Pin It

All Aboard!

A A A Comments By Patricia Calhoun Thursday, Dec 24 2009

"Is this the start of a new era, or the last year for the Winter Park ski train?" That's the cryptic question on the home page of www.riograndescenicrailroad.com/skitrain, and the answer could be: both. As it stands, the new era will start at 7:15 a.m. today, when a train pulls out of Union Station, headed up to the Winter Park resort. It's not the same train that ran this same route for 69 years; Phil Anschutz sold that equipment to a Canadian company last year. But a group of investors who run scenic-excursion trains in Arizona, Oregon and southern Colorado stepped up to run a new train — the Rio Grande Scenic Ski Train — along the same tracks to Winter Park.

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

"At this point," they note, "we have permission to run it for the 2009-2010 season only." Will the new era last only a year? Not if enough people buy tickets — and the good news is that this train has many more seats, which will allow some flexibility in pricing. The best deal: a season pass for $600 — which averages less than $15 a day if you take all 47 trips (weekends through March, with Friday trips later in the season) scheduled for this year. Other deals range from a ten-ride ticket for $290 to a dome-car seat, with breakfast and après-ski snacks, for $96. There are many more options; learn all about them by calling 877-726-RAIL or going to the web page and scrolling down to the "Scenic Ski Train" logo. (Fair warning: if you just google Winter Park Ski Train, you'll see only see this: "The Ski Train has been sold and will no longer operate in Colorado.")
Dec. 27-29; Saturdays, Sundays; Fridays; Thursdays. Starts: Dec. 27. Continues through March 28, 2009

Get the Events Newsletter

What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.