Why You Should Take a Train Trip in Alaska

Where vast, unending wilderness is the norm, there is no better way to see it than by train. Unhurried by nature and exploratory by design, this is your ticket to take it in.

Well, if the wonderfully relaxing nature of rail travel — rolling through iconic landscapes from sun-up to sundown — is not enough, then the ease with which you can see Alaska’s most famous attractions will be. By train, Alaska just opens up.

A Summary

• Train trips are one of 2026's most sought-after travel experiences
• The main reason to take a train trip in Alaska is to see stunning views of glaciers, mountains, and wildlife
• Other reasons range from ease of transport to onboard dining to a more relaxed way to see the state

Credit: Alaska Railroad

Train Trips in Alaska

There are several different train tours in Alaska, but almost all are operated by Alaska Railroad. The most popular routes leave Anchorage, bound for Seward (Kenai Fjords National Park), Whittier (Prince William Sound), and Fairbanks (via Denali National Park), respectively.

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These trains can be taken alone as an alternative to other means of transit or combined with overnight stops, excursions, and activities to create a rail vacation across Alaska.

Train tours are an excellent way of seeing the state, especially if you want to see many of the most famous (and the most impressive) sights in one vacation. The railroad neatly connects spots like Denali National Park & Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Anchorage, making it a perfect way of navigating your trip. And, accompanied by hours of onboard sightseeing and the possibility of wildlife viewing, it adds time which might otherwise be lost to transit.

Top 5 Reasons to Take a Train in Alaska

Train tours are one of the best ways to vacation in Alaska, but haven't quite garnered the mainstream popularity you'd expect.

There are nearly endless reasons to take a train trip in Alaska. We've narrowed it down to our five favorites to help convince you that this is the next way you should travel Alaska. Let's begin.

Credit: Nicole Geils

5. The Variety

There are five different routes on Alaska Railroad, varying from just under two and a half hours to nearly twelve hours in duration.

Across them, you have the chance to see an incredible variety of views: temperate rainforest, boreal forest, narrow mountain passes, sweeping valleys, deep fjords, and towering peaks are all found along Alaska Railroad tracks.

At the same time, you can choose to take a day trip by train — round trips between Anchorage and Seward or Whittier can both easily be completed in a single day, leaving plenty of time to explore each place in the middle — or commit several days of your vacation to traveling the state by rail.

Every turn seemed to have something new as we passed — ocean, mountains, waterfalls, and glaciers - Jenna, Team Member

What you choose can depend on your interests and time in Alaska.

Credit: Alaska Railroad

For temperate rainforests and coastal views, we'd recommend either the Coastal Classic or the Glacier Discovery, the two shorter routes in Southcentral Alaska.

For boreal forests, braided rivers, and large, sweeping valleys, the Denali Star is the best.

If you're looking for mountain views, you're in luck — each and every route offers jaw-dropping views of Alaska's peaks. You can connect routes to combine time at various landmarks and hubs of activity. Our Travel Designers often work one-on-one with a guest to create a journey that seamlessly ties together their dream destinations on an interconnecting rail journey.

Credit: Alaska Railroad / Kerry Tasker

4. The Year-Round Access

Alaska Railroad runs year-round service, connecting a state that is largely reliant on its road system. For visitors, especially those who don't want to drive in challenging winter conditions, that means a winter train trip is the perfect opportunity to see Alaska's stunning winter season.

And, while summer is often known as the best time to take a train in Alaska, winter train rides are an overlooked gem. Alaska Railroad's Aurora Winter Train makes moving around Alaska's vast interior incredibly easy by connecting Anchorage and Fairbanks year-round. Along with the ease of transit, you'll have the chance to see hours of snow-capped mountains, frozen rivers, and pristinely white landscapes rolling past your window.

At the same time that you're watching snowy boreal forests pass by, you'll be staying warm onboard with hearty meals in the dining car, or retiring to the viewing dome car with a hot drink in hand. It's an undeniably cozy way to experience winter in Alaska.

Credit: Explore Fairbanks / Sherman Hogue

The Aurora Winter Train also offers a very unique opportunity: the chance to see the Northern Lights from the dome viewing cars.

While it can never be guaranteed, the train's eleven-hour, forty-minute journey means you'll both leave and arrive in darkness. If you're heading northbound, that means you'll arrive in Fairbanks, one of the best places to see Northern Lights in Alaska, at 8pm. Beyond meaning you'll watch both sunrise and sunset onboard — an experience that's beautiful and worthwhile entirely on its own — where darkness is found in winter in Alaska, Auroras often follow.

Credit: Travel Alaska

3. The Cruise Connections

Alaska Railroad has two southern stops that connect perfectly to cruises: Whittier and Seward. If you're looking to extend your vacation with a pre- or post- cruise land tour, Alaska Railroad is the perfect choice to begin (or end) your trip.

Both of these routes offer easy access from major cruise ports to Anchorage, Alaska's capital city and hub of connection. From there, all manner of excursions and tours let you explore the Southcentral region. Or, you can continue north to Denali National Park and Fairbanks (guided tours, arranged transfers, or another beautiful train trip are all fantastic options here).

Even if you plan on flying home after you dock, taking a train to Anchorage is a sneaky last chance to relax in cruise-style comfort (included meals onboard enjoyed in the company of stunning views) before you return to reality.

Credit: Canva Images

2. The Slow Travel Option

For many, a trip to Alaska is a chance to disconnect from the bustle of the Lower 48, and step into a simpler way of life. A train trip is perfect for that.

We can’t say rail travel’s unhurried pace is the most efficient form of transportation, with hours of ‘free time’ onboard, but if it were, that would miss the point entirely. Instead, a vacation by rail is a slow travel masterclass.

Rather than quickly passing over the state at 30,000 feet, you'll get hours of uninterrupted views from the heart of it. You'll pass wildlife slowly enough to take a clear photo as it looks up at you, spend several minutes admiring a turquoise lake, and notice its intricate details you would have missed from above.

And, with it, you are invited to slow down too.

Credit: Alaska Railroad / Michelle Park

Take the chance to unwind over a meal onboard — depending on your route and time of travel, that could be a hearty breakfast to start the day, dinner overlooking the mountains, or both. Bring a book, and spend hours too distracted by wilderness views to read any of it. Learn about the landscapes' formation, history, and living culture from guides onboard.

The entire Alaska Railroad route (from Seward in the south to Fairbanks in the north) takes over 16 hours to complete. Be it a leisurely escape from life's unavoidable stressors or a break in the middle of an action-packed adventure in Alaska, this is your invitation to relax.

Credit: Alaska Railroad / Stewart L Sterling

1. The Scenery

The single biggest reason that you should take a train trip in Alaska is its unparalleled access to the state's finest scenery.

Though perhaps not surprising, there are few better opportunities to see Alaska's dramatic scenery up close. On the train, you're not distracted by driving, the hassle of transportation, or anything else for that matter — cell service and data are patchy along most of the routes. Instead, you have abundant free time to watch the landscapes pass, surrounded by complete wilderness.

Along most routes, you will break away from the road system, heading into Alaska's backcountry. The Coastal Classic route (between Anchorage and Seward) crosses the Kenai Peninsula in an entirely different valley from the Seward Highway. And passing Denali National Park & Preserve, you'll part from the roads to travel beside wide braided rivers and hundreds of miles of protected wilderness, preserved in its natural state of 'untouched.' And, as a small bonus, you're more likely to spot shy wildlife than from a busy highway.

Credit: Alaska Railroad / Michelle Park

Alaska Railroad trains feature glass-domed rail cars for panoramic views of the scenery. Around Anchorage, you'll see vast waterways and inlets carving into the land. On the Glacier Discovery route, this might be sweeping views of Spencer Glacier. On the Coastal Classic, the Kenai Peninsula's mountainous interior. And the Denali Star travels alongside Denali National Park & Preserve, stopping at the park entrance and the quaint town of Talkeetna along the way. You can expect impressive views of both as you travel.

From the viewing deck, we saw the foliage changing with spectacular orange, red, and yellow landscapes - Claudia, Travel Designer

Two of our team members recently took the Alaska Railroad's Coastal Classic route between Anchorage and Seward. They came back gushing over the outdoor viewing deck, available for GoldStar passengers, where they spent the majority of the trip enjoying fresh wilderness air with nothing between them and the mountains.

As you travel past impressive sites, the expert staff onboard Alaska Railroad offer narration explaining what you see. They'll point out any wildlife near the tracks, put names to mountains on the horizon, and explain how the railway came to be.

Which Alaska Railroad Train Tour is Best?

To put it simply: all of Alaska's rail trips are incredible, and we recommend each.

The best Alaska Railroad tour for you depends on what you're hoping to see. Our Travel Designers work one-on-one with each guest to help them select the best train tour for them (and customize aspects that could fit them even better).

If you want to spend a long amount of time on the train itself, then our Best of Alaska by Train might be best for you — you'll have the opportunity to ride three of the five routes across your trip.

But if you just want to briefly sample train travel, then our Alaska Rail Explorer takes you north to Denali National Park & Preserve on a shorter portion of the flagship Denali Star route, and connects to a cruise seamlessly.

And if you're looking to see the Northern Lights, our Winter Delights package begins your Aurora Borealis adventure by way of a scenic day onboard the Aurora Winter Train.

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Credit: Alaska Rail Vacations

Book Today with Alaska Rail Vacations

Ready to start planning your train trip in Alaska? Reach out to a Travel Designer to get personalized support and a custom-designed itinerary built around you.

In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter to stay in touch, and we'll be in touch with more inspiration, feature packages, and deals.

FAQs

Where should I stop on the Alaska Railroad?

Some of the best stops along the Alaska Railroad include Seward, Whittier, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks. Each of these stops offers access to some of Alaska's most famous landscapes and iconic historic and cultural spots.

The things to see there include:

• Seward: Kenai Fjords National Park, helicopter tours, glacier day cruises, marine wildlife viewing
• Whittier: Prince William Sound, glacier day cruises, marine wildlife viewing
• Talkeetna: Historic town, charming downtown, local shops and restaurants, Denali (federally designated as Mount McKinley and North America's tallest mountain) views
• Denali: Denali National Park & Preserve access, flightseeing tours, Denali views -Fairbanks: Northern Lights viewing, Arctic Circle tours

When is the best time to take a train tour in Alaska?

The best time to travel by train in Alaska is typically said to be from mid-May to mid-September. During these summer months, travelers can enjoy long daylight hours, vibrant views, and spotting wildlife like bears, moose, caribou, and even whales along the tracks.

That being said, if you're looking for a snowy wonderland experience in Alaska, winter, between December and March, is the best time for snow. That means that a winter train ride will offer snowy views, connections between unique activities (like dog sledding or flying north to the Arctic Circle), and access to world-class Northern Lights viewing.

What is included in an Alaska train tour package?

That depends on who you book with. If you book directly with Alaska Railroad, you'll just have your train ticket, which might include meals if you book a GoldStar Class ticket. However, if you book through a tour operator like Alaska Rail Vacations, your trip will include a curated (and personalized) series of tours, transfers, hotel stays, and experiences all arranged, booked, and seamlessly interconnected. And, of course, it will include any and all rail tickets in your custom itinerary.

Anything to Know Before You Go?

Before you take a train in Alaska, there are a couple of things you should be aware of.

You can typically check two bags (up to 50 lbs each) for your trip. These will be stowed while you're onboard, so we recommend you pack anything you'll need for the day in one smaller bag when traveling by train in Alaska.

You will have assigned seats onboard the train, so there's no stress in competing for the best spot. You're free to move around during the journey, knowing that your seat will continue to be reserved for when you're ready to return to it. If you're traveling with Alaska Rail Vacations, any necessary information will be provided in your detailed itinerary prior to travel.