Roaring Camp Train (Santa Cruz) or Skunk Train (Mendocino)? (San Jose: school, live)

[srjth]

I did not know which section I should put this in, but my (older) teenage kids have never been on a train. For some reason, I did not know this, so I told them I would take them on one before school started back in a few weeks. I love in the north bay area, and I have been on the Skunk train in Mendocino/Fort Bragg before. I loved that one so much, but it was a 4 hour trip! I don't think we want to be on the train for that long and I heard that the Roaring Camp Train in Santa Cruz (the ones that goes thru the redwoods) is a lot shorter ride, but I am wondering anyone here has been on both and which would you recommend?

One thing I loved about the Skunk train was the beautiful, lush green scenery and all the streams and rivers we passed. Does the Roaring Camp train showcase streams and rivers as well?

Thank you in advance!

[Tycho Brahe]

IMHO, the Roaring Camp Train is more for smaller children and not teenagers. Never been on the Skunk Train.

[srjth]

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

IMHO, the Roaring Camp Train is more for smaller children and not teenagers. Never been on the Skunk Train.

That's what I was afraid of. I asked someone at my job about it who recently went on it without children and he thought that it didn't feel like it was for small kids, so now I'm confused.

[leftcoastie]

Skunk Train... although I don't know if it's making the full round trip to Willits and back or not.

[Mr5150]

Skunk train is a real train. Whole day adventure.

[srjth]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

Skunk train is a real train. Whole day adventure.

Did you find skunk to be a real train because it was an all day adventure or because of some other reasons?

[ferretkona]

I rode the Skunk one way, returned on a steam engine. The Skunk is a diesel bus conversion with history. The steam engine has open box cars that really let the views come alive. You can have a two part adventure for the price of one with the Skunk run.
On the Skunk run you can bring and drink alcohol as it is a state park. They have a village half way that they even sell drinks.

[marcopolo666]

Originally Posted by srjth

That's what I was afraid of. I asked someone at my job about it who recently went on it without children and he thought that it didn't feel like it was for small kids, so now I'm confused.

The Roaring Camp train uses real, restored steam engines on their train (not a narrow "baby train" like you find in Vasona Park/Los Gatos). Why anyone would call it a "kid's train" is beyond me. It's been years and years since I took the train, but there used to be two 'routes' : one thru the redwoods only that lasted about an hour, and one that brought you to Santa Cruz near the boardwalk. I'd call either route a fun outing for people of all ages. http://www.roaringcamp.com/

I notice that your 'location' says Bay Area. There is also a 'restored historical' train in the hills above Fremont : Niles Canyon Railway. I've never been as (i think) it started service after my kids were grown and moved out. They have both steam and diesel engines. You can find info on their web site : Home - Niles Canyon Railway

There's also 'baby trains' (really for younger kids) in Vasona Park (Los Gatos - Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel — Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel) and Tilden Park (Oakland/Berkeley hills - Redwood Valley Railway ).

[srjth]

Originally Posted by marcopolo666

The Roaring Camp train uses real, restored steam engines on their train (not a narrow "baby train" like you find in Vasona Park/Los Gatos). Why anyone would call it a "kid's train" is beyond me. It's been years and years since I took the train, but there used to be two 'routes' : one thru the redwoods only that lasted about an hour, and one that brought you to Santa Cruz near the boardwalk. I'd call either route a fun outing for people of all ages. Roaring Camp Railroads | Felton, CA | Santa Cruz County

I notice that your 'location' says Bay Area. There is also a 'restored historical' train in the hills above Fremont : Niles Canyon Railway. I've never been as (i think) it started service after my kids were grown and moved out. They have both steam and diesel engines. You can find info on their web site : Home - Niles Canyon Railway

There's also 'baby trains' (really for younger kids) in Vasona Park (Los Gatos - Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel — Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel) and Tilden Park (Oakland/Berkeley hills - Redwood Valley Railway ).

Thank you so much. This was very helpful. My kids want more of an adult train experience but not as long as Skunk.

[marcopolo666]

Originally Posted by srjth

Thank you so much. This was very helpful. My kids want more of an adult train experience but not as long as Skunk.

I didn't provide info on two other possibilities in the bay area, because I'm not quite sure what you mean by "an adult train experience" (my "adult train experience" would involve Scarlett Johansson or Jessica Alba, and lots of champagne ...).

The two "real" trains that I mentioned earlier (Roaring Camp and Niles Canyon) are restored, historical trains. Depending on where you live, you could also take either CalTrain (to go up or down the peninsula) or Amtrak (up/down the east bay). These are actual, current train routes that run just about every day - but they use diesel, not steam, engines. This could be a fun outing for you and the kids - "hey, let's visit Aunt Sue in Martinez, AND TAKE THE TRAIN TO GET THERE". Or "let's head up to see a Giants game - AND TAKE THE TRAIN". Or take the train to visit Stanford, which is a fun afternoon outing in itself (Stanford has some great architecture, a great view of the south bay from Hoover tower, a collection of Rodin bronzes, and almost 100 pieces of outdoor art). They might get a kick out of using the train as an actual mode of transportation instead of just a fun ride. Both CalTrain and Amtrak load passengers in San Jose (Diridon station).

CalTrain Schedules

Train & Bus Tickets - Amtrak

(Amtrak is VERY expensive, IMHO. I'd use CalTrain. A single adult round-trip from SJ to Sac is $80 on Amtrak - a round trip from SJ to SF is $18 on CalTrain.)