Our American Sky team experience Rockies to the Red Rocks

Emma and Charlotte, two of our USA travel experts, went on an adventure last year through the stunning states of Utah and Colorado. After exploring the beautiful national parks of Utah – with sweeping vistas and astonishing red rock arches, hoodoos and canyons , they boarded the famous Rocky Mountaineer for a train journey unlike any other.

 
Here is their experience of Rocky Mountaineer Rockies to the Red Rocks at Leisure:

"We flew directly into Las Vegas to enjoy a couple of days to sample the highlights. The dazzling razzamatazz of Vegas isn’t for everyone but it’s still a great place to start or end your holiday if you choose the right place to stay and pick and choose what you want to do, as there really is something for everyone. We stayed at the Virgin Hotel, which is perfect for those who don’t want to be in the middle of “party-central” as it’s located about a mile off The Strip and is lovely and comfortable, with a gorgeous pool area.

Then we picked up our hire car and took the beautiful four-hour drive to Bryce Canyon. The rock formations were out of this world – natural arches of all shapes and sizes, hoodoos everywhere (weird sort of tall rock statues) and great sweeping views.

It was another beautiful drive to the Capitol Reef National Park, which took two and half hours… the scenery just doesn’t end and the colours were so vivid – the greens of the trees, the red of the rocks and the blue of the sky.

We only had a couple of hours at Capitol Reef, but it was still enough time to drive the 10-mile “Scenic Drive” which gave us stunning views of the park’s iconic cliffs, canyons, and domes, and we then drove up to Panorama Point and did the short walk to Goosenecks Overlook which had an incredible canyon view.

The next day it was a contrast driving from Capitol Reef to Moab (about two hours) as the scenery was more like Mars – the colours changed to greys and yellows and became very other-worldly. On the way we visited Dead Horse State Park which was well worth the detour. It’s 2000 feet above the Colorado River with gorgeous hiking and biking trails, and if you can time your visit for an evening, you will see a spectacular sunset.

We didn’t have much time on this trip to enjoy Moab, but it’s a brilliant place for outdoor activities – whitewater rafting, ziplining, UTV tours, canyon swings, and of course lots of hiking and biking. Arches National Park is just a few minutes drive from Moab and it really needs a day devoting to it, with it’s iconic natural arches and beautiful trails – great for any age.

Then it was time for the highlight of our trip – travelling from Moab to Glenwood Springs then onto Denver onboard Rocky Mountaineer. You may have heard of the Rocky Mountaineer routes in Canada across the Rockies? Well… a few years ago they launched this USA new route, through the American Rockies. The main difference between the two is that the American version doesn’t have the “GoldLeaf” rail cars due to the size of the tunnels on this USA route, so we were in a SilverLeaf Service coach. Whilst it doesn’t have the designated dining room , it’s still a really special and luxurious experience. We loved it! We were in comfy seats with decent legroom and a footrest, plus a dedicated host for the two-day trip. There are free-flowing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and a la carte meals with a choice of main course. Our host was brilliant, telling lots of stories and commentary about the region – very entertaining! We didn’t have to worry about our luggage as it was being transported for us to our midpoint hotel, and we could sit back and enjoy a spectacular ride.

On the first part of the journey we followed the Colorado River through red rock formations and saw the Fisher Towers which were jagged, reddish spires. We went through Ruby Canyon a 25-mile-long red rock canyon only accessible by train or river so it feels really special. Then the train crossed the border into Colorado to our overnight stop of Grand Junction where the scenery changed to rolling hills, vineyards and orchards.

On the second day the train follows the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon which is really dramatic, with high limestone cliffs and waterfalls. We then went through the Fraser River Valley which had beautiful forests and mountains, and started climbing towards the Continental Divide where we went through the Moffat Tunnel at 9,000 feet. Once out of the tunnel there were dramatic mountain canyons and then onto the Big Ten Curve, a famous railroad loop that drops gradually into the foothills and onto Denver.

We had a day to explore Denver which was lovely for mooching around shopping and enjoying a few beers in the city’s vibrant craft beer scene, before flying home."