New Hampshire's White Mountains Foliage Is On Full Display Along This Scenic Train Ride

In a little state like New Hampshire, 60 miles is a long distance, and there is a lot to see from the window of a train. The state is only 190 miles at its remotest points, with a wealth of peaks, forests, rivers, and lakes squeezed in between. The Conway Scenic Railroad is a special train system that chugs its way through the White Mountains, and passengers are treated to 4.5 hours of spectacular New England scenery. Passengers don't just see a little slice of New Hampshire; they see a great swathe of local landscapes at their most resplendent, and all from the comfort of a railway seat.

Come fall, the Conway Scenic Railroad gets even better: The leaves change colors, and the forested slopes of Crawford Notch blaze with autumnal hues. From the vantage point of tracks and bridges, these vistas are a feast for the eyes, and most passengers will finish the trip exhausted from all the natural wonder. Riding the train is easier than a hike or even a road trip down New Hampshire's byways; all you have to do is sit back, admire the passing canopy, and take pictures to your heart's content. Even if you take this trip alone, you have plenty of time and space to move around and chat up strangers. If you're already booking a trip to this US state for beautiful fall foliage, the Conway Scenic Railroad is among the most blissful ways to experience it.

For years, railroads played a key role in New Hampshire tourism, transporting guests from bustling Boston to the picturesque small towns of northern New England. Crawford Notch was a painstaking feat of engineering, as workers had to blast their way through the mountainous terrain in order to lay level track. Yet by the late 1960s, these trains had gone into decline and risked dismantlement. In 1968, a man named Dwight A. Smith took a fateful train trip to North Conway, New Hampshire, and wondered how he could preserve this aging line. The Conway Scenic Railroad was established as a tourist service, to maintain the century-old railways while also revealing to guests the bucolic beauty of New Hampshire's mountain country.

For folks with limited time, there's the hour-long Valley Train Excursion, which takes passengers along 11 miles of sylvan surroundings. For families, the Halloween Express and Santa's Holiday Express are both of a similar length; special decorations and costumed characters ease passengers into the holiday spirit. There's even a Hiker's Ticket, which provides outdoors enthusiasts with a long (4.5-hour) layover in Crawford, so they can take long promenades in the woods.

Yet the main attraction is the Mountaineer, a train that replicates the 1950s train travel experience with vintage seating and decor; the sprawling journey will take up most of your day. The company describes this route as its "most scenic excursion," and fall is the best time to experience it. Adult tickets start at $83 for a round-trip journey, with $130 for First Class and $198 for coveted "Dome Class" seats. While tickets can be purchased on-site, they do tend to sell out, especially on weekends. You could easily add the Mountaineer to a list of the most scenic train rides in the U.S.

Just a short distance from the Maine border, North Conway is the kind of charming historic village that vacationers come from all over the world to visit. If you've yearned to cross an authentic covered bridge or stay in a handsome Victorian inn, North Conway is a perfect hub. The Conway Scenic Railroad continues operations all through winter, and North Conway is also a beloved ski town, so you can carve up trails one day and ride the train through snow-blanketed mountains the next. The town even has a Ski Museum, which illustrates the storied past of recreational and competitive skiing.

Passenger trains no longer connect this region to other New England cities, so your best bet is to drive up here. Many travelers will include North Conway in a broader road trip through the Northeast, and the town is relatively close to several major destinations, such as Mt. Washington — which has its own historic train — and Portland, Maine, one of the coolest cities in the region. If you're flying into Boston Logan International Airport, North Conway is a solid three-hour drive away, with scattered points of interest in between. If you are headed up here at peak autumn, you may consider a side-trip to the most Halloween-centric town in Massachusetts; here's our ultimate guide for a witchy trip to Salem.