17 Scenic Train Rides to Experience Picturesque Fall Foliage Views Around the World

Between September and November, the landscape wakes up. Leaves drain from green to flame, humidity drops out of the air, and entire regions take on the clarity of a cleaned lens. The shift is quick in most places, barely a few weeks. Blink, and the palette changes. Wait too long, and it’s gone.

For those less interested in checking the leaf-peeping box and more drawn to the shape of the season itself, train travel offers a different kind of access. It sidesteps the weekend crush toward apple orchards and farm stands and slips instead into motion. No traffic apps, no elevation gain, no logistics. Just a window, a fixed route, and a landscape that does exactly what it’s supposed to.

The pace doesn’t slow you down so much as hold your attention. Forests stretch wider. Lakes hold their reflections a second longer. Mountain ridgelines appear, then vanish, before you’ve finished identifying their angles. Some of these railways trace routes laid over a century ago, designed not for leisure but for timber and freight. Others are less known, winding quietly through wine country, national parks and far reaches of coastline without ever announcing themselves.

Below, you’ll find 17 rail journeys spanning Japan, Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom and North America. The itineraries vary; some are under two hours, others run dawn to dusk, but all offer a version of fall shaped by climate, elevation and topographic drama. There are faster ways to leaf-peep, sure. But none with more payoff per mile—or fewer people standing in your shot.

The Buckeye Line: Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

• Route: Independence to Akron (through Cuyahoga Valley National Park), Ohio, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Mid to late October

This isn’t Colorado, and no one’s pretending it is. But if you’re in the Midwest and not allergic to charm, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad gets the job done without the airport lines or attitude. Just 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland, this vintage line winds through Cuyahoga Valley National Park—Ohio’s only national park and a surprising pocket of wetlands, waterfalls and second-growth forest wedged between former factory towns. The dome car’s a strong choice for full foliage immersion, but the smarter move is the Explorer Program. Bike, hike or paddle deep into the park, then flag down the train for a one-way return (read: no shuttle coordination, no backtracking). Along the route, you may encounter great blue herons fishing in floodplains, 19th-century iron bridges and trailheads that even locals cherish. 

The Algoma Autumn Adventure: Ontario’s Agawa Canyon Tour Train

• Route: Sault Ste. Marie to Agawa Canyon, Ontario, Canada 
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-September to early October

The Agawa Canyon Tour Train is a 10-hour joyride through Northern Ontario that trades strip malls for raw wilderness. The route punches 114 miles into Algoma, a rugged, lake-laced region between Lake Superior and the Canadian Shield known more for moose than wifi. It skirts pine-lined shorelines, rattles over trestles, then free-falls 500 feet into a canyon you can only reach by rail. By mid-September, the hardwoods light up in red and orange, the evergreens holding the line like bodyguards. Group of Seven painter J.E.H. MacDonald once called it “the original Garden of Eden.” It’s a bold claim, but on brand for the setting. At the bottom, you’ve got 90 minutes: hike up to a 250-foot lookout, track down Bridal Veil Falls, or just stand there pretending you’re communing with nature. Then it’s back on board for the long haul out.

Monongahela Magic: West Virginia’s Greenbrier Express

• Route: Cass to Durbin, West Virginia, USA 
• Best time for fall colors: Early to mid-October

The Greenbrier Express is a one-track trip into Appalachian muscle memory. A vintage steam locomotive grinds 15 miles along a restored 1902 logging line, shadowing the Greenbrier River as it cuts through a remote stretch of Monongahela National Forest, nearly a million acres of hardwood canopy, black bear territory and cellular dead zones. Come October, the riverbanks ignite with maple, birch and red spruce, a combination that locals call “Monongahela Magic.” The five-and-a-half-hour round trip includes a layover in Durbin, a one-street mountain town where the top draws are a rail museum that hasn’t changed in decades and a café serving slices of something sweet and probably homemade. You might spot deer. You might spot no one. What you won’t find: wifi, crowds, or any hint that you’re still on the grid.

The Green Mountain Gateway: Amtrak’s Vermonter

• Route: Washington, D.C. to St. Albans, Vermont, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Late September to mid-October

Linking big cities with small towns, Amtrak’s Vermonter rolls daily from Washington, D.C. to northern Vermont, linking the corridor’s gridlocked sprawl with a slow-drip tour of the Northeast’s fall spectrum: big cities, farm towns, college enclaves and maple-drenched mountains, all in one long glide. Early on, it clears the Beltway and slips into Pennsylvania’s patchwork of silos and barns that look like they’ve been staged. Then come the Hudson Valley’s ridgelines, Connecticut’s white-trimmed suburbia and those blink-and-you-miss-it villages in Massachusetts and New Hampshire where steeples still set the skyline. Vermont is the payoff. You can break up the ride in Northampton, a progressive college town with galleries, bookstores and plenty of espresso. Or keep going to Waterbury-Stowe, where small-town Vermont leans all the way into the New England Americana aesthetic, complete with a working Ben & Jerry’s factory tour that’s still going strong (and still oddly delightful).

The Smoky Mountain Splendor: North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

• Route: Bryson City to Nantahala Gorge (and to Dillsboro), North Carolina, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-October to early November

If you’re chasing peak leaves with a side of Southern nostalgia, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad keeps it old-school in the best way. Based in Bryson City, a onetime rail town near the Tennessee border, the line runs two fall-forward routes through western North Carolina’s most color-saturated terrain. The marquee ride is the Nantahala Gorge Excursion, a 44-mile loop that tracks the jade-colored river, clatters over the Fontana Lake trestle and disappears into a canyon where the foliage goes full technicolor. Prefer something lower key? The Tuckasegee River Excursion clocks in at 32 miles and moves at a slower clip through farmland and foothills, with a layover in Dillsboro, a town where you’re expected to know your pie preferences. Both routes run vintage coaches and open-air gondolas—a great excuse to be offline for a few hours.

The Golden State Express: California’s Napa Valley Wine Train

• Route: Napa to St. Helena, California, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Late October to early November

California isn’t all surf and succulents. Case in point: the Napa Valley Wine Train. Out here, fall doesn’t try to outdo the East Coast. It just wears it differently: slower, moodier and with better wine. The route runs 36 miles round-trip from downtown Napa, past old-growth vines and harvest crews in motion, all while you sip cabernet in a refurbished Pullman car that feels more Orient Express than NorCal commuter. The pace is slow, the pours are generous and the conversation tends to hover somewhere between “I get cassis on the finish” and “Should we move here?” It’s a polished experience with a front-row view of some of California’s most cinematic landscapes. For fall color served with a glass of vino, this is the state’s sleeper hit.

The Maple Leaf: Ontario to New York

• Route: Toronto to New York City via Niagara Falls
• Best time for fall colors: Early to mid-October

The Maple Leaf serves up a feast of fall foliage with an international flavor, whisking passengers from the cosmopolitan buzz of Toronto to the iconic skyline of New York City. As you journey south, the urban sprawl gives way to nature’s own skyscrapers: towering maples and oaks adorned in their autumn finest. The train winds through New York’s wine country, where rows of golden vines stand at attention, before plunging into the dramatic gorges of the Finger Lakes region, their steep walls ablaze with color. You’ll soon hear the thunderous applause of Niagara Falls. Crossing the border and down the Hudson River Valley to the final approach into Penn Station, this journey is a glorious double feature of fall’s glory, with Canada and the U.S. vying for the title of autumn’s best-dressed.

The Appalachian Autumn: Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

• Route: Blue Ridge, Georgia to McCaysville, Georgia/Copperhill, Tennessee, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-October to early November

The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway serves up Southern charm and fall splendor in equal measure, treating passengers to a four-hour journey that’s as rich in history as it is in autumn color. As the train chugs through the Chattahoochee National Forest, the Appalachian landscape unfolds like a patchwork quilt of crimsons and golds, punctuated by time-capsule mountain towns. Your destination, the twin towns of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee, allows for a two-hour layover and a chance to stand in two states at once, straddling the “Blue Line” that separates them. 

The Rocky Mountain Fall: Colorado’s Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

• Route: Durango to Silverton, Colorado, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Late September to early October

For 140 years, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has been striking gold in a most unexpected way: by transforming Colorado’s San Juan National Forest into a treasure trove of autumn splendor. This National Historic Landmark carries passengers on a journey more valuable than any mineral wealth. As the train winds from Durango to Silverton, it threads through canyons and skirts cliff edges; aspen groves, resplendent in their golden glory, shimmer against the backdrop of rugged peaks and the rushing Animas River. This narrow-gauge time machine spans epochs, depositing riders in the time-stands-still town of Silverton. For those seeking to delve deeper into the area’s rich history, the D&S Roundhouse Museum in Durango presents a motherlode of artifacts and exhibits, and there’s also the option to extend your fall train ride into a weekend getaway with an overnight addition.

The Alpine Autumn: Switzerland’s Bernina Express

• Route: Chur, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-September to mid-October

This UNESCO World Heritage route serves up a visual feast at all angles: cobalt skies stretching over a landscape where golden larches stand at attention, their reflections shimmering in glacial lakes so blue they seem almost otherworldly. Far removed from the fog and frenzy of daily life, the Bernina Express spirals up snow-dusted peaks and corkscrews through gravity-defying tunnels, each turn revealing a new facet of Graubünden’s beauty. Whether you opt for a regional train or the panoramic cars of the Bernina Express, you’re in for a ride that transforms the already stunning Swiss Alps into a painter’s palette of warm autumn tones, proving that sometimes, reality can, indeed, be more breathtaking than any postcard.

Rockies to the Red Rocks: Rocky Mountaineer’s Autumn Trek

• Route: Denver, Colorado to Moab, Utah, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-September to early October

Rocky Mountaineer’s two-day “Rockies to the Red Rocks” route showcases a leaf-peeping dream: a luxurious journey from the golden aspens of Colorado to the flame-hued sandstone of Utah. With travel limited to daylight hours and oversized windows designed for optimal viewing, passengers are treated to nature’s own IMAX experience, featuring Ruby Canyon, Mount Garfield and a supporting cast of inspiring deserts, natural archways and enchanting hoodoos. Departing from Denver’s Union Station, the train crosses the Continental Divide, transitioning from lush mountain valleys to vast, open canyons. The journey’s midpoint brings an overnight stay in Glenwood Springs, allowing passengers to soak in both the town’s famous hot springs and the surrounding fall scenery. As the train trip voyage continues westward, the Rockies give way to the rich oranges and deep reds of Utah, culminating in the otherworldly rock formations around Moab. 

The Fall Heritage Line: U.K.’s North Yorkshire Moors Railway

• Route: Pickering to Whitby, England
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-October to early November

This 18-mile heritage line, originally opened in 1836, puffs through the North York Moors National Park, where heather-clad hills transform into swaths of russet and gold. As you chug past quaint villages and ancient abbeys in carefully restored, historic train carriages, you might expect to glimpse the Brontë sisters wandering the moors. The journey culminates in Whitby, where Bram Stoker penned Dracula. This autumnal odyssey through one of England’s most scenic landscapes proves that sometimes, the best way to leaf-peep is aboard a lovingly preserved slice of railway history.

The High Country Trail: Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

• Route: Antonito, Colorado to Chama, New Mexico, USA
• Best time for fall colors: Late September to early October

As America’s highest, longest and most authentic steam-operated railroad, this National Historic Landmark snakes its way from Antonito, Colorado, to Chama, New Mexico, topping out at a breathtaking 10,015 feet on Cumbres Pass. As your steam locomotive traverses through deep canyons, across vertiginous trestles and alongside rushing rivers, you’ll experience the Old West in all its fall finery. Whether you opt for the full-day round trip or a “half limited” journey to the midpoint oasis of Osier, Colorado, the vintage locomotives, huffing and puffing their way through this rugged terrain, deliver an immersive journey into the enduring romance of the American West.

New Hampshire’s Autumn Ascent: Conway Scenic Railroad and The Cog

• Route: North Conway to Crawford Notch (Conway Scenic) and Marshfield Base to Mount Washington Summit (The Cog), USA
• Best time for fall colors: Late September to mid-October

Two historic railways offer front-row seats to nature’s most spectacular show. The Conway Scenic Railroad winds its way through the valley and Crawford Notch, while The Mount Washington Cog Railway climbs boldly to the Northeast’s highest peak. From the comfort of 1950s-era vintage train passenger cars—or the panoramic upper dome seating for those seeking the ultimate vantage point—this 50- to 60-mile journey offers a New England autumn experience that can last up to five and a half hours. Meanwhile, for those with a head for heights and a heart for history, The Cog presents an entirely different autumnal adventure. Since 1869, this engineering marvel has been whisking passengers up gradients averaging a vertigo-inducing 25 percent to Mount Washington’s 6,288-foot summit. The three-hour round trip, available on either a nostalgic steam train or a more modern biodiesel locomotive, culminates in breathtaking views that stretch across a sea of changing leaves and fall colors to the horizon. 

The Autumn Fjord Express: Norway’s Bergen Railway

• Route: Oslo to Bergen
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-September to early October

Vikings may have been the first to discover the stunning beauty of Norway’s fjords, but you can explore them in considerably more comfort on the Bergensbanen (purchase tickets at vy.no). This seven-hour odyssey, often hailed as one of the world’s most beautiful train journeys, has you climbing from sea level to the roof of Northern Europe at Finse (over 4,000 feet above sea level), the landscape outside your window morphs from forested valleys to the stark, stunning expanse of Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau. Descending towards Bergen, the train flirts with fjords so photogenic they seem almost staged, their deep blue waters reflecting the fiery palette of surrounding hillsides. Whether you’re marveling at the golden birches near Geilo, a popular ski resort turned autumn wonderland, or pondering the possibility of trolls among the oddly shaped boulders (because in this magical landscape, who can truly tell?), the Bergen Railway train excursion serves up a smörgåsbord of Nordic fall splendor.

The Fall Foliage Special: New York’s Adirondack

• Route: New York City to Montréal
• Best time for fall colors: Late September to mid-October

Call it the great seasonal escape: Amtrak’s Adirondack line swaps Manhattan’s steel grid for six million acres of unfiltered Northeast drama. The 10-hour ride launches from Penn Station and trades commuter slog for riverside glide as it hugs the Hudson Valley. Skyscrapers out, scarlet maples in. After Albany, the terrain shifts. You enter Adirondack Park, where lakes, forests and half-forgotten towns stretch toward the Canadian border. On a good day, Vermont’s Green Mountains are in your eyeline across Lake Champlain. There’s lots of historical intel along the way if you’re paying attention: hop off at Fort Ticonderoga to walk the 18th-century ramparts, or detour to Ausable Chasm if cliffs and waterfalls beat wifi. The final stretch—Montréal’s approach—is worth sticking around for: Québec’s countryside shows up late but lands the closing argument. 

The Autumn Leaf Viewing: Japan’s Tohoku Emotion

• Route: Hachinohe to Kuji, Japan
• Best time for fall colors: Mid-October to early November

Forget cherry blossoms—autumn is when Japan really shows off its colors. The Tohoku Emotion, a roving culinary-focused ryokan, rolls through Japan’s Sanriku coastline. As this boutique “Joyful Train” glides from Hachinohe to Kuji, the kōyō (autumn foliage) paints the landscape in fiery maples and golden ginkgos. Sea meets sky outside large windows, with rugged cliffs and the Pacific Ocean on one side and hillsides of autumn-hued forest on the other. Inside, the magic unfolds on your plate: the train’s three elegant cars house a working open kitchen and dining lounge designed by Ken Okuyama of Porsche fame. Chefs craft seasonal delicacies that highlight Tohoku’s local flavors like mountain vegetables, fresh seafood and artistic bento courses that rival the scenery.