Galen W.
Yelp
On a warm summer day, how can you beat a one-hour outdoor ride around Helena? The tour train is a perfect way to get oriented to the city and to see where you want to go back and visit.
The excellent experience started as soon as we settled into our self-selected seats when our driver/conductor/guide, Liz, came by to punch our tickets. She spent time finding out where we were from, but then really got into it with one of our party, a Power of the Helena Power Family. It turns out that our friend's family home is a spot talked about on the standard tour, so Liz and our friend chatted about local details.
The three-car open train is packed with a diverse collection of riders: lots of families with young children visiting local grandparents. The open-air seating gives everyone enough space so that the kids can squeal and squirm without dominating the trip through town. It was a friendly, happy grouping.
The narration is excellent, full of facts, fun facts, and probably some pure stories. We started off in the capital area, went though the ritzy areas, old-time miner/mining areas, and circuited back to the start. Liz was talking all the time, but her comments were interesting and never intrusive.
The trip is inexpensive, too ($7.50 for adults. $7.00 for seniors).
My personal perfect tour would be longer, although I realize children might not hold out for the 2 (or whatever) hours I would have enjoyed. And, my reservations are: 1) Liz was perfect, I don't know how the experience would be with another guide, and 2) our weather was sunny in the 70's -- also perfect. Hotter or colder might have made experience less wonderful.