10 of the dreamiest stargazing trains in the U.S.

Light pollution is worsening by 10 percent every year, and as our starry skies vanish, so does our connection to the cosmos. But there’s still an unlikely place for a dark-sky escape: Aboard one of America’s historical railways.

A variety of stargazing trains roll through rural landscapes and protected dark-sky preserves where the Milky Way still shines bright, sometimes with a telescope or astronomer on board or an open-air carriage for looking up at the night sky. A train ride offers the perfect chance to slow down and enjoy the universe overhead. These scenic and heritage railroads across the U.S. combine the romance of rail travel with the enchantment of the starry sky.

1. Santa Fe Sky Railway

New Mexico

This scenic train is as eccentric and magical as you’d expect from its co-founder, Game of Thrones author and creator of Meow Wolf, George R. R. Martin. Its carriages are vintage Santa Fe Southern Railway stock covered in fantastical murals by artist Joerael Numina. The 2.5-hour “Stargazer” service chugs into the desert at sunset, with cocktails and live music in enclosed cars and sky-gazing from an open-air flatbed carriage, where astronomers offer a tour of the night sky. The Stargazer runs twice a month, but alternatives include “Jazz Under the Stars” and the “Sunset Serenade,” which also give glimpses of the dusk sky-scapes that have given New Mexico its nickname as the “Land of Enchantment.”

2. Nevada Northern Star Train

Nevada

Established in 1905 to support the then-booming copper mining industry, Nevada Northern is among the best-preserved railways from the steam era. Its three-hour “Star Train” departs from the town of Ely after sunset, rolling toward Great Basin International Dark Sky Park. To comply with dark-sky protection laws here, white lights are prohibited on the train. On board, the national park’s astronomy rangers guide guests around the stars through a telescope. Nevada Northern also operates a “Sunset, Stars, and Champagne” train, which includes desert sundowners with panoramic views.

3. Verde Canyon Starlight

Arizona

Departing from the small town of Clarkdale, Arizona—next door to the Cottonwood International Dark Sky Community—this 1912-era train winds through the sandstone cliffs of Verde Canyon on tracks once used to haul copper ore. As dusk fades, you may spot great horned owls or, if you’re very lucky, a rare ringtail cat scurrying in the shadows. You can sit in one of the climate-controlled vintage coaches or stand in the open-air car with views of the galaxy stretching overhead. The journey takes four hours and runs on select Saturday nights from May to October.

4. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad

Oregon

Pulling out of Garibaldi aboard a hissing, 1920s Baldwin steam locomotive—once used to haul logging freight—the Oregon Coast Moonlight Train offers a chance to view the night sky over the Pacific Ocean as it follows the old Southern Pacific line along Oregon’s Tillamook Bay. Scheduled specifically on moonlit nights, it winds through coastal forests of spruce and hemlock as the sun sets and the moon rises, casting a silver glow over Pacific waves with a starry sky overhead. A 21-and-older train, you can gaze at the stars with a local craft beer in hand or wines from Nehalem Bay Winery, whose vineyards you pass by during the journey. Departures are on select Friday and Saturday nights from May to October.

5. Catskill Mountain Railroad

New York

The Twilight Limited chugs slowly through New York’s Catskill Mountains, the last light catching the water as you leave Kingston and cross Esopus Creek. Originally built in the 1860s to connect the Hudson River Valley with the mountains, this short-line train now offers a 90-minute evening ride through dense forest and over wooden trestles. Seating is in indoor cars or standing on an outdoor flatbed carriage where you can enjoy vast views of the starry sky overhead as the train chugs along. The Catskill Mountain Railroad also has a sustainability program, utilizing soybean biodiesel to fuel its locomotives. The train departs from Kingston on Friday and Saturday nights from June through September.

(Dark sky tourism is on the rise across the U.S.)

6. Napa Valley Wine Train

California

Departing around sunset, the three-hour Vista Dome Dinner Train trundles through Wine Country in a swish 1950s Pullman dome car with windows out to the sky overhead. As you trundle along, you’re served a seven-course menu paired with Napa wines sourced from the vineyards gliding past the windows. The ride follows part of the original 1864 route of the Napa Valley Railroad, which was built to connect Calistoga’s mineral springs to the Bay Area. From the glass-paneled dome, you watch as the last light falls over grape vines and the stars pop out. The Vista Dome Dinner Train runs year-round.

7.  Wanamaker, Kempton, and Southern Railroad

Pennsylvania

WK&S Railroad’s Harvest Moon Special is a one-night-a-year event every October that gives rail riders a chance to gaze at the autumn full moon from an open-air observation car. Its vintage locomotive hums out of Kempton Station into the Pennsylvania countryside along a short, 3-mile line originally built to serve farms and mills. During the 40-minute journey, a ragtime band plays in one of the indoor cars, and when the full moon rises, the train stops for a moon-gazing session over orchards and fields. Upon return, light refreshments are served with a live piano set in the historical station. Departs October 4, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.

8. Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway

New York

Passengers board the Moonlight Moonshine Express at sunset, and it’s a 30-minute ride from the town of Corinth up the Hudson River Valley to a farmhouse in the foothills of the Adirondacks. The train follows tracks built in the 1860s to haul lumber and paper out of the hills. At the far end, passengers disembark for live music, locally brewed moonshine, and food around a bonfire, with s’mores and lawn games, while the moon rises in the distance. The return journey is moonlit, with an open-air car for moon-gazing all the way back. The two-hour experience runs every full moon from July to October.

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9. Skunk Train

California

Slightly more physically involved than your average rail journey, the Skunk Train’s Moonlight Railbike experience involves pedaling a railbike, or pedal-powered cart that runs on train tracks. The journey takes you through a redwood forest in northern California’s Noyo River Canyon, the moon illuminating your way along rails laid in 1885 to haul lumber. At Glen Blair Junction, the ride pauses for a campfire and snacks at a hidden forest bar where you can see the stars shining brightly overhead. If pedaling isn’t your thing, you can opt for the regular evening train service to Glen Blair Junction, which features an open-air freight flatcar that was built in 1947 for the U.S. Marine Corps to haul Sherman tanks shortly after WWII.

10. Allentown and Auburn Railroad 

Pennsylvania

This heritage railway takes you on a different kind of nighttime adventure: Under the stars and through fields of fireflies. The Firefly Express departs from Kutztown on summer evenings, rolling slowly through farmland on 1860s-era tracks once used to ship coal to Philadelphia. The train departs at 8 p.m. as the sun sets and fireflies shimmer out of the cornfields. The journey takes about 90 minutes, including a half-hour layover at a picnic grove where you alight to watch the fields light up with thousands of fireflies as the stars come out above and have a bowl of local ice cream (included in the price). Runs on July 5 and 12, 2025.