Amtrak To Winter Park: All Aboard

Colorado resort teams up with Amtrak to Winter Park to offer Snowball Express package

Winter Park is less than 30 miles west of Boulder, but because there is no road through the Indian Peaks Wilderness and adjacent James Peak Wilderness, the roundabout drive is considerably longer. The one shortcut from near here to right there is by train. The 6-mile-long Moffat Tunnel bores through the mountains under the Continental Divide and under the protected land. The Winter Park Resort lies at tunnel's West Portal. The Ski Train uses the tunnel for its dedicated Denver-Winter Park trip -- and so does Amtrak's California Zephyr. In fact, one of Winter Park's chairlifts is called the Zephyr in honor of the classic rail route.

This year, Winter Resort and Amtrak have partnered to offer an affordable and stress-free vacation package and called it the Snowball Express. It sure beats driving across the Plains, which are vulnerable to dicey snow conditions, and for people put off by airline hassles, it's a terrific option too.

The California Zephyr between Chicago and Oakland offers daily service -- not always punctual, but otherwise reliable. The Snowball Express includes roundtrip coach seats on Amtrak, three nights' lodging in a one-bedroom condo in the Town of Winter Park and three days of lift tickets. Book online through Winter Park Central Reservations or by calling 800-979-0327. The package is valid until the end of the ski season but must be booked by December 7. Adult prices including travel from what organizers call "preferred departure cities" are:

Chicago - $665
Naperville, IL - also $665
Galesburg, IL - $639.50
Burlington, IA - $634
Mt. Pleasant, IA - $628
Ottumwa, IA - $625
Osceola, IA $613
Omaha - $592
Lincoln, NE - $582.50

More Trains to US Ski Country

Other US ski resorts with rail access (though none nearly as doorstep convenient as Winter Park) include:

• The North Lake Tahoe resorts via California Zephyr to Truckee
• The seven resorts near Salt Lake City, a major Amtrak station
• The Aspen areas via the Zephyr to Glenwood Springs
• Whitefish Mountain Resort, MT via Amtrak's Empire Builder
• Schweitzer, ID, to the Amtrak stop at Sandpoint
• Several resorts in Vermont and New Hampshire via either Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express to Rutland or the Vermonter, with half-a-dozen stops from Brattleboro in the south to Essex Junction and St. Albans in the north)
• Amtrak's Downeaster to Portland, ME
• Alyeska, AK, via the Alaska Railroad to Girdwood

Other Countries

Canada's VIA Rail services:

• In Quebec, Quebec City for Mont. Ste.-Anne and Le Massif and Montreal (for Tremblant), including trains from New York City/Albany)
• In Alberta, Jasper for Marmot Basin
• In British Columbia, Kamloops for Sun Peaks and Vancouver for Whistler/Blackcomb

And in Europe, virtually every Alpine mountain resort has excellent, efficient, frequent and punctual rail service or at least a bus that connects directly to a nearby railroad station.