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5 chillest train journeys that need to be on your bucket list

Train travel is the perfect vacation for people who don't really want to do anything

After years of Planes, Trains and Automobiles-like trip debacles, I've come to appreciate basic travel pleasures like they were business class upgrades with a bottomless Champagne kicker. I genuflect at the thought of someone not reclining their seat on an 18 hour flight. I'll damn near cry if there's a stellar local radio station to carry me through the final leg of a road trip. And, most importantly, I've grown to recognize how different modes of transportation can lend themselves to very divergent styles of soaking-in-the-scenery enjoyment.

Everyone has a horror story (or twenty) about the purgatory of air travel, but there's still something to be said for the majesty of cloudscapes when you're at 30,000 feet. Peddling around via bicycle (or moped, or unicycle, or trike--do your thing) can make your surroundings become downright watercolor-like when wheeling past. Then there's walking, which in its best iteration, can make you feel like a Parisian flaneur of yesteryear.

But for those in the know, it's train travel that's the ultimate laid back way to roll from here to there. While films have primed us for years about the romance of traveling via the tracks (looking at you, Before Sunrise), there's so much more to it than a potential meet-cute. You don't have to operate any heavy machinery--like, say, a car--so there's nothing to stop you from gazing out the window and becoming fully immersed as you roll past. (You can also drink in transit and nobody will get hurt.) Simultaneously communal and independent, you can make friends (or not!) while catching up on your backlog of booksnovels. You can eat snacks and get to where you're going at the same time without getting taco grease on the steering wheel.

At their best, trains flip our current notions about travel on their head: the drumbeat urgency of transport is replaced with a more lulling sense of enjoying the ride. Below are five train trips across North America that will turn even the biggest locomotive skeptic into a covert Thomas the Tank Engine fan. Who knows, maybe the journey is more important than the destination...

Winnipeg-Churchill Train

Location: Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba Length of Trip: 2 days Vibe: Whales, Northern Lights, and polar bears, oh my!

Ask your average train nerd about Canada's stellar railway system, and they'll probably gush about the glories of riding through British Columbia. That's all well and good, but for those a bit more adventurous, it's the Winnipeg-Churchill train that'll sate your appetite for views that are grizzly and glorious. The train provides the only dry-land means of accessing the community of Churchill, which is widely regarded as a primo place for spotting all kinds of cold weather wildlife, including (yes) polar bears. Seeing it all underneath the Northern Lights doesn't hurt, either. Non-Train Fun: Once you arrive in Churchill, hop into a kayak to paddle alongside Beluga whales (season permitting, of course).

Cass Scenic Railroad

Location: Cass, West Virginia Length of Trip: 4.5 hours (round trip) Vibe: A veritable time machine through the mountains

Hubbed in a former logging town, Cass Scenic Railroad utilizes restored locomotives from their paper-and-pulp hauling days to now carry visitors up a breathtaking (and breathtakingly steep) incline to the top of Bald Knob, the third highest peak in the state. For those just starting out, it's an ideal way to be introduced to train trips without the commitment of an all day or overnight excursion. Train-Adjacent Fun: If you, like me, have ever wanted to throw on some waders and pretend like you're the guys in those Ocean Spray commercials, West Virginia's largest cranberry bogs are only an hour away and open (seasonally) for tours.

Amtrak Coast Starlight

Location: Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles Length of Trip: 36 hours (one way) Vibe: All the best Best-Coast scenery

The Starlight is one of the country's most beloved train trips, and for good reason: (insert Stefon voice here) it has everything. Starting out with the snow-capped Cascade Mountains, barreling on through piney forests, then rolling past vast, hypnotic views of the Pacific Ocean means that there's never a moment you won't want to be glued to the postcard-like scenes outside the window. If you need a dining break, through, the Pacific Parlour Cars are a 1950s throwback complete with wine tastings and the abiding sense that you're traveling in style, baby. Train-Adjacent Fun: Haven't had your fill of train travel once you reach Los Angeles? Book a ticket at Union Station to continue on towards San Diego aboard the Pacific Surfliner. Maybe once you reach San Diego you'll feel inspired to just hop the border into Tijuana.

Grand Canyon Railway

Location: Williams, Arizona Length of Trip: 2 hours 15 minutes (one way) Vibe: Wild, wild west (the non-Will Smith kind, though)

The Grand Canyon Railway chugs through the high desert plateau of Arizona before making a stop at the South Rim of, you guessed it, the Grand Canyon. On this train, it's almost imperative to opt for riding in the "dome car": a panoramic, glass-enclosed space that allows one to feel like they're hurdling through the desert, out-of-body-experience style. There's also plenty of entertainment for the entirety of the ride (think: faux-gunslinging) as well as narrated history tidbits, just in case the brooding burnt oranges and reds of the desertscape weren't enough to keep your interest piqued. (Note: They should be.) Train-Adjacent Fun: The Grand Canyon, obviously.

Ethan Allen Express

Location: New York City to Rutland, Vermont Length of Trip: 5 hours (one way) Vibe: Like staying at a homey New England bed and breakfast

Looking for a quick jaunt out of the city and really need an infusion of nature? The Ethan Allen Express will fulfill all of your leafy green desires by providing a visually therapeutic journey through the Hudson River Valley, then delivering you into the charming arms of small-town Vermont. Concrete and metal will be a distant memory, if only for a weekend. Train-Adjacent Fun: Use the Ethan Allen to reach Killington, Vermont when the snow starts falling for some of the East Coast's best skiing and snowboarding spots.


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This article originally appeared in gq.com

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