Which Rocky Mountaineer Rail Route Is Right for You?

Rocky Mountaineer offers 4 luxury rail routes through the Rockies, and all pass through arrestingly beautiful scenery—so picking just 1 or 2 can be a challenge.

Maybe cloud-kissed Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, is on your must-see list. Maybe you've always wanted to see Utah's Red Rock Country. Or maybe you've just heard about the modern wonders that are British Columbia's Spiral Tunnels. We look at the highlights of each route to help you figure out which one best fits what you're looking for.

How Rocky Mountaineer trips work

Rocky Mountaineer is a luxury sightseeing train experience with 3 routes in Canada and 1 route in the U.S. Each route takes 2 or 3 days to traverse, and trains only travel during the day to maximize your views of the landscape. At night, trains stop in a town and guests transfer to a hotel.

Packages are customizable to your preferences and budget, and come in 3 varieties:

Short Journeys: These one-way trips take 2 or 3 days to travel the full length of one route, beginning and ending in different places. Journeys can begin at either end of a route.
Rockies Highlights: These packages add extra days and experiences before or after riding the Rocky Mountaineer train, typically with motorcoach connections. For Canadian itineraries, these experiences are in the Rockies. For the American route, they're in Utah's Red Rock Country. Like Short Journeys, they begin and end in different places.
Circle Journeys: These round-trip packages include everything from Rockies Highlights, plus an additional train journey on a different route that returns you to your starting point. Circle Journeys are only available for Canadian routes.

Thus, while your choice of route(s) will determine what you see from the train, many packages include additional sightseeing and activities. For example, all Journey through the Clouds packages have a train journey beginning or ending in Jasper, but many also include days in Banff.

Rocky Mountaineer packages include all food served aboard the train: breakfast and a multi-course lunch each day, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and morning and afternoon snacks. They offer 2 levels of service:

SilverLeaf Service: Seats are in a single-level car with oversized glass-dome viewing windows. Meals are served at your seat.
GoldLeaf Service: Seats are on the upper level of a bi-level car with even larger glass-dome windows. Meals are a la carte and served in the dining room on the car's lower level. Other benefits include premium beverages, signature cocktails, and an exclusive outdoor viewing platform. GoldLeaf Service is available only on Rocky Mountaineer's Canadian routes.

Rocky Mountaineer routes compared

First Passage to the West

First Passage to the West route map courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

Route: Vancouver to Lake Louise or Banff, with an overnight stop in Kamloops

Best for: The classic Rocky Mountaineer sights on historic tracks; the unique experience of the Spiral Tunnels; traveling directly to the most popular Canadian Rockies destinations

As the name suggests, First Passage to the West explores the western end of Canada's first transcontinental railroad, the Canadian Pacific. This feat of engineering connected Vancouver to Montreal when completed in 1885 and faced some of its biggest challenges in the Canadian Rockies.

A Rocky Mountaineer train on the First Passage to the West route passes by Mount Rundle in Banff National Park. | Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

The First Passage to the West journey begins in Vancouver and travels east through the scenic green Fraser Valley and the multicolored rock canyons of the Thompson River, stopping in Kamloops for the night. The next day, it ascends into the Rockies and enters Banff National Park, where travelers can disembark at Lake Louise or Banff itself. It's the only Rocky Mountaineer rail route that goes directly to and from these 2 destinations, though there are motorcoach connections for other routes.

Castle Mountain is another highlight of the Canadian Rockies that travelers can see on Rocky Mountaineer's First Passage to the West route.

This line is also the only passenger service—Rocky Mountaineer or otherwise—that travels through Kicking Horse Pass and British Columbia's unique Spiral Tunnels. Here, trains turn and climb entirely within the mountainside, entering the rocks going one way and magically exiting nearby in a completely different direction.

Other highlights unique to this rail route are the site of the "last spike" driven in to complete the Canadian Pacific in 1885; Morant's Curve and the Stoney Creek Bridge, 2 instantly recognizable backdrops for train photography; sharp-peaked Mount Rundle in the Vermillion Lakes area; and Castle Mountain, a fortress-like peak.

Ride to Banff on Rocky Mountaineer's First Passage to the West

See the Spiral Tunnels, Mount Rundle, and the beauty of Banff National Park the way you want to with a customized Rocky Mountaineer journey.

Learn more about this package | Contact a AAA Travel Advisor to get started

Journey through the Clouds

Journey through the Clouds map courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

Route: Vancouver to Jasper, with an overnight stop in Kamloops

Best for: Seeing mountains in the northern part of the Canadian Rockies, including the tallest of them all; seeing Pyramid Falls from a rail-only perspective; completing a Circle Journey together with First Passage to the West

Journey through the Clouds is similar to First Passage to the West, following the same route from Vancouver to Kamloops. On the second day, however, it heads north to Jasper National Park, Banff's northern neighbor and home to the Icefields Parkway.

Rocky Mountaineer's Journey through the Clouds route passes Mount Robson, the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies. | Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

That means there's all different scenery on day 2, with the biggest highlight being the massive Mount Robson—the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. Mount Robson is so tall, it's often capped by small clouds even on clear days. South of Mount Robson is the Premier Range, an extensive series of peaks named for Canadian prime ministers.

This close-up view of Pyramid Creek Falls is only available by rail, including Rocky Mountaineer's Journey through the Clouds route.

A sight only available on Journey through the Clouds is the 300-foot Pyramid Creek Falls. This great white wall of water secluded in the forest is best seen from the railroad, which runs right alongside the falls. The falls are only partly visible from the much more distant highway.

This route is a good complement to First Passage to the West as part of a Circle Journey, offering time to explore both Banff and Jasper national parks, as well as see all the most impressive Rocky Mountain vistas from the train.

Ride to Jasper on Rocky Mountaineer's Journey through the Clouds

See Pyramid Falls, Mount Robson, and the beauty of Jasper National Park the way you want to with a customized Rocky Mountaineer journey.

Learn more about this package | Contact a AAA Travel Advisor to get started

Rainforest to Gold Rush

Rainforest to Gold Rush map courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

Route: Vancouver to Jasper, with overnight stops in Whistler and Quesnel

Best for: Seeing more of British Columbia in addition to the Rockies, such as coastal scenery and the Cariboo; exploring the charming town of Whistler; taking a longer train journey

Rainforest to Gold Rush is Rocky Mountaineer's longest rail journey, with 2 overnight stops as part of a route that stretches farther west and north than its counterparts. It begins with the Sea to Sky Corridor, a stunningly beautiful segment that runs along the coast of Howe Sound, then through rugged Cheakamus Canyon and up into the Coast Mountains to the ski town of Whistler. Along the way, you'll pass by the Stawamus Chief, a granite dome that towers 2,300 feet over the sea.

Rocky Mountaineer's Rainforest to Gold Rush route begins along the shores of Howe Sound, part of the Sea to Sky Corridor. | Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

This route gives you most of the day to explore the walkable Whistler Village on your own. Eat, shop, and take the Peak-2-Peak Gondola between the nearby mountains for a different perspective.

From there, you'll head east to the arid rocks of Fraser Canyon in the region known as the Cariboo. This stretch of the Fraser River is farther north than that on the previous 2 routes and covers the gold fields that drew prospectors in the mid-1800s—the event that led to the founding of the colony of British Columbia. Though the gold is mostly gone, sweeping views of the deep chasm remain to delight sightseers.

The middle portion of the Rainforest to Gold Rush route explores scenic Fraser Canyon in the Cariboo region.

The town of Quesnel (pronounced "kwi-NELL") in the greener northern Cariboo is the second overnight stop. From there, the route covers more lush scenery and waterfalls on its way into the Rockies, eventually reaching Mount Robson and the terminus in Jasper.

Rainforest to Gold Rush is another good complement to First Passage to the West as part of the Grand Adventure Circle Journey that encompasses the whole Canadian Rockies; the 2 routes together offer arguably the most comprehensive Rocky Mountaineer experience, and unlike the First Passage to the West—Journey through the Clouds Circle Journey, no parts of the 2 routes overlap.

Ride to Jasper on Rocky Mountaineer's Rainforest to Gold Rush

See Whistler, Fraser Canyon, and the beauty of Jasper National Park the way you want to with a customized Rocky Mountaineer journey.

Learn more about this package | Contact a AAA Travel Advisor to get started

AAA VACATIONS^® BENEFIT: Rocky Mountaineer's Circle Journeys incorporate any 2 of the 3 routes above, such as their Grand Adventure Circle Journey that connects First Passage to the West with Rainforest to Gold Rush. Book any Circle Journey as a AAA member through AAA and you'll save $150 as a AAA Vacations^® benefit.

Contact a AAA Travel Advisor to plan your Circle Journey

Rockies to the Red Rocks

Rockies to the Red Rocks map courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

Route: Denver to Moab, with an overnight stop in Glenwood Springs

Best for: Touring the American Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer luxury; seeing highlights only accessible by train, like Ruby Canyon and the Moffat Tunnel

Rocky Mountaineer's newest route is its first American offering, bringing its signature luxury experience and domed viewing cars south to the U.S. The big difference is the scenery: Where Canada's Rockies offer large U-shaped valleys and glacier-fed turquoise lakes, the Colorado Rockies have more intimate V-shaped river canyons. This route arguably has the most diverse geography and flora, running from the pine trees of the Front Range near Denver to the deciduous forests of the Western Slope, and on to the rock formations of the eastern Utah badlands.

The Rockies to the Red Rocks route includes a trip through Ruby Canyon, a 25-mile gorge carved by the Colorado River that isn't accessible by car. | Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

Many of the highlights along the route are best seen from the train. For example, picturesque Ruby Canyon is only accessible by train and raft boat. Another is the 6-mile-long Moffat Tunnel, which holds the distinction of the highest railway tunnel in North America. Despite being more than 9,000 feet above sea level, this modern marvel still must burrow below 2,800 feet of rock to cross beneath the Continental Divide.

Mount Garfield near Grand Junction, Colorado, is one of the highlights of the Western Slope portion of the Rockies to the Red Rocks route.

Like the Canadian routes, Rockies to the Red Rocks features 2 world-class national parks at one end in Moab. Arches National Park is the more famous of the pair, home to Utah's iconic Delicate Arch (seen on Utah license plates). Canyonlands is larger, with most visitors exploring the Island in the Sky mesa and its far-reaching views.

Rockies to the Red Rocks doesn't offer Circle Journeys, but like the Canadian routes, it can be enjoyed in either direction.