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FROM LEFT: COURTESY RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY; TIM SCHANDEL, COURTESY LAKE SUPERIOR RAILROAD MUSEUM; SCOTT STARK
Maine
EAST PROMENADE TRAIL,
MAINE NARROW GAUGE
RAILROAD CO. & MUSEUM
The 2.1-mile Eastern Promenade
Trail, or “East Prom,” offers access
to the cultural charm of Portland,
Maine, including the Old Port wa-
terfront district, war relics, beaches
and the historic Maine Narrow
Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum,
an excursion railroad that offers
rides on restored two-foot gauge
railroad equipment. Special fall
programs include the fall Pumpkin
Train, which is offered Oct. 22-23
and 29-30, 2016, and includes a
museum visit, pumpkin decorat-
ing, and complimentary hot cider
and cookies. The railroad museum
is located inside a massive brick
complex that was once a locomo-
tive foundry and, according to the
museum website, draws more
than 35,000 visitors annually
).•
Minnesota
DULUTH LAKEWALK,
NORTH SHORE SCENIC
RAILROAD
The 7.3-mile Duluth Lakewalk
in Duluth, Minnesota, is accom-
panied for 3 miles by the North
Shore Scenic Railroad, which
operates excursions along the
historic Lakefront Line between
Duluth and Two Harbors. The
train station in downtown
Duluth is located within close
proximity of multiple civic
attractions, including Bayfront
Festival Park, the Duluth Enter-
tainment Convention Center
and Great Lakes Aquarium, and
its route along the trail offers
beautiful views of Lake Supe-
rior and the local waterfront.
The Fall Colors Tour, which
operates weekends in Septem-
ber and October (beginning
Sept. 16 this year), treats travel-
ers to the changing colors of
historic Two Harbors, Minneso-
ta. Admission to the depot and
Lake Superior Railroad Museum
is half price with the purchase
of a train ticket. CNN hailed the
train tours as being the “Top 5 of
the Top 10 in America”
).•
Pennsylvania
D&L – LEHIGH GORGE STATE PARK TRAIL,
LEHIGH GORGE SCENIC RAILWAY
Located in the “gateway to the Poconos”—Jim Thorpe,
Pennsylvania—the 25.7-mile Lehigh Gorge State Park
Trail is the ideal spot for a fall foliage train adventure.
The trail itself is built on a former canal route used to
serve the logging and coal industries, but the still-active
Reading and Northern Railroad parallels the trail for 7
miles. The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, in conjunction
with the Reading and Northern, offers train rides that
originate at the restored 1888 train station, where the
town’s visitor center is located. Dubbed the best scenic
railroad in the U.S., it offers vintage coaches built as
early as 1917 and showcases the finest forest, moun-
tain, cliff and river views the area has to offer.
Rides, which span from Port Clinton to downtown
Jim Thorpe, include regularly scheduled June–Decem-
ber trips as well as special event/seasonal excursions.
On eight days in October 2016 (1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23),
the railway offers special two-hour Autumn Leaf
rides. You can enjoy the natural beauty of the area
and experience why the town often makes the lists of
top places to visit and live in the U.S. The first three
weekends also coincide with Jim Thorpe’s popular
Fall Foliage Festival, which features crafts, musicians,
artists and food ).•
T R A I L S I D E
24 RAILS TO TRAILS FALL 2016
FALL FOLIAGE EXCURSION TRAINS