Train To The Canyon

As mentioned in the blog about our trip planning for home, we decided last January to book a week in Williams.  This was to see a new town and use it as a base for exploring a bit, but primarily to take the train to the Grand Canyon.  Williams is truly the gateway to the Canyon and there are two ways to get there: road or rail.

In both cases, Williams has ready access.   For people coming from the West, the road from Williams heads north and roughly parallels the rail line for sixty miles to the South Rim.  I suspect anybody driving from points East and South in Arizona will take the road from Flagstaff which joins the Williams highway about half way to the Canyon.  The rail line was completed in 1901 and for about fifty years was the preferred method of travel to get to the Canyon.  As car traffic became more popular the rail line fell out of favour and by 1968 passenger service ended.

Boarding in Williams

At the Canyon ready to depart

Today, the Grand Canyon Railway operates one train each day, with two on peak demand days.  The train we rode had ten cars with one car being a cafe car.  The conductor reported there were about 300 people aboard and that is typical for a winter run.  The cars are configured as coach, first class, observation and a premium private car at the end of the train.  We chose to take coach on the northbound trip and rode in the observation car back to Williams.

On the way up to the Observation Deck

Train was ‘robbed’ on the way back to Williams

We had a great time and found it an enjoyable way to get to the Canyon and back.

The Grand Canyon

In the case of The Grand Canyon, the journey to get there is enjoyable, but in this case it is the destination you are looking for.  As you get off the train you are behind a small hill on top of which sits the El Tovar hotel.  It is an original hotel in the village and was built in 1905.  It is a stunning example of the architecture of the day and is one of the most sought after properties in the National Park System.  It sits literally twenty feet or so from the rim of the Canyon so when you get up to the top of the hill where the entrance to the hotel is, all you can see is sky and the Canyon.  Incredible sight.

We had three and a half hours there and had packed a picnic so walked the various trials around the rim, stopping to see the historic buildings and sign posts pointing out various geological things about the Canyon.  The only thing better than doing what we did would be to stay at the park in the RV and spend a few days there.  Watching the sunrise and sunset there would be spectacular but viewing from the south rim would not likely be as good as watching from one of the observation areas on the north rim.

Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay

All in all we had a fantastic day at the Canyon and will definitely do it again at some point.

Thank you for stopping by to read.