Verde Canyon Railroad Adventure

Overview

Hop aboard the Verde Canyon Railroad for a 3.5-hour rail journey through the untouched and unspoiled Verde Valley. With luxury class seating, you will enjoy appetizers, Champagne and unobstructed views of Arizona’s geological wonders, wildlife and archaeological finds of the ancient Sinagua people who once lived in the area.

City: Sedona

Sun 17 Nov

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $111.55

Make a reservation

Sun 17 Nov

Starting at $111.55

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Appetizers

Bottled water

Beginning in 2023, all tickets include Cafe Voucher

Restroom on board

Champagne toast

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Please Note: Special dietary options are unable to be accommodated
Infant age is 0-1 year. Any guest aged 1 and over will be charged an adult rate. Guests cannot board the train without a paid ticket
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
All complimentary first-class appetizers will be individually-packaged for customers.

What To Expect

Verde Canyon Railroad

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey! Enjoy a luxurious train ride through a 20-mile wilderness area, along a wild and scenic river, only accessible by rail. For 3.5-hours, enjoy comfort and style, exceptional amenities and outstanding service in vintage rail cars on a century-old route. Wind your way through a red rock paradise, with tracks that hug the curves of the Verde River. Every season offers a different reason to ride! Astonishing views of a wild and vibrant frontier, historic trestles, bridges and a 7000-foot tunnel are just a few of the highlights tucked into unusual rock formations, red rock pinnacles and towering crimson cliffs. Majestic bald eagles and hawks float effortlessly on the breeze above Javelina, wild burros, jackrabbits and many other Canyon creatures, peacefully coexisting with this heritage railroad for more than 100 years.

John Bell Railroad Museum

At the depot, be sure to visit the John Bell Museum, home to the railroad's history and artifacts from its early days, as well as a wealth of information on Clarkdale, Jerome and the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

Verde River

The train runs on the same tracks that were created following the Verde River back in 1911. The river is visible for most of your journey.

Perkinsville Ghost Town

Discover the history of Perkinsville Ghost Town through on-board commentary on your train journey. This is the turn-around point of your trip.

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Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (1000)

monetkids

Jul 2019

Nice little area to walk around before getting on the train. Good parking,has a nice gift shop, a small museum, and a food area to get some small bites to have before or bring on the train.Walking out to our boarding area for our car, was a bit hot on a very hot sunny AZ day, we were told get there at 12:30, we stood out in the sun/heat for 20 more minutes as they drove the train away to perform bathroom maintenance on the Kaboose. Suggest you put some covers in the standing area by each train car boarding to give some shade.We all boarded quickly, and mostly because it was not as crowded. Once on, it was pleasant, had the First Class seating as this was a special birthday surprise for my husband. Offered a champange toast and chips and some appetizers.And all the bottled water you want. And a bartender. My advice, eat a little something like the panini at the train depot before you go on the train. Appetizers were some wings, fruit,veggies and some cookies. Only 1 tray of each. Only about 25 people on our First Class car, but too many people were taking way too much of everything on their small plates and not enough for others. Had the seating for 2 which was a table and comfortable chairs right by the window, as everyone had window seating. Also had love seat sofa type seating for parties of 4 or more. We took off a bit after 1 p.m. All going well and a recorder narration and train music tunes as we went along. Beautiful scenery. Canyons, river,tunnel, worker bunk house area from way back . But then 30 minutes into our ride all power went off, train stopped. Looked out on the overlook people have at each train car not just to get some air because all a/c was also off, but to try to see what the conductor/engineers were doing. They climbed in and took care of it and we then moved along 15 minutes later. All going well and enjoying the scenery,then 30 minutes later the power went out again and the train stopped. And again, fixed 10 minutes and moved on. And yes, again 30 minutes later. At that point the narration was not timed properly with the journey. And most of us just decided to end up staying outside on the overlook for the rest of the ride. All we heard was that this has never happened in all the years of the railroad. It did not come to the 4 hour train ride they said everywhere in the informational website. We left the depot at 1:05 and arrived back at 4:30 with 30 minutes of delays. Although we did make it up to the point of switching the locomotive to return back. Not to mention ,not as plesant a ride as expected. No apology, no nothing. This was embarrassing for me and my husband who I surprised. Would we do this again, for the price of VIP, no way. The VIP was a bit more comfortable, and higher price, but sitting in "coach" probably would be just fine. And after experiencing this , no way ever again. Once was enough. I guess that is the chance you take, however, for the scenery and experience , it was different and it is a tourist thing. Would have given it a higher rating, average was being nice, but sorry, can't go higher after this journey.

Response from Host

Jul 2019

We do apologize that our power system was having fits that day. It was unfortunate that it happened on your trip. If you have not already requested a refund for your experience, please do call in and one of our reservation agents will assist you. We hope you will consider riding with us again as this was a fluke for us.

Kathy B

Jul 2019

We took the first class train ride with free appetizers and full service bar. The good points: the train was clean and in excellent condition; service was quite good as there was one server devoted to our train car; the appetizers weren't excellent, but were good (sliced fresh fruit, chicken wings, egg rolls and chocolate chip cookies); the train traveled through some very pretty countryside; the open but covered outside cars were easily accessible. Now for the not so good points: the four hour train ride is way too long. At least a third of the passengers in our train car slept on the return portion off the trip. If the train could go faster and decrease the duration of the trip to make it two hours, it would be much better. I think everyone was totally bored on the return trip. The other point that was not so good is that the sound system is poor. It is very difficult to hear. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this trip.

Response from Host

Jul 2019

We are sorry that the experience did not fulfill your expectations. Your time is valuable to you and we respect that four hours is a may be too long for some people. Our hope is that, while onboard the train, guests are able to unwind, relax, and take in the scenery. You might think we could "go faster" but in reality that's not what we are about, nor would it be safe inside that Canyon. Thank you for taking the trip.

charlesmS5310JN

Jul 2019

We were on a group trip in the First Class Car. They had Sparking wine, fruit and chicken wings along with a cash bar. The seating is for 2 with a table between on one side and for 4 with tables on the other. On the side with the 4 seats the cushions are very deep and it is difficult to sit back and enjoy the trip as your feet will be off the floor. It works if you are 7 feet tall. They need thicker cushions for your back for comfort. That was the only complaint I had with the trip. There was music and comentary on the sound system. Between the closed cars (with air conditioning) there are open cars so you can enjoy fresh air and the sights. The depot has hot snacks, hot dogs and hambergers, chips and drinks. They also have a large gift shop. The train trip is well worth the cost.

Response from Host

Jul 2019

Thank you so much for sharing your experience.