Conway Scenic Railroad
38 Norcross Cir
North Conway, NH
Vintage passenger trains rolling out of a storybook 1874 depot into the White Mountains, including a spectacular run through the cliffs and trestles of Crawford Notch.
The Conway Scenic Railroad carries passengers into the White Mountains aboard vintage trains that leave from one of the loveliest railroad stations in New England, a Victorian depot built in 1874 in the center of North Conway. The excursions range from a gentle valley loop to the star of the operation, a run through Crawford Notch that ranks among the most scenic rail journeys in the East.
The railroad preserves not just old equipment but a whole era of mountain rail travel. In the resort heyday of the White Mountains, grand hotels drew travelers up from the cities by train, and the Crawford Notch line was an engineering marvel that clung to the mountainsides on trestles and ledges. Today's excursions let you experience that landscape at the unhurried pace the railroad's builders intended.
What Guests Love
- Riding restored vintage coaches behind historic diesel and steam power
- The dramatic Crawford Notch trip across high trestles and past sheer cliffs
- The beautifully preserved 1874 Victorian station in the heart of North Conway
- Fall foliage runs that turn the mountainsides to color from the train window
Worth Knowing
- Several routes of different lengths run; the Crawford Notch trip is the scenic showcase
- Fall foliage season is the most popular time and sells out early
- The station and rail yard are worth exploring before or after your ride
- Different classes of seating are offered, from coach to first class
Details
North Conway, NH
Learn about Conway Scenic Railroad
The 1874 depot
North Conway's station is a picture-book piece of railroad architecture, a two-story Victorian depot with a distinctive tower, built in 1874 when the railroad first reached the resort valley. It is one of the most photographed train stations in the country and remains the heart of the operation, with a working rail yard, roundhouse, and vintage equipment around it.
The station and yard are part of the experience even before you board. Visitors can watch the locomotives being readied, browse the historic coaches and cabooses, and get a feel for how a mountain railroad actually worked in the age of steam.
Through Crawford Notch
The signature journey is the trip up through Crawford Notch, a narrow, steep-walled mountain pass that the railroad conquered in the 1870s with a line notched into the mountainsides. The train crosses the Frankenstein Trestle and the Willey Brook Bridge, high spans that carry passengers out over deep ravines with the White Mountains falling away below.
It was a bold and difficult piece of railroad building, and riding it today gives a vivid sense of both the beauty and the audacity of it. The views over the notch, the forests, and the distant peaks are the reason this run draws riders from across the country, especially when the fall foliage is at its peak.
The age of the grand hotels
The railroad exists because of tourism. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the White Mountains blossomed with enormous resort hotels, and the trains were how the guests arrived, whole families coming up from Boston and beyond to spend the summer in the cool mountain air.
That golden age faded as automobiles took over and many of the grand hotels burned or closed, but the Conway Scenic Railroad keeps its spirit alive. Boarding a vintage coach for a leisurely mountain excursion is a direct link to the way travelers first came to fall in love with this landscape.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Profile Motel & Cottages
Honorable Mention391 Styles Bridges Highway, Lincoln, NH
28 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near North Conway
North Conway village
At the depot, a short walk
A bustling resort village with shops, restaurants, and the famous outlet stores of the Mount Washington Valley.
Mount Washington Auto Road
About 20 miles, a 30 minute drive
The road to the summit of the Northeast's highest peak, home to some of the world's most extreme recorded weather.
Kancamagus Highway
About 15 miles, a 20 minute drive
A celebrated scenic byway crossing the White Mountains between Conway and Lincoln.