Paid partnership with Canadian Affair
Rocky Mountaineer: Not your average rail ride
Bella Falk enjoys Canada’s spectacular landscapes through the glass domes of Rocky Mountaineer.
Rocky Mountaineer: Not your average rail ride to listen along to this story, or to pause the playback, click the play button:
I kneel upright on my seat and lean towards the window, balancing my cocktail in my right hand. As the train clickety-clacks along the cliff edge I peer down into the ravine, taking in the churning river several hundred feet below and the mountain crags on the opposite side, their thickly-forested slopes speckled with autumnal shades of amber and lime.
With a hiss of compressed air and a squeal of brakes the train slows, pressing me into the seatback as Kyra, our hostess, fires up the microphone. “Coming up on the left we’re about to pass Hell’s Gate, the narrowest point on the Fraser River. The gap between the rock walls is only 33 metres wide, and when the river’s full the torrent can reach 750 million litres a minute.”
I hastily put down my glass and grab my camera, clicking four, five, six times. Each advancing metre reveals a new perspective on the sheer canyon walls and the river surging between them, with a spindly red bridge balanced precariously above it like a child’s construction toy.
This spectacular scene is a tiny flavour of the countless views I’m offered as I travel from Vancouver, on Canada’s western seaboard, through the backcountry of British Columbia and up into Alberta’s dramatic Rocky Mountains.
But this isn’t just any train ride; this is Rocky Mountaineer, the gleaming, crème de la crème of rail travel, which frequently appears on connoisseurs’ bucket lists and top-tens of world-leading luxury trains.
Forget the questionably-stained upholstery and sour air of your daily commute, this train is like a VIP lounge on rails: with wide, heated, reclining seats, air conditioning, and huge, domed windows curving into the roof to let in every inch of the majestic mountains and plunging valleys as they glide past.
“Welcome to a life-changing two days,” grins Kyra as we rattle out of Vancouver and begin our journey past the strawberry farms and lumber yards of BC’s Fraser Valley. “On Rocky Mountaineer it really is about the journey and not the destination, as you’re about to find out.”
Rocky Mountaineer offers three routes between Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies, plus one additional US itinerary, but arguably the most scenic is the ‘First Passage to the West’, crossing 530 miles of unspoiled wilderness and soaring North American landscapes between Vancouver and either Banff or Lake Louise.
By bus this trip takes a gruelling 12 hours non-stop, but with the comfort of Rocky Mountaineer the journey is spread across two days with a night in a smart hotel halfway along, in the city of Kamloops.
Not only does this give me a chance to stretch my legs and sleep in a comfortable bed, but it means the entire trip is done in daylight, so I won’t miss a second of the epic views I’ve travelled over 4000 miles to see.
I’m travelling in GoldLeaf, the upper of Rocky Mountaineer’s two service options, which has double-decker carriages featuring a spacious top cabin where cheerful staff bring drinks and snacks while you soak in the scenery, an outdoor viewing platform, and an elegant downstairs dining car evoking the glamour of the golden age of rail travel.
Twice a day, we’re invited down to enjoy an à la carte menu starring produce from the regions the train crosses – perfectly-pink Alberta fillet steak or Fraser Valley blueberry pancakes – served on crisp white tablecloths that echo the snowy peaks of the mountains that heave into view as we eat.
Rocky Mountaineer is 34 years old, but the tracks it traverses are much older. They were completed in 1885 for Canada’s first transcontinental line, the Canadian Pacific Railway, which united Montreal in the east with Vancouver in the west, making this journey not only beautiful but also historic.
As we travel, Kyra points out landmarks and tells us fascinating and sobering stories from the railway’s history, from the 15,000 Chinese labourers who battled the challenging terrain and harsh conditions to lay mile after mile of track, to the fur traders who transported beaver pelts for making hats, and nearly drove the species to extinction.
“Fortunately, silk hats came into fashion, and the bottom dropped out of the beaver market,” reveals Kyra, pointing out a lodge – a haphazard pile of sticks and mud on a riverbank – evidence that the beleaguered rodents have since bounced back.
Beavers are just one of the many animals you might see along the Rocky Mountaineer route. The train passes through huge swathes of pristine wilderness where wildlife thrives – including black and grizzly bears, elk, moose, and raptors like bald eagles.
“We see a lot of wildlife,” says Miranda, our waitress. “Yesterday we spotted six bears, and the other day we passed a mother and baby moose swimming. It never gets boring.”
Sometimes one of the forward carriages radios the alert, ‘Moose on the left!’ or ‘Eagle on the right!’ and we all leap to the windows; we see a bald eagle perched in a tree and a huge osprey nest, but sadly my wish to see a bear is left ungranted.
However the endless landscapes keep on being delivered to my seat like a slot machine pouring out jackpot winnings: towering mountains and gaping valleys etched out by glaciers, clouds of silver-trunked aspens glowing gold in the late September sunshine, sparkling lakes and tumbling glacial rivers, their waters as many shades of blue as an artist’s palette.
There are landforms with evocative names that capture the region’s drama – Avalanche Alley, Rainbow Canyon, the Jaws of Death Gorge – and as we approach the end of the line we’re served up glimpses of some of the highest peaks in the Canadian Rockies, their crowns of snow merging with the clouds.
I head outside to admire the majesty from the viewing platform, my favourite spot on the train. There may not be cocktails out here, but what it lacks in beverage options it amply compensates for with reflection-free photo opportunities and crisp mountain air.
I fill my lungs, enjoying the wind whipping my hair as I lean out to capture the front of the train snaking round upcoming bends, and remind myself that right now I could be inhaling germs and armpits on the London Underground instead. Brilliant.
Need to know
Getting there
You can ride any Rocky Mountaineer route in either direction.
Fly direct into Vancouver or via other Canadian airports like Toronto or Montreal.
Banff is a 1.5-hour drive from Calgary or 4 hours from Edmonton.
Best time to go
The service runs from April to October when there’s enough daylight and safe weather conditions.
In June and July you’ll enjoy wildflowers, warm sunshine and long hours of daylight.
Travel towards the end of the season for stunning fall foliage and cheaper prices.
Where to stay
The overnight in Kamloops is included in the package.
There are dozens of great hotels in downtown Vancouver – stay on the Waterfront or in the West End near Stanley Park.
Banff is a popular tourist town with dozens of hotels and guesthouses to choose from.
Must-pack item
A camera with a zoom lens for wildlife and a wide-angle to capture the incredible landscapes along the journey.
Bring a book just in case, but you probably won’t need it.
How to do it
Canadian Affair offers Rocky Mountaineer tickets — other popular routes include Journey through the Clouds and Rainforest to Gold Rush.
They also offer tailor-made holidays that pair the train with other adventures, such as an Alaska cruise, or tours around the towns and landscapes of the Rocky Mountains.
Anything else
There’s no dress code and the carriages are warm.
Wear something comfortable but bring a jacket if you plan to spend time on the outdoor viewing deck.
More information
This article was brought to you in partnership with Canadian Affair.
Canadian Affair is the UK’s largest tour operator to Canada, providing services including scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, hotels, motorhome hire and car hire.
Go to canadianaffair.com/rocky-mountaineer for more details, suggested itineraries and booking.
JRNY is an independent travel magazine published in the UK. Subscribe to JRNY for more stories like this.
