeping from a car – Lake Superior’s shoreline dazzles from a train weaving between rocky cliffs and blue waters.
Crimson maples blaze overhead while the conductor shares tales of iron ore and North Woods grit. Deep sapphire lake meets fiery forest, a photographer’s dream framed by steam, wind, and autumn’s crisp perfume.
4. Virginia Scenic Railway
History buffs, rejoice! The Blue Ridge Flyer winds from Staunton through farmland and forest, stitching the Shenandoah Valley in gold and crimson.
Steam perfumes the crisp air until darkness swallows the train inside the 1858 Blue Ridge Tunnel. Emerging into blazing fall color feels cinematic – shadow to sunlight, stone to spectacle, an autumn finale etched forever.
5. Cass Scenic Railroad
Want to see autumn from nearly a mile high? The Bald Knob Trip climbs into Allegheny skies aboard vintage Shay locomotives once built for logging. Steep grades echo with chug-chug cadence while coal smoke perfumes the crisp air.
At 4,842 feet, panoramas unfold in scarlet and gold, a mountaintop memory etched in steam and color.
6. Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway
Pennsylvania’s coal country hides a ride that dazzles each October as the Lehigh Gorge blazes into a flame-colored canyon. Vintage coaches rumble from Jim Thorpe, “America’s Switzerland,” offering open windows for crisp mountain air.
Maple-covered cliffs frame waterfalls while fiery reflections ripple across the river’s surface, doubling autumn’s spectacle in every passing view.
7. Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
Why pick between train tracks and river currents when you can savor both? Vintage steam locomotives roll past maples blazing in crimson and gold, whistles echoing over the valley. Then it’s aboard the Becky Thatcher riverboat, gliding under historic bridges while herons stalk golden shores.
Double the scenery, double the autumn magic.
8. Conway Scenic Railroad
Calling all thrill-seekers! The Mountaineer rattles through Crawford Notch, crossing historic trestles that hang above ravines painted in crimson, gold, and orange. Steam hisses while pine-scented air whips through open windows, amplifying the adrenaline.
Dating to the 1870s, the line conquers rugged peaks, even gliding across Frankenstein Trestle, named for an artist, not a monster.
9. Adirondack Railroad
Wilderness calls on a full-day ride between Utica and Old Forge, rolling straight into Adirondack Park’s six million acres.
Beaver dams, mirror lakes, and rugged peaks unfurl outside the window. Opt for the dome car and autumn surrounds you in 360 degrees, a kaleidoscope of scarlet and gold without hiking boots or bug spray.
10. Amtrak Adirondack
From skyscrapers to mountaintops in one magnificent day! This international journey begins in Manhattan’s concrete jungle before paralleling the Hudson River’s gallery of autumn artistry. The train hugs Lake Champlain’s western shore where Vermont’s Green Mountains create a stunning backdrop across the water.
Cross into Canada for a Montreal finale! The dome car section between Albany and Montreal offers the ultimate leaf-peeping perspective.
11. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
Moonshine country shows its softer side during autumn aboard these Appalachian adventures! Choose between the Nantahala Gorge route (river rafters wave as you pass) or the Tuckasegee River journey through historic small towns.
The misty blue haze that gives these mountains their name creates a dreamy backdrop for the explosion of color. Train buffs love the steam engine options, while movie fans recognize locations from “The Fugitive” filmed along these very tracks!
12. Amtrak Vermonter
Save the best for last! Vermont’s foliage spectacle unfurls from a train window, threading through white-steepled villages and flaming maples.
Connecticut River valleys blend into rolling farmland glowing in scarlet and gold. Between Brattleboro and St. Albans, right-side seats northbound guarantee peak leaf-peeping. No traffic, no stress – just autumn’s magic choreographed by Mother Nature.
