Touring Arches and/or Canyonlands Natl. Park via train

[winterskigirl]

Does anyone know of any trains that go to, through or around Arches and/or Canyonlands National Parks?

It looks like the closet AMTRAK can get me is to Green River, UT

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Yes it is currently true that the closest you can get is Green River Utah. But if you are coming from the east, it might be just as easy to get there from Grand Junction, CO, since I can almost guarantee that 1) Green River won't have car rental, and 2) If it does, it won't be open at that time of day. The drive would be about 1 hour longer from Grand Junction, but I guess it is up to you to make that decision. At one point in time, Amtrak did run to Moab. The California Zephyr took the branch track that goes down into Moab's uranium mines to serve the town. But this required backing up for thirty miles, and added overall about an hour and a half to the schedule, so it was dropped.

 

[PRR 60]

Yes it is currently true that the closest you can get is Green River Utah. But if you are coming from the east, it might be just as easy to get there from Grand Junction, CO, since I can almost guarantee that 1) Green River won't have car rental, and 2) If it does, it won't be open at that time of day. The drive would be about 1 hour longer from Grand Junction, but I guess it is up to you to make that decision. At one point in time, Amtrak did run to Moab. The California Zephyr took the branch track that goes down into Moab's uranium mines to serve the town. But this required backing up for thirty miles, and added overall about an hour and a half to the schedule, so it was dropped.

Are you sure about that? That is the first time I heard that story. The Cane Creek branch (the line from Brendel Junction toward Moab) is 30mph track, so any trip up and back would be at least three hours. The reverse move could not even hold 30mph.

The Cane Creek Branch does not actually get to Moab. It was built to serve the Potash mining operation west of the town. It gets close to town, but at the closest point, it is inaccessible (up in the cliffs and passing through a long tunnel). Where it is accessible to a highway, it is miles from town. There is no evidence of any passenger stations on the line. If serving Moab was a desire, a bus connection from Green River would have made more sense.

The line is now primarily used to remove uranium mine tailings for environmental cleanup.

 

[yarrow]

we actually did this once. took the train from eastern washington to salt lake city. rented a car in salt lake, went to arches, canyonlands and back through capitol reef. kind of a pain as the train times in salt lake weren't convenient. i would recommend the southwest chief to flagstaff or albuquerque, rent a car and tour the southwest from one of those cities

 

[MikefromCrete]

Yes it is currently true that the closest you can get is Green River Utah. But if you are coming from the east, it might be just as easy to get there from Grand Junction, CO, since I can almost guarantee that 1) Green River won't have car rental, and 2) If it does, it won't be open at that time of day. The drive would be about 1 hour longer from Grand Junction, but I guess it is up to you to make that decision. At one point in time, Amtrak did run to Moab. The California Zephyr took the branch track that goes down into Moab's uranium mines to serve the town. But this required backing up for thirty miles, and added overall about an hour and a half to the schedule, so it was dropped.

Are you sure about that? That is the first time I heard that story. The Cane Creek branch (the line from Brendel Junction toward Moab) is 30mph track, so any trip up and back would be at least three hours. The reverse move could not even hold 30mph.

The Cane Creek Branch does not actually get to Moab. It was built to serve the Potash mining operation west of the town. It gets close to town, but at the closest point, it is inaccessible (up in the cliffs and passing through a long tunnel). Where it is accessible to a highway, it is miles from town. There is no evidence of any passenger stations on the line. If serving Moab was a desire, a bus connection from Green River would have made more sense.

The line is now primarily used to remove uranium mine tailings for environmental cleanup.

I never heard of the CZ making some kind of meandering trip down and back a 30-mile freight branch.

 

[Montanan]

Johnny probably should pour himself another cup of coffee this morning ... there has definitely never been any scheduled passenger service on the branch running down towards Moab, Amtrak or otherwise. (The line was built to access a potash mine during the early 1960s, and doesn't actually even enter Moab.)

As for Amtraking to Arches and Canyonlands, I'd definitely recommend taking the train to Grand Junction and renting a car there. It's not all that far to Arches, and the drive is quite scenic in itself. The Green River station is unstaffed, and the town itself is quite small and fairly bleak -- I'd doubt if one can even get a rental car there.

 

[Tom]

Does anyone know of any trains that go to, through or around Arches and/or Canyonlands National Parks?

It looks like the closet AMTRAK can get me is to Green River, UT

We did this trip last year. Renting a car in Green River wasn't an option. I remember researching it well. The cost of a van to Moab and renting a car there was around $150 each way. Therefore we rented a car in Grand Junction from Enterprise, which is in town and will pick you up and drop you off at the station. There is a National Monument about 15 miles west of Grand Junction (on the way to Moab) that is well worth 3 to 4 hours. This is a superb trip and the drive from Grand Junction isn't bad at all. Also, as small towns go, Grand Junction is an OK place to spend a night and have dinner.

 

[zephyr17]

Yes it is currently true that the closest you can get is Green River Utah. But if you are coming from the east, it might be just as easy to get there from Grand Junction, CO, since I can almost guarantee that 1) Green River won't have car rental, and 2) If it does, it won't be open at that time of day. The drive would be about 1 hour longer from Grand Junction, but I guess it is up to you to make that decision. At one point in time, Amtrak did run to Moab. The California Zephyr took the branch track that goes down into Moab's uranium mines to serve the town. But this required backing up for thirty miles, and added overall about an hour and a half to the schedule, so it was dropped.

When was that? I've been riding and following Amtrak since its beginnings in 1971, and was particularly interested when the switched 5 & 6 from the Overland Route to the D&RGW in 1983, what with the death of the RGZ and the Thistle slide. I've ridden the RGZ, the SFZ and the Amtrak CZ numerous times.

Unless I see reference to a specific timetable, I am going to call BS on this.

The only thing I know that required "backing" a train for a long distance was when they ran 5&6 into Cheyenne in the early years and ran with the consist backwards Denver to Cheyenne. Even then they didn't really back up the train, they ran the power around, it was just the consist faced backwards, they weren't backing up. Even this stopped when the changed the Cheyenne stop from downtown Cheyenne to Borie, west of town.

 

[Steve4031]

This back up move never happened.

 

[E Runs]

Does anyone know of any trains that go to, through or around Arches and/or Canyonlands National Parks?

It looks like the closet AMTRAK can get me is to Green River, UT

If you choose the drive from Grand Junction I'd suggest taking HWY 128 into Moab, it's a much more scenic drive than 191. Just don't linger around Cisco, it's like something out of a zombie movie.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

If you're leaving from SEA and you want to rent a car from GJT, then the best way would be to go SEA-SAC-GJT. This would also take you through Ruby Canyon which you can only go through by train or raft. This is in between GRi and GJT so this would be another reason to go through to GJT. Previously, you could go directly SEA-GJT on the Pioneer, but that has now been discontinued.

Please book at least four monthes in advance and try to get a Sleeper.

BTW, there was/is no way Amtrak could have run a train to Moab! There's no trakcs in that town.

 

[Dan O]

Does anyone know of any trains that go to, through or around Arches and/or Canyonlands National Parks?

It looks like the closet AMTRAK can get me is to Green River, UT

Be prepared for some heat. We went camping both places a few years ago in July. HOT..too hot really. Over 100 for sure in Arches. Nice that they have arches one can rest under. It's gorgeous but would be better if you could see it in the months that are not quite so hot. We camped in Green River and it was hot and humid there. I had a hard time sleeping b/c of the heat and that is a rarity when we camp. So be prepared for warm to hot weather if you are there in the summer. Enjoy your trip...both parks are gorgeous.

Dan

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Be prepared for some heat. We went camping both places a few years ago in July. HOT..too hot really. Over 100 for sure in Arches. Nice that they have arches one can rest under. It's gorgeous but would be better if you could see it in the months that are not quite so hot. We camped in Green River and it was hot and humid there. I had a hard time sleeping b/c of the heat and that is a rarity when we camp. So be prepared for warm to hot weather if you are there in the summer. Enjoy your trip...both parks are gorgeous.

Dan

Not only would July be too hot for the parks, but by now it's a bit too late to book Sleepers over there. Good thing is, I was just searching and found a few low bucket sleepers at the last minute!

BTW, go to Amsnag for cheap Amtrak fares!

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I'm very sorry to everyone for my false information!!! I swear I read that somewhere, but now that I think about it, I'm 99% sure it was WIkipedia. I'll double check next time!!!

 

[Henry Kisor]

My wife and I did the Chicago-to-Grand-Junction-on-the-CZ thing three years ago. Easy walk from station to our hotel, lots of restaurants on the main drag, and Enterprise picked us up at our hotel. The drive to Moab (do take 128) is easy. The parks will be jumping at this time of year; when we visited in late March, they were nearly empty (and, of course, many of the ancillary activities were still shut down for the winter). Train times at Grand Junction are civilized. too.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

2 notes.

1. Canyonlands is certainly worth the visit, but having a 4x4 will make things more interesting there. I didn't travel very far into the park. In fact I never left the first area, but from the visitor center there is an amazing vista where on the day I was there you could see for 150 miles +. Very neat.

2. I agree with other posters in saying Moab never had any kind of train service, but they do have a small airport.