Winter / Spring 2008

Skunk Train

Following the Coastal Redwood Route as it has Since 1885

There are but few times when you can embark on a journey and be transported back in time, well a trip on the historic Skunk Train in Mendocino County is just that journey! With the call of “All Aboard” your journey back in time has begun, welcome to 1885 when the Skunk Train was founded.

Departing from Fort Bragg on the picturesque Mendocino Coast your train will travel for a half-day, three hour journey to the midpoint of the line Northspur Station. This 42 mile roundtrip takes you along Pudding Creek, a wildlife estuary which once served as a log storage area in the lumbering days. Your train will travel through a mountain tunnel and now you will be traversing the rugged Noyo River Canyon as you zigzag over the Noyo River, traveling through the redwoods.

During the summer months a half-day trip departs in addition to the morning departure and offers passengers a Barbeque dinner at Northspur. This feast in the forest is a simple dinner set amongst the redwood grove of Northspur Station.

In the summer half-day service will return to Willits where passenger can ride the historic railcars to Northspur.

For the Eco-Traveler a journey on the Skunk Train is after all riding the Skunk in its natural habitat – this is a great way to see the Redwoods while leaving no foot prints.

The Skunk Train has two sister operations the historic Sierra Railroad in Oakdale and the Sacramento RiverTrain. The Sierra Railroad in Oakdale is home to the Sierra Railroad Dinner Train, a first-class dining journey that is regarded as one of the finest dinner trains in the West and offers a variety of trips, including sunset dinners, murder mysteries, Sunday brunch, Wild West shows, Christmas trains, Rail & Raft trips, wildflower trips and more. The Sacramento RiverTrain is the newest dinner train in North America, running east from Woodland towards West Sacramento along the Sacramento River and through rich agricultural land and the Yolo Wildlife Refuge. A highlight of the 28-mile excursion is crossing an 8,000-foot wooden trestle, the longest in the West.

For information on the Skunk Train visit www.SkunkTrain.com or call 800.866.1690. Access to the Skunk Train’s sister railroads can also be obtained by visiting www.SkunkTrain.com.