Roaring Camp Railroads

Quite possibly the most beautiful steam train ride I have ever taken was the Redwood line at Roaring Camp Railroads.  Two lines are available at base camp in Felton, a few miles from Santa Cruz, CA.  One is a trip through Bear Mountain that takes a little over an hour total, and the second is a trip down to the the Beach Boardwalk of Santa Cruz that takes an hour and a half one-way.

Some of the cars of the steam train are covered and some are uncovered.  The conductor offers interesting tidbits of information about the woods in which you pass through, and about the train itself, mixed with ample pauses of silence to drink in the scenery. There is a point about half-way through the trip at which the train stops and you can explore a cleared area of the mountain, grab a snack on the picnic table, or use the restroom. The train returns you to the station which looks a bit like an old town. There is a small place where you can purchase some lunch. There’s also picnic tables and lots of grass to run around and burn off the energy from sitting on the train.  For bird lovers you can find cliff swallows all around, and from June – Sept. one can see the mud houses they built under the awning of many of the buildings.