This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I will receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you click on one such link and subsequently make a purchase.
If you like railroads and have always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon, you’re in luck. Departing from Williams, AZ, you can ride the Grand Canyon Railway and experience history on a whole different level!
First, the hotel
The attractive, 298-room Grand Canyon Railway Hotel has recently been refurbished. Choose from standard to deluxe accommodations as well as accessible rooms with roll-in showers. Located just a block from downtown Williams, AZ, and Route 66, the hotel offers a great starting point for your Grand Canyon journey since it’s adjacent to the train depot. Just across from the hotel, the Fred Harvey Restaurant provides buffet-style breakfast and dinner featuring dishes families have loved over the years. Inside the hotel, patrons of Spenser’s Pub can enjoy adult beverages with pub-style food.
Next, the train
Like the hotel, the Grand Canyon Railway has been serving guests since 1901. Today, you have the option of choosing how you wish to travel to and from Grand Canyon National Park. There are six classes of service from Coach and Pullman to Luxury Parlor and Observation Dome cars. Yes, all railcars have been carefully restored including those dome cars you may remember from once upon a time. During the eight-hour journey, snacks and beverages are available while you enjoy the changing view from desert to prairie to pine forest. And you and your family can expect entertainment provided by musicians and cowboy characters. Guard your valuables—and snacks—there’s likely to be a holdup!
Then the spectacular destination
If you’ve never been to Grand Canyon National Park, prepare to be awed. The Grand Canyon is a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide. It also embraces 278 miles of the Colorado River. The train brings you to the famous Southern Rim, where you are treated to a stunning panorama: colorfully layered bands of rock millions of years in the making. Eleven Native American tribes including the Hopi and the Navajo Nation have historic connections to the Grand Canyon, which shares its boundaries with three different tribes.
Getting to Williams, AZ
The Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is 37 miles from Williams. Or, if you’re traveling by car, you will follow I-40 . If driving, you can also take a short detour onto Route 66 if you’re interested in a little highway history before returning to the freeway and your next stop, the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel at Williams, AZ.
Enjoy your visit as you travel into history!