If you are a contemplative type and like to travel while taking your time, train trips are sure to make you dream. In the heart of the mountains, by the river or under the northern lights, here are some suggestions for rail adventures to discover across Canada, inspired by Destination Canada.
Along the St. Lawrence with the Charlevoix train
Quebec-La Malbaie
One day or more, depending on the package
Along the river at the foot of the mountains and through the picturesque coastal villages of Côte-de-Beaupré and Charlevoix: this is what awaits you aboard this tourist train, which connects Montmorency Falls (Quebec) and La Malbaie.
The Charlevoix train travels 125 km and stops in seven villages, including Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Baie-Saint-Paul, Les Éboulements and Saint-Irénée. Different getaways and formulas are offered. It is possible to make the trip in the height of the color season, and this year the train will operate until October 23.
Info: traindecharlevoix.com
The Maritimes on the rails of the Ocean
From Montreal to Halifax
A day and a night
Going to the Maritimes by train? It’s possible if you board Via Rail’s Océan, which travels between Montreal and Halifax, Nova Scotia, via the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie and New Brunswick. The trip is 1346 km and lasts one day and one night. It takes longer than taking the car, of course, but the experience is very different, especially if you book the “sleeping car” class: meals in the “restaurant car”, night in a private cabin and discovery of small communities maritime from a completely different angle.
Info: viarail.ca
The Rockies aboard the Rocky Mountaineer
From Vancouver to Banff
Two days or more, depending on the package
Vancouver, Whistler, Kamloops, Jasper, Quesnel, Lake Louise, Banff… The Rocky Mountaineer is a panoramic train, with glass-roofed cars, which offers tourist trips on the Canadian Pacific Railway between Vancouver, Colombia Columbia, and the Rockies, Alberta.
Different routes are offered, but they all pass through some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. As the train does not have a berth, the nights are spent in hotels along the way.
Info: rockymountaineer.com
Among polar bears on the Via Adventure Route
From Winnipeg to Churchill
two days and two nights
This train fits into the category of “adventures of a lifetime” as it takes passengers through northern Manitoba, through prairies, boreal forests and tundra, to remote Hudson Bay. The trip begins in Winnipeg and ends 1697 km further, in Churchill, where it is possible to observe polar bears (in October and November), hundreds of beluga whales (in July and August) and the northern lights (especially in the cold season). The train obviously has a restaurant car and cabins and it even has a panoramic dome.
Info: viarail.ca
In Ontario’s Wild North on the Agawa Train
Credit: Destination Ontario
From Sault Ste. Marie to Agawa Canyon
One day
Especially popular during color season, the Agawa Canyon Tour departs from downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and travels 183 km further to Agawa Canyon Park, home to a canyon formed 1.2 billion years ago in the Canadian Shield.
Credit: Destination Ontario
On site, passengers have time to explore trails, lookouts and waterfalls. On board the train, commentary allows you to learn about the history of the Ojibways, the fur traders, explorers and entrepreneurs who shaped and traveled this wilderness.
Info: aulttourism.com/agawa-train