For well over a century the historic Grand Canyon Railway has taken passengers on a scenic journey between Williams and the Grand Canyon, the most revered natural wonder in Arizona. The trip begins at the Williams Depot which was built in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, and terminates north at the Grand Canyon Depot which was constructed between 1909-1910 inside Grand Canyon National Park. If a scenic train ride to the Grand Canyon is on your bucket list, you must make plans to take one this fall. In fact, the Grand Canyon Railway will be celebrating its 123rd anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, and it's a great time to plan your Grand Canyon adventure via train.

Your journey begins once you board the train at the Williams Depot which happens to be on the National Register of Historic Places. The train will then take passengers 65 miles through the Colorado Plateau with views of the San Francisco Peaks, prairie, and Ponderosa pine and Pinion forests along the way.

Once you arrive at the Grand Canyon Depot, a National Historic Landmark, you will have time to get out and explore the park before heading back to Williams.

One of the trains that will run during the anniversary celebration on Sept. 21 is known as the French Fry Express (Locomotive No. 4960). This eco-friendly train runs on discarded vegetable oil from local restaurants, thus cutting emissions in half. The engine of this train was converted to run on recycled waste vegetable oil, or WVO, in 2009. Furthermore, the Grand Canyon Railway keeps approximately 50,000 cars out of the park annually. What a wonderful way to reduce emissions as well as vehicle traffic in the park.

For the 123rd Anniversary, you will have your choice of class between Pullman, Coach, First, Observation, Luxury Dome, and Luxury Parlor. Each class has its own price tag. If you plan on making a purchase on the train, make sure you have a credit card on hand as cash will not be accepted.

A scenic train ride to the Grand Canyon is a wonderful bucket list experience that has been on my Arizona bucket list for a number of years. And if you can go for the anniversary celebration on Sept. 21, you should!

If you plan on taking a scenic train ride with Grand Canyon Railways on Sept. 21, 2024, you can upgrade to the 3-night Canyon Rails Getaway Package. This package includes three nights at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, breakfast and dinner at the on-site Fred Harvey® Restaurant, a $20 gift certificate to spend at the Grand Canyon Railway & Hotel gift stores, and 25 percent off train tickets in your class choice. However, you don't have to wait until the Grand Canyon Railways anniversary to take advantage of this package — it's available throughout the fall.

Taking a road trip to Williams in order to embark on a rail journey with Grand Canyon Railways? Take a look at our Ultimate Road Trip Packing List for everything you'll need on the road!