Fall Color by Train Depends on Which Way You're Riding

Everyone plans a fall color trip around the date. On a train, direction matters just as much. Get it backward and the best scenery on the route goes by in the dark.

Roxan and I built our anniversary trip this fall with rail on both ends of a cruise. Going out, we took a roomette on Amtrak's Southwest Chief from Newton to Chicago, then the Cardinal to Philadelphia. From there, Norwegian Cruise Line®'s Norwegian Jewel® carried us north to Québec City. Coming home, VIA Rail took us to Montréal and on to Toronto. Then Amtrak's Maple Leaf took us to Buffalo, the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, and the Southwest Chief home.

The best color was on the shortest ride

The stretch from Québec City to Montréal had the best foliage of the whole trip. The trees run close to the track, and that made the view.

We rode VIA Rail business class. The seats were comfortable, the windows were large, and I'd book it again. I also rode backward, facing where we'd been instead of where we were going. For me, a view is harder to watch going away than coming at me. Something about a receding view my brain doesn't fully grok. That's my preference, and plenty of people don't mind either way. If you don't know yours, ask for a forward-facing seat.

On the Cardinal the best ride is eastbound

Amtrak's Cardinal runs through West Virginia's New River Gorge. That's the stretch people ride this train for.

Eastbound, you go through the gorge in daylight. Westbound, the schedule puts you there in the evening, and by fall that means after dark. Same train, same track, and in one direction you see none of it. We rode eastbound in late September, and the gorge was just starting to turn. Past the gorge, the train comes down into Virginia's wine country and tobacco farms. That stretch was its own treat.

Pay close attention to the direction

This fall the Jewel sailed one-way between Philadelphia and Québec City, in both directions. That made the direction of the cruise a rail decision. We sailed north, and the trains lined up.

The eastbound Cardinal got us to Philadelphia with the gorge in daylight. We stepped off the ship in Québec City, and the best color of the trip was a three-hour train ride away.

Sail south and you reverse all of it. The Cardinal home runs westbound, so the gorge goes by at night, and you've traded the strongest rail day for the weakest. Past Montréal, the way home isn't a color ride, and I'd plan it that way. I've only ridden the Lake Shore Limited westbound. That run is mostly at night, and it isn't a scenic route to begin with. Treat it as the train that gets you to Chicago.

As for timing, if our cruise had run one week later, I think we'd have been close to ideal. Next fall's schedule changes the answer, and repeating this trip won't work the same way. I'll walk through how I'd do it in its own post.

Planning notes

• The Cardinal runs three days a week in each direction, not daily. Match the train days to your sailing day. Ours worked out: a Thursday departure from Chicago put us in Philadelphia Friday night, a day ahead of the ship.

• Amtrak opens reservations about 11 months out, and VIA Rail about 10.

• Arrive in the embarkation city at least a night early, whatever you ride in on. A late train strands you just like a late flight. Color doesn't wait, and the schedule doesn't bend.

• Pick the direction first, then the week.