SeeCalifornia.com

We recently mentioned the high-tech 300-miles per hour bullet trains that travel through China and are proposed for California. Well dig this–a totally low tech train where the conductor or engineer has to stop the vehicle, climb out on the track and remove giant redwood limbs that block passage. It’s the opposite of new, speedy and slick at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, Calif. This train and train ride is old, slow and thick. But believe it or not, it is one of the coolest experiences you’ll ever have in your life. Here’s ticket information and prices.

The Santa Cruz Beach Train runs between Felton’s Henry Cowell Redwood State Park and the beach, letting you off at Santa Cruz’s Beach Board Walk next to the famous Santa Cruz Wharf. It picks up steam each spring and summer, running a daily schedule between the mountains and sea. One a warm summer day, temperatures can seem a little hot down at the beach but once you climb aboard the train and ascend into mountains, you feel coolness set in as  giant redwoods provide an umbrella of shade.

While you can visit Roaring Camp Railroad all year and take the steam train up to higher elevations at Bear Mountain, the beach train only goes full schedule during the summer (June 9 – August 19, 2012) and weekends during the spring & fall.  Try them both because the experiences are both exciting and unique. However, if you have to pick just one train, we prefer the beach train. It’s a trip–and one you won’t forget.

Special events at Roaring Camp Railroads:

Rainforest Weekends
Eggstraordinary Easter Egg Hunt & Train
Civil War Battles & Encampments
Redwood Mountain Faire
Hats Off to Dad
4th of July Celebration
Great Train Robberies
Moonlight Steam Train Dinner Party
Day Out with Thomas
Summer Gathering of Mountain Men
Musical Saw Festival
Santa Cruz Starlight Evening Train
Santa Cruz Starlight Evening Train & Dinner
Happy Howloween Harvest Fair
Halloween Ghost Train
Holiday Tree Walk
Holiday Out with Thomas
Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train