Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Reviews

Breath taking views, awesome staff. A trip back in time when you arrive in Silverton

Great fun for train fans. They run 7 different stream trains, three a day. The ride is 3 hours, roughly, to Silverton. You get about 1.5 hours in Sometime before you have to board to go back. It runs about 8 hours total trip if you go round trip. The bus takes 1.5 hours to get back if you want to get back faster.

This place is free, but would be worth an admission fee

We took the bus to Silverton and the train back. The employees were great, informative and friendly. The ride back was long, over three and a half hours.

The trip being shorter due to bridge washout had no negative feel. The best views in our opinion are available on the route through Cascade anyway. . Two hour round trip just enough time for many people to enjoy. The views were great, the covid adjustments were great and in fact probably helped make the trip more enjoyable as it wasn't nearly full... washed out bridge or not it was enjoyed... best train trip yet in the US

If you can, take the train ride. One of the highlights of my trip to Colorado. If you book the open air car understand you will have some coal ash that comes in, just don't wear a white shirt unless you don't mine flecks of black ash. :) Seriously though, it's a great reminder of how train travel was during they heyday of train travels. The scenery is phenomenal, many areas only see man when the trains pass through. The train guides provide a great deal of information and are helpful during the stop in Silverton.

The narrator made this trip fun for everyone. He didn't once get out of character as the original sheriff. The views are breathtaking. A must do for sure.

The Polar Express experience was AWESOME! Our 4 year old Amelia helped to make it magical!

Amazing Experience.

This is one of those must do at least once things. I've ridden the Durango railroad at least 3 times in my life now and will probably do it again. Summer rides and winter rides are vastly different. I've not had the opportunity to do one of the Christmas rides.

I usually opt for the train ride out and bus ride back for the additional fee. Especially since my track record for successful trips on the train has been pretty bad. When I say this, on 2 of my trips the train has broken down. Delaying the one way by as much as 2 hours. But that's some of the fun of riding on an authentic coal powered steam engine.

Riders are given the choice to purchase tickets in different types of cars, the cheapest being the outdoor coach cars with bench seats. At the end of the trip your almost guaranteed to have some bits of coal on your face and hair.

Scenery and the experience of riding the railroad in a remote mountain area are reason enough to do this, but every trip I've taken has been a bit different.

I highly recommend this to families traveling with kids about 10 and older, or photographers visiting the area.

Friendly staff, great views, a fun experience, and Silverton is a cute little town. Ride in one of the open-air gondolas on the right-hand side if going from Durango to Silverton.

Great Ride! I would recommend to sit right on the train, and take the bus back.Great road and the narration of the Busdriver was fabulous

Such a wonderful place. My two boys love it here. They have a caboose that you can climb in, as well as multiple steam locomotives. They also have a display of an H.O. model train. If you time it just right, you can go out the back of the museum and watch the turntable turn the trains around. All the employees are so nice and will answer any questions. If you have littles you will spend hours here. They never want to leave.

Long, long ride. Get premium tickets so you can move around more freely.

Once you leave town it's beautiful, but very expensive

Amazing view of FALL color, Rocky mountains, San Juan national forest, Animas river. Two hours, it was a wonderful relaxing afternoon.

The only thing I can say is take the ride. It is amazing. It starts so beautiful and it only gets better along the way. You don't even feel the three hours pass by. The open gondola in the back is the best due to less soot from the engine, wear sunglasses anyway. Wear heavy clothes in winter though, gloves are mandatory, it gets really cold.

I friggin love this place! Even if you just stop by there are things to see and do.

Beautiful ride down from Silverton to Durango. Loved it.

Always a great time when on the train the employees always enhance the experience

If you like seeing the outdoors and love trains than this is an activity for you. It is on the pricey side but the views you see along the way make it worth it. It is 3.5 hours to Silverton and 3 hours back to Durango so it will eat up your entire day but the staff are knowledgeable and helpful while you are on the train. We saw plenty of wildlife right by the track that you would get to see if you drove up. Silverton was fun but pretty touristy.

The highlight of the best vacation in my life was this train ride!

Trip is better if you ride only 1 way, up to Silverton. Otherwise the trip becomes daunting.

Had a good time. Beautiful scenery. Open car gives great views. Make sure you dress for possible weather changes if your in a open car. Had a great time. Only downside was that some people don't respect personal space.

Cool train ride and good history, 3.5 hours each way for the ride, definitely need to do it once.

Love this train ride! Have done the Durango to Silverton in the Summer - beautiful. We have also done the Durango to Cascade Canyon in the Winter. There wasn't a lot of snow at the time, but still beautiful! The museum is free and fun to walk around.

Dream ride ever. Wonderful scenic loco drive ever. high recommended and never miss the opportunity for life time experience

Loved it even though it didn't go all the way to Silverton.

A decent train ride. Compared to Cumbres and Toltec, the ash and soot is ALOT worse even though I was inside during this one and outside during that one. The ride also isn t as good, but the section between Durango and Cascade Canyon is very good. Another problem is that the tracks are on a rock face for most of the ride, so half the time and pay to look at a bunch of rocks. However, they really support Silverton by allowing you to eat in any of the local restaurants. Also, the attendant in the concession was extremely nice and we got into a conversation every time I went in ( I had a refillable drink cup so I came in pretty often). He clearly enjoyed his job which made the whole atmosphere of the ride feel a lot better. The guidebook that they sell is also great-although expensive, it told me where to look for certain areas around the tracks, as well as the history of the line and the towns. I would ride this again if I had the chance.

I loved it. It's been 20 years but I had so much fun. The ride was comfortable. In Silverton we tried buffalo. The restaurants got very crowded. Beautiful part of Colorado

Great train ride on 1st day of year. Loved it with family.

It's a long train ride but beautiful scenery. Recommend train up in the morning and bus down in the evening.

This was hands down the most beautiful experience of my life and I've traveled allot. Get the knights sky train! It's worth the extra money.

The museum at the train station is so much fun. I take my kids there multiple times per year. It is a great place to break up regular routine, get out, learn something new, and explore history. The staff is friendly, and for a working train station, it is pretty clean. The one downside is, because of the generosity of multiple donors, the museum is packed and can be difficult to navigate. It also has moved away from a general cohesive flow of well done displays to a wide variety of topics. That doesn't make the displays any less valuable or interesting, but the appreciation for each item is dimmed within so many. The central focus of the museum is supposed to be the trains, and the colossal beasts still render awe in the middle of the large room. But the supporting dioramas, artifacts, videos, and facts can be missed completely. However, the train staff are passionate about their jobs, and they do a wonderful job with the enormous task of housing and displaying so many fascinating items. As I said, we love to visit, and enjoy going every time. Don't miss this on your way through Durango, even if you don't ride the train!

Loved the magic of the evening ride. You could see it in the eyes of the kids.

Beautiful scenery. Friendly staff. Awesome experience.

We went to the train museum and I was very impressed by how much of the train cars and engines you were able to go in and look at. Our boys had a great time!

Fun and entertaining. Really enjoyable to go with kids

What a great experience for kids of all ages. The trip is breathtaking. The caboose car was so much fun since we could stand on the back for even more amazing views.

Absolutely a must do if you are in the area. BEAUTIFUL and classic west!!

The best thing I've done yet in Colorado. Love the train ride and all of Gods great creations

You should experience this. Such a fun family way to spend time. The views are spectacular. It is like visiting a piece of heaven.

The train was going when we were there...

But the museum MUST BE on your list.

There are seven operational steam locomotives still in operation. An eighth is being restored, and will be converted to burn oil rather than coal.

The museum has one-of-a-kind displays and information about the history of Colorado, mining, and the railroad. There are walk in train cars, and a model railroad that is massive.

There are displays about transportation, and several original cars.

I would have liked to have ridden the train, but you need to plan a whole day for that. 3.5 hours to Silverton, and 3.5 hours back. It will stay on my bucket list.

The gift shop is nice and well stocked. There's even a coffee shop in the depot. Do stop. The museum is free.

Great for tourists, railway or history fans and locals alike.

I had the tickets in my hand but unfortunately our dog sitter didn't show up! I tried to go twos years ago and my dog fell sick.

I will still give it a good review because of the trip I had years ago and everyone that got to do today's trip said it was fantastic! They said it was amazing because they had a professor of film. This professor shared the history of films that were made in this area.

Now that I wrote this review I'm even madder! I guess the poor college student isn't poor enough that he probably slept through his alarm and missed some good money for a job he could not complete. Oh well, I have to let it go.

Museum is a must for any history buff or railroad affecinado. Hands on while you view the restored equipment and it's ALL FREE OF COST

I simply love this train!! It's fun, interesting and very unique. Best way to go is open car, right side, going to Silverton and bus back....well worth the $130 per person price! Train both directions is too much, for me. A little piece of Western America history! And the views are, at times, spectacular!

Very helpful staff. Prices are a bit high,but if you're willing to pay, it's a great time.

Beautiful!
Dangerous if you're too busy looking at the beauty; no room for error.
Enjoy the drive but whoever is driving better be paying very close attention.

Fabulous views, friendly staff, if in a Gondola car... Don't wear anything light and check the seat for soot before you sit down

Fun to watch the train pulling out of the stations belching smoke.

Excellent. Be sure to take the car with narrative. Learn about the history and the people. Fun.

Put this on your bucket list. Most gorgeous scenery I have ever experienced. If you like historical facts and such, take the narrated coach. If you don't want to be talked at for 7 hours, don't. I enjoyed the knowledge, but would have appreciated an hour or so to just experience it. Tried to escape to one of the open cars for awhile, but it was REALLY cold. :)

Beautifully follows along a rapid river with waterfalls and mountain views.

I find the history of the Narrow Gauge and Durango pretty cool

Awesome trip, did round trip, takes all day. So worth it

We took a five yr old and 16yr old on the round trip ride. Didn't know if they would both be happy, but it was great! The scenery was unbelievable and the town of Silverton didn't disappoint with horse drawn stage coaches going up and down gravel streets and yummy food and drink. One comment, we were in the gondola car, meaning open air...the coal dust is almost overwhelming. Do not wear light colored clothing, I had specks of coal dust in my hair for two washings. Everything returns black. Thank goodness it all washes out. Not sure what they used to clean it with 100 yrs ago! Go and enjoy - a great way to go back in history.

Awesome train ride in the San Juan Mountains. The museum is neat for history buffs.