Monday 18 March 2024 12:22 pm | Updated: Monday 18 March 2024 12:30 pm

From mountains to canyons: USA the smart way, on the Rocky Mountaineer train

The Rocky Mountaineer has launched a new route through city and country in the US (Photo: Rocky Mountaineer)

This new luxury US Rocky Mountaineer train connects the city of Colorado with its beautiful, abundant nature, says Megan Eaves

“Look, bald eagle! Flying right above the Fraser River!” The excited shouts stir me from a gentle lull and I look out of the right-hand window to see the majestic bird with its signature whitefeathered head soaring above the iceblue waters of the river below. I’m on board the Rocky Mountaineer, a new luxury train service connecting Colorado’s capital, Denver, with the adventure outpost town of Moab, Utah.

The excited shouts came from Paul Arnett, a Colorado native and the Lead Host of my railway carriage. Paul is also an unabashed train buff and during the two days that our journey takes across Colorado and Utah, he never hesitates to share his deep knowledge of local wildlife as well as the rise and decline of the railways in the American West. Rocky Mountaineer has been operating luxe, scenic trains in the Canadian Rocky Mountains since 1990, and in 2022 it expanded into the US with its first full season running the ‘Rockies to the Red Rocks’ route between Denver and Moab.

Both cities have seen growth over recent years – particularly Denver, as numerous tech companies and digital nomads have moved here from the coasts in search of fresh mountain air and more space. With them has come a thriving food and mixology scene, signalled by the publication this year of Colorado’s first Michelin food guide. The spacious carriages and big windows on the Rocky Mountaineer make it easy to get up and mingle, so I’ve already made friends with several fellow passengers, including a tourist named Matt, who has travelled here from Kentucky with his family as a birthday gift to his father-in-law. “We couldn’t give them a trip on the train and then not come along!” he laughs.

Holding the heart of the US Rocky Mountains, Colorado has long been America’s outdoor playground, from the rich and famous hitting the pistes in Aspen to trekkers seeking to bag all of the state’s ‘Fourteeners’ – the 58 peaks above 14,000 feet (4267m) in elevation. The new Rocky Mountaineer twoday service crosses over high passes, alongside rushing rivers and through red deserts. And it’s a welcome spot of rail transport in a highway-driven region, particularly for travellers who might not want or be able to hire a car and drive.

Instead, you can hop on the train in downtown Denver and arrive in Moab the next day to tour the unique desert rock formations in its famed Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. This isn’t a traditional sleeper train, though. To maximise the daylight hours in which to gawp at the lovely passing scenery, the Rocky Mountaineer stops overnight halfway along its course in the mountain town of Glenwood Springs. It’s here that we alight after the first day travelling up high mountain passes and through tunnels chiselled out of sheer rock cliffs, all while filling up on frittatas and green-chile pork ribs and taking a guided tasting of local Colorado wines (or alcohol-free craft beers, if you’re me). Paul and his co-host Lacey Leonard are quick to point out the high-elevation vineyards where the wines are made as we pass.

The train descends from the mountains, into ruddy canyons as it carves a winding path toward the Grand Canyon

The check-in process in Glenwood Springs is straightforward, as our luggage has been hand-transferred and delivered to our rooms at the Hotel Denver across the street from the station. We’re given room keys even before de-boarding the train. After a quick freshen-up, it’s off for dinner at the Pullman, an upscale American diner named, of course, for the late 19th-century railway-carriage building company. After dinner, I’m joined by two fellow passengers who are as eager as I am to soak in Glenwood’s namesake hot springs. It’s an easy 15-minute stroll across town through the cool mountain evening to the Iron Mountain Hot Springs, a lush resort that utilises the town’s mineral-rich hot spring water for its 32 geothermal pools.

We head straight for the adult-users only WorldSprings section. Newly opened in May this year, the waters in these pools have been altered to mimic those of famous hot springs around the world. We hop from Iceland’s Blue Lagoon to the bicarbonate-rich Osaek Hot Springs in South Korea, then Europe’s first soaking pool in Vichy, France, and finally the Dead Sea, where we float lightly on our backs looking up at the stars. I finish off with a soak in one of the pools with pure local water – its minerals instantly smoothing my skin and senses.

The second day on the train requires an early start, with a pink glow rising over the Rocky peaks and Venus still high in the sky. The journey from Glenwood to Moab stretches out as the train descends from the mountains and into ruddy canyons following the Colorado River as it carves a winding path toward the Grand Canyon further south. The river widens here from the rock-driven rapids higher up, and these calmer waters are popular with rafters seeking the serenity of a multiday ‘float trip’. Keep your eyes peeled and you’re likely to see the rafters indulging in an old state tradition – the ‘Colorado Salute’ – by mooning the train as it passes by.

Our carriage chef (yes each carriage has its own chef), Joey, explains the day’s lunch will be a ‘tamale pie’ combining a Mesoamerican dish of stuffed cornmeal with modern Southwest flavours like black beans and green chile (not chilli) from neighbouring New Mexico, into a gourmet pie. It’s savoury and delicious – best washed down with another icecold, NA pale ale. Several hours pass gently and, with little mobile service in this part of the world and no wifi on board, you are encouraged to look, listen and rest.

Carolyn Rohaly, Rocky Mountaineer’s Communications Manager, is seated near me and notices the relaxed look on my face. “This is what I love about this journey It really makes you slow down and take it all in. No distractions,” she says. For what feels like endless time, we watch yellow and brown canyons gradually transform into rough-hewn red stone, indicating we’re nearing Moab and the Mars-like rock formations of Arches National Park.

I stand up and snap some photos from the open windows in between the carriages, letting the warm, desert breeze hit my face, and then head into the lounge car next door. There’s just time for a lime and tonic before we arrive.

Take the Rocky Mountaineer yourself

Megan Eaves travelled as a guest of Rocky Mountaineer and Colorado Tourism. colorado.com; Prices for the Rocky Mountaineer start at £1,414 per guest and seats can be booked online.

The ‘Rockies to the Red Rocks’ route runs from April to October, departing from either Denver or Moab on alternating days. Bookings are full-service and include end-to-end hotels, luggage handling, local transfers and optional activity add-ons, such as tours of the national parks in Moab. From there, Rocky Mountaineer can also arrange an extended road-based tour across Utah to Las Vegas via Zion National Park or north to Salt Lake City.