From the Rockies to Red Rocks by Rocky Mountaineer train

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Through mountain tunnels and canyons of towering cliff faces, past spires and turrets of stone, our train wound its way west. Time-worn rock formations in hues of rusty reds, burnt umber, and searing oranges unreeled on either side of us in an ever-shifting, often awe-inspiring backdrop as we followed alongside the Colorado River.

After more than three decades of transporting people through the Canadian Rockies Rocky Mountaineer, the Vancouver-based luxury train touring company, has expanded into the U.S.

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Since 2022, the Rockies to Red Rocks tour has been taking passengers from Denver to Moab, Utah, and back. From April to October, travellers can board at either destination for a two-day journey.

Like the trains used in the B.C./Alberta routes, some of the cars have been customized from old Via Rail cars for spacious, no-fuss travel. The seats are roomy and comfortable enough to doze in, although you won’t want to miss anything. Not that you’ll have the chance. In our car, barely a few minutes went by without one of two attendants grabbing the mic to share some local lore or point out an abandoned uranium mine or unique rock feature.

Due to the mountain passes and tunnels, the trains—from six-to-eight cars—are single-level. Depending on the number of cars, one or two lounge cars separate the passenger cars.

Packages come in two tiers, SilverLeaf and SilverLeaf Plus. Customers in both are treated to the same luxury travel arrangements, including  complimentary baggage transfers, and three on-board meals. For SilverLeaf Plus passengers alcoholic drinks are included and customers can access the lounge cars and viewing platforms between cars.

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Meals are prepared by a chef to guests’ specifications from a set menu with options. Two breakfasts and one lunch are served during the two-day journey. Lunch consisted of an arugula, cranberry, and shaved Manchego salad, with a choice of beef short rib or lemon and herb roasted chicken breast (vegetarian options also available), and chocolate torte for dessert.

The trip takes 13 hours, divided into two legs—eight hours between Denver and Glenwood Springs and five from Glenwood Springs to Moab.

Day 1: Glenwood Springs

Following a bus ride from our hotel to the train, we departed from Denver at 8 a.m. For the first hour or so there was little to see beyond industry as we left the city outskirts, but the mountain scenery began shortly after breakfast and continued unabated throughout most of the day. I spent the day between my seat, the viewing platforms, and the roomier lounge cars.

Arriving at Glenwood Springs at 5, we checked into our rooms at the Hotel Denver, just a few steps from the station and the downtown core. The town (pop. 10,000+) has a frontier vibe, reinforced by a six-metre neon pistol sign outside Doc Holliday’s Saloon and by landmarks like the venerable Hotel Colorado. The turn-of-the-twentieth-century artifact boasts of having seen Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, and the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown walk through its doors.

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More alluring for many is the hot springs pool which at more than 120 by 30 metres wide is the largest of its kind in the world.

Day 2: Moab

The sun was just coming up as we boarded the train at 7 a.m. for the second leg of the trip. Once aboard, we past through five hours of sandstone landscapes until Moab, where we arrived at noon.

Like Glenwood Springs, the small Utah town has retained a frontier vibe. Its main strip—also, alas, a six-lane highway not to be crossed except under extreme caution—is lined with shops selling Navajo and Ute art of varying degrees of authenticity, along with T-shirts and souvenirs ballyhooing local parks. A real find was Back of Beyond Books, the kind of curated local bookstore that is sadly on the wane these days.

For a taste of roadhouse culture, try Woody’s Tavern, where you can see local acts like Meander Cat. Woody’s became an immediate must-see on our itinerary when one of our guides mentioned that, a couple of months previous, she’d spotted Kevin Costner. We didn’t see any celebrities, but the tavern’s cool was confirmed by a sign behind the pitted, scarred bar that read, “No more carving.”

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Moab’s real attractions are the nearby national parks and the outdoor adventures. During the spring and fall the town’s population of 5,000 swells with visitors coming to explore Arches National Park and Canyonlands. The former is home to more than 2,000 natural stone arches. You’ll become a believer once you’ve climbed to a spot underneath one or seen the sunset’s waning light bathing the formations in sherbet reds, oranges, and pinks.

Canyonlands, west of Moab, is like an inverted world. Where arches was all about looking up, Canyonlands is about looking down into vast craters and pits, like giant potholes gouged out by retreating icefields. On the Island in the Sky mesa, one of the most-visited viewpoints, the terrain falls 300 metres.

We went on a guided tour of Canyonlands Friday morning, the day after our arrival in Moab. Later that afternoon we joined the post-work-week revellers and other tourists on an ATV adventure in the hills overlooking the town. Four-by-four vehicles of every size and description ground and groaned their way over, across, and down red-hued rocks and boulders. Families with kids and dogs, groups of guys and girls, even a pair of newlyweds still in their wedding clothes—the whole town seemed to have turned out for a rollercoaster ride on the aptly named Hell’s Revenge Trail.

If you go:

2 Day Rail, Moab-Denver from $2261. Rockies to the Red Rocks Classic (Moab, Glenwood Springs, Denver; six days/five nights) from $3,389-5,124 CAD per guest.

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