Relive the golden age of railroads and discover a Colorado few get to see. Rio Grande Scenic Railroad’s steam engine rides through breathtaking mountain valleys and passes on hundreds of miles of historic rail.

Colorado leisure trains make great vacation and gift ideas departing daily from Alamosa to La Veta in South Central Colorado. Our steam and diesel trains transport you to charming and historic train towns in the heart of the San Luis Valley.

Route between Alamosa and La Veta

• Traverses over historic La Veta pass-the highest point in which standard gauge crosses the Rockies
• Fir Station mountain stop in the middle for shorter ½ day trips
• Daily steam departures from Alamosa at 9:00 a.m.
• Daily diesel departures from La Veta at 9:30 a.m.
• Roundtrip or one-way fares available
• Trains run 7 days a week / Memorial Day – Oct. 31st.

Rio Grande Scenic RailroadThe San Luis Express leaves daily at 9:00 a.m. from historic Alamosa and winds through country ranging from agricultural flatlands to colorful foothills to cliff-sided mountains – much of it inaccessible by motor vehicle – on its way to the charming art town of La Veta. A leisurely, two-hour stop for lunch allows passengers to relax in the park, do some shopping and gallery-browsing, or enjoy a great meal at one of La Veta’s local restaurants and cafes.

A reverse trip is available, leaving La Veta at 9:30 a.m. Powered by a diesel-electric, the La-Veta to Alamosa train allows two hours for lunch and shopping in downtown Alamosa, with many cafes, restaurants and stores available. For the first time, summer weekdays departures from La Veta are scheduled July 8th through the end of the season, in part to accommodate access to the Mountain Music Show with Michael Martin Murphey.

In addition, shorter ½ day excursions are available from either Alamosa or La Veta to Fir Station, our mountain top stop. Morning and afternoon departures are available. Note: location is not wheelchair accessible and requires changing trains.

Alamosa, like most of our country, grew up with railroads. And while the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad put many towns on the map, none went up quite as quickly as ours.

The narrow gauge rail into town was completed on June 22, 1878, and shortly after, a train full of assorted pre-built buildings from nearby Garland City were brought in and put into place that same day. Rumor has it, in fact, that the men who worked the line had breakfast in Garland City that morning, and were later served dinner in the same building that evening – in Alamosa.

Back then, the town’s commercial center was located on what is now Sixth Street, with a couple of buildings to the north on what is now Hunt and State. Alamosa soon became an outfitting point for southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, and by 1880 the population had topped 800, making it the largest and liveliest town in south central Colorado.

With its large railroad station, Alamosa harbored all sorts of rowdy characters – among them construction huskies, sheep herders, cow punchers, miners and gamblers – as well as a large Spanish-speaking community that had settled the area in 1854.

During the same period, in 1880, construction was under way on a rail line leading to Antonito and then, ultimately, to Santa Fe. At the same time, rail construction west through Monte Vista, Del Norte and South Fork was also under way and was finally completed in 1881. Nine years later the track was extended from Salida to Alamosa, and by 1890, and for the following half-century, Alamosa was the hub of narrow gauge railroading in America.

The busy depot hummed day and night with the activity of both passenger and freight trains from Denver, Durango, Santa Fe, Salida and Creede arriving and departing daily. The freight trains supplied the developing valley with ore, lumber, cattle, sheep and farm products, and in turn, agricultural and mining products were shipped out.

Less than a decade later, after years of unsuccessful surveying, a workable route was found and the narrow gauge rail would be replaced by standard gauge from the town of La Veta over La Veta Pass and into Alamosa.

Today, more than 100 years later, the same standard gauge rails are still in use, carrying both freight and passengers over La Veta Pass on the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.

Lodging and Dining in the San Luis Valley

With more than a dozen lodging properties and more than 40 restaurants in and around Alamosa, passengers can head in any direction from the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad’s depot stay, eat and play to their heart’s content.

Click Here for Visitor Information

Rio Grande Scenic Railroad

601 State Avenue
Alamosa, Colorado 81101

Phone: 877 – 726 – RAIL
E-Mail: info@riograndescenicrailroad.com
Web: www.riograndescenicrailroad.com

Directions to the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad

Alamosa and the San Luis Valley are located in south-central Colorado, about 200 miles south of Denver, 220 miles north of Albuquerque, and 90 miles west of Pueblo. Our depot is located at 601 State Ave, just off Main Street in Alamosa.

Please use the driving directions tool below to get custom directions. You may click the numbers for each leg of the directions to see a detailed map of that leg.

La Veta Train Depot

To get to the La Veta train depot, take Exit 52 off of I-25 at Walsenburg. Take HWY 160 for 11 miles, heading west. Turn left onto HWY 12 for five miles. Slow down for the city limits, cross the train tracks and the pale yellow depot will be on your right.