Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad

My family loved it! Parking has a2hr limit, which is nice. There seemed to be plenty of parking because the train left every hour or so. We quickly parked, bought our tickets and waited for about 15 min before the train arrived. In the meantime, my husband bought a sweater($40) and we got popcorn($2 box) for the kids. The train wasn't fast or slow, it was perfect for seeing the sights and the story about the area and train were pretty cool.

Such an awesome experience! So much cool history on this ride! Plus, who doesn't want to ride a train with a steam engine? The other passengers were nice too. It was a fun and casual ride through the mountains. Absolutely would recommend it!

My wife and I got here into Cripple Creek and people told us to take the train. We did just that, our guide or engineer, was remarkable at his knowledge and his humor. We learned a lot on this short train ride, took a lot of amazing pictures. When we visit again with relatives, we will be doing this train ride once more.

What a great little destination. We drove from Colorado Springs and it was easy and pleasant. The history of the gold rush was very interesting. We took the little train ride and what fun. We were able to talk with conductor and engineer. We have great pizza from a vendor in the parking lot. Then we went to 6 casinos! Stopped in Woodland Park for Mexican on the way back.

Great experience! Highly recommend to anyone. Beautiful views all around.

We were just speechless seing the beautiful colors. The train ride was a little shorter than anticipated, but still very enjoyable. The staff were all wonderful. Since it was my birthday they let me pull the steam whistle.

Fun train ride with pretty views! Trip takes about 45min. Conductor makes a few stops to give information about the history of the land & town. We had Tad, he did great & was funny!

Our first time in cripple Creek! We went for donkey days and had a blast! We were able to pet the donkeys, see a couple of races and visit the booths along the street. The railroad was fun to visit too. Lots of cool things to see.

This was like riding an adult kiddie ride. The engineer was cute and had some funny jokes and cool info. The train ride was great

The train ride was about an hour. The views were beautiful and the tour was very informative. Would highly recommend it!

Is short but very nice A lot of history and people are friendly We enjoy our ride Perfect for little kids but still enjoyable for grown ups

Excellent train ride! Super nice and relaxing. The train engineer was super nice, very talkative and great information on the history of the local area. The scenery was great too! Highly recommended.

Emily did such a great job, safely operating the train and providing a running commentary about the history of the area. The ride was so great. Beautiful weather too. The engines were very cool. I enjoyed being able to read a little bit about where each was made and some history. Also, the bathroom was sparkling clean. So that was nice too.

Cute train ride and worth the price. I had been wanting to do a train ride for the longest time so I finally found one that was easy to book and made the trip. This place didn't require any reservations and the train leaves a few times each day. We arrived about 30min before departure and didn't have an issue getting tickets or a seat. We looked around the gift shop for a little bit and grabbed some snacks before we boarded the train. All the drinks, snacks, and popcorn were very cheap (not overpriced at all). The train ride was about 60 minutes round trip and the conductor was very informative during the ride. Minus one star because when I boarded the train I asked one of the employees which side was best to sit on. He said that both sides have the same views. He was wrong. Definitely should have sat on the side closest to where we boarded. This side had much better views. I was a little bummed out by this but still enjoyed the ride.

Though the trip is only 45 minutes in length, the engineer/narrator provided quite a bit of local history during the ride. He was also mindful there were small children on the ride while recounting some of the tawdrier history of the area. The conductor was great with the little ones on board. Tip: Sit towards the back of the last car to minimize coal smoke immersion.

This dog-friendly, slow ride has beautiful scenery and cool history behind the sights. A storm rolled through for us and it's an open ride so we were exposed to the elements with the exception of the roof that helped; it made it more adventurous for us!

These towns have been changed so much by progress! The new Bronco Billeys has ruined the history of Cripple Creek! Sadly Victor does not get the traffic and business can't make it. The gold mine has also destoried the views. Any historic value has been lost.

We started our Colorado vacation with the Cripple Creek Railroad touring an old mining town. The tour was beautiful and very informative. My son, who is 4, loves trains so I wanted to make sure we rode one through the beautiful landscape. I didn't imagine there would be so much neat history too, but there is a lot to learn about this little mining town. Did you know that Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman was crafted after a Dr. who lived in Cripple Creek during these times? Or that there is still a mine out that way mining billions of dollars of coal each year. We all really enjoyed ourselves and the conductor even gave my son a piece of coal. Take your binoculars and bring a blanket if it's chilly.

Fun quick railroad ride around some gold mining areas. The drive out there is rough (highway 24 is completely unpaved). Very professional and only 15 bucks or so to do this.

Train engineer was very friendly and was willing to take pictures with kids afterwards. I will say, if you go definitely try to sit on the right side of the train car so you get the best views the whole time. The left side gets good views but not as much as the right.

When my family was in town I took them on this little train ride. It was cute although overpriced. It offers great views of Cripple Creek and a lot of information about the area. Some hints: try to sit in the covered section because this is a real coal train and we ended up having black coal dust all over our clothes and skin when the tour ended. Also, the coal can cause coughing or discomfort in the throat but not enough to skip out on the tour. They do offer a military discount which is excellent and there is plenty of convenient parking. They also have an adorable gift shop that is really nice. It is also GREAT for kids!

Nice train ride. Kids & adults will enjoy this informative little trip above Cripple Creek. The gift shop has a bit of everything and is very reasonably priced. We visit Cripple Creek half a dozen times a year and love it!

Our tickets were $13 each. The tour itself was only around 45 minutes long, but in that short amount of time the train conductor/engineer provided us with a plethora of historic information about the area. It was roundtrip and covered 4 miles from the station in Cripple Creek to where "Anaconda" (a city/mining camp that once thrived) used to be near the edge of Victor where you can currently see gold being mined by large, fast-moving machines. Because of the nearby Victor Gold Mine that is slowly creeping towards the area, stripping the mountainous terrain down for gold, the future landscape will probably look even more different over the next few years. (Their permit is active through 2025 from what I understand.) I highly recommend this for anyone who loves history and for the kiddos that was a real coal-powered engine train ride. It moves slowly, but keep your limbs inside the train. It is a very short yet scenic ride. At two stops, you'll get to see the switch operator manually switch the tracks for the second and only other train. I remember something saying that the railroad trip was not open from October to May. Check their website for details: http://cripplecreekrailroad.com/ TIP: Get seated early in the caboose with the top. The sun beats down hard in the higher elevations plus the coal smoke is hard on your lungs if the wind gusts about every now and then like it did when my husband, brother and I were there. I saw some kiddos that would have enjoyed their ride more had they been sitting where we were closer to the conductor. He'll even let the kiddos sound the horn after the tour is done. :) Review #112

We took our kids (4 & 8) for a short ride. They enjoyed it! Great scenery and nice short tid bits of info about Cripple Creek's history where pointed out & shared. The steam was a little annoying but let's be fair- it's a train ride!!! This is very tolerable even if a train ride isn't "your thing"!

Oh man, I really don't like giving one stars, there's usually SOMETHING good to say, but this.... First, expensive. It was $15 per adult. If it was a long, informative tour, sure, fine. Second, it was...maybe, thirty minutes at most? The conductor pointed out maybe three points of interest. We spent a lot of the trip going backwards. Third, this is a coal burning train. It smells. It smells really, really badly. And that coal smoke blows straight into the car. The smell alone gave me a headache. This is an easily missed attraction. Go to the mines up the road or just run around outside. Even the toddlers I was with didn't care for this ride.

The train was educational and informative. A nice low-intensity activity for everyone in the family within walking distance to shops and food. We drove to Cripple Creek to see the leaves changing, and I'll admit I expected to see more trees than what I did on the train but the entire drive up was just beautiful so overall i was not dissapointed. Sit on the side that faces the parking lot for the best views! (The train does turn so it doesn't really matter)

My toddler loves vehicles of all sorts, and this train ride was even better than expected from that regard: the intimacy of the small, narrow gauge train lets him see how the engine worked up close, in a way you don't on the bigger tourist trains around the state. The engineer/guide was great, definitely a true steam train enthusiast, and he provided great information about the history of the area. The 45-minute ride doesn't cover a lot of ground. Based on the description, I thought maybe it'd go from Cripple Creek to the town of Victor 5 miles away, but it's nowhere near that far. Nevertheless, you see some good views around Cripple Creek, I totally recommend it especially to anyone with interested kids, and the tickets are a good value.

The old mining town of Cripple Creek is worth visiting and the history of the place is fascinating. They do have a casino, like some other old towns do, but there are other things to occupy your time, like museums, tours of gold mines and the absolute must - take a ride on the Cripple Creek Railroad. OK, it's $15 per person but I think that's well worth it. I was sitting right behind the engine, so I could watch the fireman shoveling coal into the firebox and was amazed at just how much work it took to keep that old steam engine running. The engineer used the PA system to fill everyone in with stories of all the old gold mines in the area and I complimented him on how authentic the experience was - he even used the correct whistle signals when starting up, backing and approaching grade crossings. He did admit that not every engineer there follows protocol. So, when in the area, hitch a ride on the Cripple Creek Railroad for some spectacular views and learn a bit of history of the Old West!

We had a great time on the train ride; very relaxing. The conductor was informative and very friendly. We learned a lot about the town and got to see breath taking views! Although a little pricey, well worth a one time experience. $15 for ages 12 and up, $10 for ages 3-12 and under 3 are free. Also, the kids can take home a lump of coal if you ask nicely :-) The town is old, quaint, and beautiful. I would recommend giving yourself enough time to look around and go to the ice cream parlor, coffee ship, antique store, or take a tour. Shops close down early. The town also has a great, clean park for the kids. If your going without the kids, take some money for the casinos, or go on a ghost or brothel tour!

We knew we were in for a smokey start after we sat down in the open seating rail car and heard the birds coughing around us. But the coal smoke billowing our way only lasted a few minutes. After that the engineer entertained us with a funny historical narrative as we passed a huge operating gold mine and many ghost mines and buildings in shambles. Lots of photo ops on this 45 minute trip into Cripple Creek history. Kids around us loved it, especially the train's whistle echoing down the valleys.

Good little ride if the weather is nice. The story and history or the town and detail on the gold mining is a big part. They talk a little bit about the train as well. Coal powered steam locomotive pulls 2-3 cars. It takes about an hour. Location on the yelp app is wrong. It's in downtown cripple creek.

It was $15 per person for a 30 minute ride. The info that the conductor talked about was relatively interesting but certainly not worth the $15 per head price tag. Smelly, slow and short. Absolutely not impressed with the overall experience.

We went a few months ago to see the fall colors using a Groupon. They do not accept reservations like Georgetown, so arrive early to buy your tickets. They do not have specific departure times like Georgetown, so it's difficult to know what time you will depart. Some ladies were on a tour group and needed to be back at a certain time. They were able to board our train. We boarded the Steam train with our 2 dogs in an open car. We were able to get on an earlier train because we hung around the station. Two trains run at the same time. It was the perfect time of year to go. I look forward to riding the train again next year with the dogs.

October 2nd: Incredibly rude woman (dirty blonde, shoulder length hair, about 50-55 years old, pinkish sweatshirt) has no business dealing with the public. When I asked where to buy tickets, she said they closed earlier this year. I responded that I checked online before we drove up and their calendar showed mid-October as their closing date. "No! It doesn't!" She snapped, completely unnecessarily. I re-checked online. Three separate sources stated a mid-October closing date. Their own "website" is inaccesible-an antiquated and useless Wordpress page that you have to fill out a form to open. Hire someone with a personality to greet the public. Get a web designer to replace your useless and unprofessional web page. We will not be returning.

Our family enjoyed the short train ride. Our guide did a great job with providing details about the history of the area and current mining going on. The coal powered engine is very stinky but we only had to deal with the overwhelming smell a few short stints of time along the ride. The cost was $50 for 2 adults and a toddler. So kind of pricey. The ride is open air, one car has shade the other does not. So bring your sunscreen and dress for the weather.

Tour guide was fabulous! Nice short ride and lots of information. Comfortable ride and great scenery.

What a cute little railroad. It was only $15 for adults and it was about a 45 minutes ride. Lots of good information from the train conductor and very pretty landscape. Very enjoyable ride.

After viewing their website and reading the reviews my two kids were excited to ride the train. We drove down from northern colorado and stayed the night in Colorado Springs before driving to cripple creek. According to their website (http://cripplecreekrailroad.com/schedule/) as of October 18, 2014 it said 'Currently open for the 2014 season!!!' but when we arrived they were closed for the season which was confirmed by a sign posted on the station door and you could see all their train engines were covered with tied down tarps for the winter. You could imagine the disappointment on everyone,s faces and on top of that all the town,s stores were closed, except for the casinos of course. It was a weekday (mid October). At the very least they should keep their website updated from the day they close. A one star rating for that because it was a bit of a drive to get there. The only thing that made the trip worthwhile was the nearby 3 story heritage visitors center which had a scale model of the nearby Mollie Kathleen mine, great informational displays about mining in the area, a huge stegosaurus upstairs next to another diorama with elk, mtn lion, raccoon, etc, and many other displays. The basement has some vehicles and a theater but it was closed that time due to a meeting being held. Bathrooms were well kept and clean btw. They used waterless urinals and low flow toilets to conserve water.

Cute little train ride. My 3 year old loves trains and especially the narrow gauge which are a little smaller and not as intimidating as the some of the larger engines we've been on. We went on a weekday so there were only a few people on the train with us. We were able to sit in the carriage right behind the coal tender which was cool because we could watch the engineer feed the firebox with coal... But then you realize each time he does that you are showered with ash and soot. We were pretty dirty by the end of the ride but my son loved every second of it. The engineer stops along the way and explains the history of the trains, area, and mining which was also interesting. But every time he said "glory hole" I giggled like I was 12 lol The gift was pretty good with lots of train items so it was difficult for my little one to narrow his choice down. They also sell snacks and popcorn you can take on the train ride. Oh and the penny squisher was a good one that imprinted both sides of your penny, my little guy was pretty impressed as we're always on the lookout for penny squishing machines.

What a wonderful way to get up close and personal with Cripple Creeks history. The train is a great way to spend family time. We enjoyed all the great information about the area!

The steam and coal train ride around Cripple Creek and near the mines is interesting and has many pretty views. The train does not go fast at all, but there is one part that is on a steep hill, if you were wondering. It was neat to learn about all of the mines nearby and to enjoy the train on a warm day. There is one open car and one enclosed car. The train is 15 for adults, but there is a coupon for a dollar off each ticket on their website. I would recommend it just for the experience, but it wasn't impressive.

The Cripple Creek @ Victor Narrow Gauge RR is located on the edge of town as you enter Cripple Creek on the left. Here is their website: http://www.cripplecreekrailroad.com It costs $12.25 per adult, $7.75 ages 3-12 and $11.25 for ages 65 and up, ($1 off with AAA/Military ID). My wife and I checked out the authentic train depot (Old Midland Terminal) and decided to take the train tour as well. The train runs May 29-October 3 and the trip takes around 30 minutes if I remember correctly. My wife and I went to Cripple Creek Labor Day Weekend 2010. I really like trains so I had a blast with this. My wife isn't as much into trains but really enjoyed the history and the scenery. We sat on the left side of a covered car. I would recommend sitting on the right side of the train because then you will get to see more of Cripple Creek. But both sides offer neat views and lots of picture taking opportunities. The conductor is very informative and tells a lot about the history of Cripple Creek including mining, town and railway history. It is a single line of track so you travel to the end and then the train travels backwards back to the station. The conductors are available for pictures after the tour. The only thing to watch out for is the coal smoke as you are waiting to return to the station from another train. I am sure it depends on which way the wind is blowing, but when we went the coal smoke went right into our faces.

Nice ride! Took our teenagers and 2 yr old on it and they had a great time.

The engines aren't as impressive as on other steam trains I've ridden but the narration about the history of the area was very interesting and informative. Good views. The whistle really echoes. Cool little town.

We took our 3-year old son, who LOVES trains, to ride this choo-choo. He absolutely loved it! The trains are originally from Germany, and they have one that looks a lot like Thomas. There was an open-air car and one that was enclosed. I personally think you get a better view of the mountain in the open-air car that has seating similar to an amusement park tram. The train trip goes a little ways around the mountain (stunning views, so take your good camera), stops for a while, toots the horn and the echoes in the valley are really cool. Then the train goes back in reverse, into a turnaround, then back to the station; so it doesn't really matter which side of the seats you sit on, you get views of both sides of the mountain. We got our son a train whistle at the gift shop, and it brings him a lot of joy, every time he toots it. I also love to ask him where he got it, because he always replies, "At the Cripple Creek" in the sweetest 3-year old voice. I definitely recommend this for anyone who has small children who likes trains or if you want to get great views of the area around Cripple Creek.