Trails & Rails Program
Enrich your travel experience and learn about our nation's natural and cultural sights along your route with a National Park Service guide.
Enrich your travel experience and learn about our nation's natural and cultural sights along your route with a National Park Service guide.
Onboard Heritage Appreciation
Enjoy your time traveling across the country with National Park Service volunteer guides and their traveling show-and-tell programs as they explain regional historic and natural resources related to your journey.
Whether visiting iconic natural treasures like the mighty Mississippi River valley, historic landmarks like the Roosevelt mansion in Hyde Park or cultural attractions like New Orleans Jazz National Park, you can connect to public lands and engage in a better understanding of the need to preserve and protect these special natural and cultural resources.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, railroads have played an active role in developing America's national parks and we are proud to be a part of this partnership that provides a fuel efficient and environmentally friendly way to visit public lands.
Learn more about the Trails & Rails program and see what routes have programs onboard.
Travel Through History
Midwest Corridor
Empire Builder
Minneapolis, MN – Columbus, WI
Learn about the rich natural and cultural history of the only national park focused on the Mississippi River: Mississippi National River & Recreation Area. Investigate how the geology of the river has influenced human history including native history and colonialist history.
Also learn about how human impact has shaped the ecology of the river and opportunities for recreation on it.
Southern California
Coast Starlight
Santa Barbara, CA – San Luis Obispo, CA
Our route between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo makes its way along the California coast, following the route taken by the first immigrant families traveling from New Spain to Alta California. Our guides tell the story of the Juan Bautista De Anza Expedition, railroading, and the natural history of this unique part of the California coast.
The natural beauty of California is on display, from majestic mountains sweeping down to coastal bluffs, inland valleys to beach communities. Passengers on this section of the Coast Starlight are treated to a part of the California coast inaccessible by public roads, including a behind the scenes view of Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Southern Corridor
Crescent
Atlanta, GA – Birmingham, AL
Amtrak's Crescent corridor through the South journeys from the southern Appalachian foothills, through the ancestral homelands of the Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw, down through the coastal plains to the wetlands of the Mississippi delta and Gulf coast bayous.
The route traverses one of the most diverse US environments and also revisits the cradle of America's civil rights revolution. Because of that diverse environment and deep history it is a corridor with a rich and interconnected cultural heritage and impact. Our guides help interpret that past and point to the iconic places of the route's stories.
Midwest Corridor
Lincoln Service
St. Louis, MO - Springfield, IL
Travel between St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois, on Trains 302 & 301 and you will see the economic power of manufacturing along the Mississippi River and the agricultural power of the Illinois prairies.
Trails & Rails guides have a wealth of heritage stories to share, such as prehistoric mound builders at Cahokia Mounds, the winter encampment of Lewis and Clark, coal miners and their Sears catalog kit houses, and Abraham Lincoln's contributions to the United States. All Aboard.
2024 Schedule
| Train | Primary Season | Route Segment To/From | Participating National Park |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adirondack Train 68 |
Saturdays, May - November | New York City - Albany-Rensselaer, NY | Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historical Sites & the National Parks of New York Harbor |
| Coast Starlight Trains 11/14 |
Wednesday to Sunday, April - September |
Seattle, WA - Portland, OR |
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park |
| Saturday, March - September | Santa Barbara, CA - San Luis Obispo, CA | Juan Bautista de Anza National Historical Trail | |
| Coast Starlight Trains 14/11 |
Saturday, June - September | San Jose, CA Paso Robles, CA | |
| Crescent Trains 19/20 |
June - September | Atlanta, GA /Anniston, AL - Birmingham, AL/New Orleans, LA | Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site |
| Empire Builder Trains 7/8 | Monday - Thursday, April August | Saint Paul, MN - Columbus, WI |
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area |
| Eastbound: Sundays & Thursday Westbound: Mondays & Fridays April - September |
Seattle, WA - Wenatchee, WA |
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park | |
Empire Service Train 238 |
Saturdays, May - November | New York City - Albany-Rensselaer, NY |
Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historical Sites & the National Parks of New York Harbor |
| Heartland Flyer Trains 821/822 | Friday & Saturday, May - August; October | Oklahoma City, OK - Fort Worth - TX | Oklahoma City National Memorial |
| Lincoln Service Train 302 | Saturday & Sunday, June - August | Springfield, IL - Chicago, IL | Lincoln Home National Historic Site |
| Lincoln Service Trains 302/301 | Daily, May - September; Friday, Saturday, Sunday, September - October |
St. Louis, MO - Springfield, IL | Gateway Arch National Park |
| Missouri River Runner Trains 311/318 | |||
| Northeast Regional Trains 152/87 & 120/87 |
Saturday & Sunday, April - December | Washington DC - New York City | National Mall and Memorial Parks |
| Texas Eagle Train 21 |
Saturday & Sunday, June - August | Springfield, IL - Chicago, IL | Lincoln Home National Historic Site |
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