Verde Canyon Railroad - Clarkdale, Arizona

Samael Walsh

Wonderful experience! The scenery was absolutely beautiful and our outdoor guide Christian was very friendly and knowledgeable (I find it hard to believe he's only been there for 2 months! He's a natural!) The food offered on board was great, and we also bought a couple of drinks at the bar. The indoor seating was quite comfortable, but I recommend spending the trip in one of the outdoor cars. Very lovely experience, 10/10

Wren Taylor

This is a great opportunity to see some unique beautiful landscapes on a slow moving train through the Verde Canyon. There are open top train cars with a canopy, and enclosed train cars with air conditioning. The train goes out into the valley, then the engine switches sides and pulls the train back to the starting point, so the passenger car windows will be on the same side both ways but I believe you can move around to change spots and see both the rocky cliffs and the verdant canyon. The Verde River is one of the only ones in Arizona that always has water. It'll be on your right as you go into the canyon. There's a cool tunnel partway through. There's an audio program available with information about what you're seeing during the journey.

At the train station, there are restrooms, a water fountain, a gift shop, and a cafe with outdoor shaded seating.

In the winter time they run a shorter route to a little decorated "Christmas Village" and kids can experience a magical visit from Santa.

I paid extra for the one ticket available to ride along with the engineer, and can highly recommend the experience for any train enthusiasts. The engine itself is not air conditioned but there's air flow from the front hatch that keeps the cabin from getting stuffy and too hot. The front seat view for going into the tunnel and steel bridge especially is really fun, and you can ride along as the engine switches sides on the train. You'll be on the left side by the canyon wall on the way out, and on the side of the river on the way back. You don't have access to the food and drinks service but the crew provides water, conversation, and at the halfway point an opportunity to walk into the passenger cars and use the restroom.

Mrs Mc

Wow! This was a fabulous 4 hours. Excellent event, our carriage, food, drinks & hostess was exemplary. Air conditioning carriages & open air carriages too. Beautiful scenery, met some other people & had a good laugh. A definite must do. Good food & gift shop at the station with clean toilet facilities

Justin Baker

My wife and I had an Amazing experience! The views were absolutely beautiful but I do recommend booking atleast 3-4 weeks in advance as the tickets are assigned seating and the earlier you book the higher the likelihood that you'll get the side with the best view! The champagne and charcuterie that was included with the ticket was very good and the staff were all pretty on point! Highly recommend

Roberto Heredia

This was absolutely a trip to remember! I cannot recommend enough taking this beautiful excursion into the Verde Canyon. We bought the wine trip/stargazing 5:30pm ticket and were blown away by how beautiful and great the trip was. The wine was delicious and the service was even better. We absolutely loved it and cannot wait to share this trip with friends and family and go again!

We didn’t get to choose our seats but I do recommend trying to get seats on the right side of the train, those seats are only for two people but you get all the views! Even if you don’t get those seats the ride is still breathtaking and beautiful!

Walter Rothe

We highly enjoyed our trip with the historic railroad. It was a bit expensive but certainly worth the money. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we learnt a lot about the history and the present of the valley and the area. The snack the provided was very good.

Crystal Weaver

I have always loved taking this train ride. We moved to AZ in early 90's and we soon discovered this train. I always spot wildlife and there is a comfortable train to sit in and a viewing train. We took it quite often and then had not done it in a while but we were not disappointed. We got the newly renovated train and it was just as comfortable as I remember. You get a Champaign toast and charcuterie board when you board.

Elyse Brink

We absolutely loved this experience! Something so fun and different. Despite the weather being warmer than expected the train cars stayed cool and we still had access to the outside cars for a unique view of the Verde Canyon. Staff gave excellent customer service and we loved the touch of the staff at the station waving us away as we embarked on our educational journey. Some issues with connecting to the audio tour through our personal devices but were still able to hear slightly through the car speakers. Volume was a little low.

We also paid $5 additional for the Freight Night experience once we were done with the train ride. Wouldn’t recommend this as it was quite lackluster and felt a bit disorganized.

Already have recommended the train experience to many! Fun for all ages and a unique way to experience the endless beauty of Arizona!