Mt. Rainier Railroad & Logging Museum, Washington, United States
4.0 (12 reviews) Spent 1-2 hours Ranking #1 in Mineral Speciality & Gift Shops • Speciality Museums
Polar Express at Christmas
During the Christmas season, the Polar Express will bring out the child in everyone. Starts with organized boarding process, and then the train chugs slowly south through the forests. Young staff "waiters" bring hot chocolate and cookies, sing songs, there are visits from the conductor, a "hobo", and the engineer. The train is decorated with garlands, Christmas lights, and wrapped packages. At the end of the line, about 30+ minutes along the track, the North Pole is a brightly lit area with Santa waving to the children. Santa boards the train and works his way through the cars handing out sleigh bells, just like the movie. The train backs slowly back to the start. Whole things takes about hour and a half or so. Lots of fun. Don't expect a Broadway production, this is fun for the kids so enjoy it. Gift shop available too.
Address
349 Mineral Creek Rd, Mineral, WA 98355
Mobile
Website
http://www.mtrainierrailroad.com/
Current local date and time now
Thursday, May 09, 2024, 14:57
User Ratings
4.0 based on (12 reviews)
Reviews
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4Dawn B 5:00 PM Jun 12, 2018
Train Ride with some history
My husband really enjoyed the train ride and was fascinated by the history of the railroad and the logging community. The tour guide at the museum did an excellent job explaining the history and made the tour very entertaining for those less interested (like myself). The ride is short but long enough. We were lucky enough to see the mountain on our ride. Aside from the mountain, the views are not that great, but is an experience I would recommend for anyone remotely interested in trains and history.
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3speralta 5:00 PM Jul 22, 2017
Not as good as I hoped
Recently they added the first class cabin for $55 dollars, which is a coach of assigned seating consisting of regular chairs and a table. Includes a free drink (water, juice, or soda), a bag of trail mix and something else (can't remember). The normal coach looks like the inside of a greyhound bus with the same type of padded seats. Unless you have kids, the first class option isn't that great. If you have kids take the first class option so you have a table that comes with a coloring book and a puzzle. Your ticket includes a 14 mile trip to the Mineral museum (with a 1 hour layover) and a 14 mile return trip back to the station. The train ride is very short and the view isn't that great, it consists mainly of shrubs, weeds, trees and people's houses. The only thing noteworthy is the view of Mt. Rainier, but if its cloudy or foggy you won't see the mountain. The Mineral museum during my visit was a work in progress, some exhibits were incomplete or closed. The entire museum is just a series of trailers/cabins that you walk into and look at stuff. The theater is just a TV in the concession area that showcases a DVD of the logging museum that you can purchase. There is no guided tours and there's only a few people walking around to ask questions. Overall the museum was kind of a let down because it was so incomplete. There are a few hands on displays that you can interact with and a derelict train you can climb into and play with the controls. However you will be finished in less time than the allotted 1 hour. Note there is free admission for kids, discounts for seniors and military. The train company has special theme rides like the Polar Express thing. I personally wouldn't recommend this since the train ride is too short and the view is not that great. Plus the museum is still a work in progress. For $20 you could get a train ride in Garibaldi, Oregon to Rockaway Beach with far better views and a much longer train ride. In comparison the Garibaldi train ride is a 1 hour round trip w/ 30 mins at the beach. It's too bad Mt. Rainier, WA doesn't have something like that because Mt. Rainier is a beautiful area but the train ride doesn't show it.
