Starlight Ride on Verde Canyon Railroad
Description
Hop aboard the Verde Canyon Railroad for a 4-hour rail journey through the untouched and unspoiled Verde Valley. With first class seating, you will enjoy unobstructed views of Arizona’s geological wonders, wildlife, and archaeological finds of the ancient Sinagua people who once lived in the area. The Verde Canyon Railroad offers Starlight and Moonlight excursions on select Fridays and Saturdays May through September, departing the depot during the cooler temperatures of later afternoon and traveling through sunset and into the moon glow of twilight. Sandwiched between two protected national forests and adjacent to the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness, Verde Canyon Railroad brings its passengers into a untamed and unspoiled terrain, the exceedingly rare ribbon where high desert meets the river.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Make your way to the Verde Canyon Railroad Train Depot in Clarkdale, Arizona, not far from Sedona, to begin your Verde Canyon Railroad Starlight adventure. This rail adventure offers a wilderness train ride through the remote Verde Canyon which is known for its picturesque setting and abundant wildlife. Though it’s possible to hike in the canyon, by far the easiest way to experience it is by riding this scenic wilderness train. The train is made up of exquisitely-renovated passenger coaches and open-air viewing cars pulled by vintage locomotives and travels a route along the Verde River between Clarkdale and Perkinsville. After embarking from the Clarkdale depot, sit back for a 4-hour, 40-mile round trip that includes views of historic mining sites, geological wonders, Sinagua Indian cliff dwellings and wildlife from bald eagles to antelope.
At the depot, be sure to visit the John Bell Museum, home to the railroad's history and artifacts from its early days, as well as a wealth of information on Clarkdale, Jerome and the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
The train runs on the same tracks that were created following the Verde River back in 1911. The river is visible for most of your journey.
SOB Canyon and the 150 ft tall bridge are highlights of the trip. Looking back from the bridge and down the canyon is simply gorgeous!
Discover the history of Perkinsville Ghost Town through on-board commentary on your train journey. This is the turn-around point of your trip.
You'll ride past Tuzigoot National Monument on your train journey.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Infant age is 0-1 year. Any guest aged 1 and over will be charged an adult rate. Guests cannot board the train without a paid ticket
Reviews(129)
You get your moneys worth! Very courteous and personal. Enjoyed every minute of the ride! Would definitely do it again!
Absolutely stunning views during the first half of the ride and amazing starlit skies on the second half.
This experience is amazing!!! If you do nothing else, do this! The staff is very knowledgeable and made this experience feel once in a lifetime. The views and stars at night are breathtaking. Not to mention, the drinks the bartender made were top notch. I couldn’t give this experience enough praise and this made my partner’s 30th birthday. Thank you again for such an amazing experience!
Thanks for riding the Starlight with us and recommending us so highly! We're grateful you and your partner celebrated a special birthday with a ride aboard Verde Canyon Railroad.
This was genuinely one of the coolest things I have ever experienced! From the views to the staff to the food, it was truly incredible. I would highly recommend everyone to try this out, especially the night ride. The sunset and starts were absolutely breathtaking.
10/10! Wow! Thanks for riding with us and recommending us so highly, Alyssa!
My husband surprised me for my birthday and took me on the Starlight ride. Breathtaking views and charming scenery. With the way the train organized it still felt very intimate, as each car only holds so many people and your small group becomes a small family on the adventure together! Both tour guides were fantastic (Antony and Anisa) they were so knowledgeable and helpful! Overall a fabulous time and would recommend to anyone of all ages!
What a lovely birthday surprise! Kudos to your husband for the fantastic idea! Thanks for riding with us and sharing kind words about the views, the accommodations and our crew. We'll be sure Antony and Enysca see your compliments.
It’s been so long since I got to enjoy an unconstructed night sky. The view was fantastic! The ride is out and back and heading out was during daylight hours (we rode first weekend of August). So great views of God’s creation. The last half hour or so on the way back it was pitch dark so we could see all the stars. Cricket was pleasant and engaging. She served us inside the car while Brandt did an excellent job pointing things out and giving us interesting history facts. Our ticket through Viator was a bit more but included a meal voucher for the cafe. Onboard was individual charcuterie boards with mini bottles of brut to share. More food than I could eat. I had the criapy chicken sandwich from the cafe. It was actually very good! I would do this trip again.
Diana, thank you for riding the Starlight with us and sharing this fantastic review. We appreciate your kind words for our view, crew and food.
Such a unique experience pleasant ride, great bartenders and tour guides. Nice to have open car area access
Billy, we're glad you enjoyed so many aspects of the adventure. Thanks for riding with us.
We loved this relaxing and beautiful ride through Verde Canyon! We enjoyed seeing the scenery up close. Our bartender gave a lot of information about the area as we passed through it. Very enjoyable! When we booked our trip, the description on Viator mentioned something about “in 2023 meal ticket vouchers were provided with purchase”. We were confused as to why it mentioned 2023, and wondered if we actually had meal vouchers waiting for us. There were in fact, meal vouchers, ready for us, but the way the description was worded, made us unsure. So if you’re booking, don’t eat beforehand because there are meal vouchers provided. The box meal at the station has many options and the portions are ample. We actually had too much food and did not finish our charcuterie tray. We were unable to see any stars on this starlight excursion due to the cloud cover. It had actually been cloudy for several days in row, so I’m not sure July is the best time for a starlight train ride. We also did not see any wildlife other than a few birds. But the scenery was amazing!
Thanks for riding and relaxing aboard Starlight with us and sharing this detailed recap. Thanks also for bringing to our attention the outdated verbiage on the lunch voucher description, which we have now updated.
AMAZING experience… this is certainly the way to get out in the depths of the Sycamore Canyons. Train staff was awesome, cars were in great condition, full bar, totally amazing!
Wow, Kyle, thanks for riding with us and sharing this excellent review. We're glad you enjoyed the crew, the accommodations and the wild canyon scenery.
The package is worth the money. Loved the seating, and charcuterie provided. The views and menu information provided along the way were amazing! This out second time and it was just as exciting as the first.
Tammy, we appreciate you being a repeat rider! Thanks for being a fan and sharing such kind words about your experience.
