Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad: Is it worth it?

 

 

 

 

Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad

 

If you have ever driven to or from Yosemite National Park on Hwy. 41, then you have probably seen signs for the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. For years, I would see the sign for the historic railroad and Yosemite Steam Train, but I would just blow by it because I just wanted to get to Yosemite Valley and setup camp. Until one day my wife was invited by the tourism board of Yosemite-Madera to explore the area and with that came two tickets to ride the Yosemite steam train. See more of our trip in this post (video version here).

 

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is located in Fish Camp, CA just south of the Yosemite National Park entrance. Originally, the location was the Sugar Pine Company Lumber Co. that used steam powered trains to haul logs from central California on the crookedest railroad ever built. Unfortunately, the Sugar Pine Lumber Company was short lived as it was only in business from 1923-1933 due to financial issues.

 

 

 

 

History of Sugar Pine Mountain Railroad:

Come on, Ride the Train, and Ride it

 

Yeah, the title for this section is a song lyric by the Quad City DJ’s. During the end days of the Sugar Pine Lumber Company, they looked for other ways to make up their financial deficit. They began doing tourist excursions which started in the early 1930’s.

 

The Sugar Pine Lumberyard had train trips that would take you from Fresno, CA to Central Camp. Once tourists arrived at Central Camp, they were treated with an orchestra, dancing, wrestling and boxing matches. I think sounds like a really good time. And although this was the end of logging and milling for Sugar Pine Lumber Company, it became the beginning of something else.

 

 

 

 

Choo Choo: My Experience on the Yosemite Steam Train

 

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t that excited at the thought of riding on a Yosemite logger steam train. All I wanted to do was get to Yosemite Valley, but that changed real quick. Once we arrived to the Historic Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, I was in awe. Sugar Pine Locomotive number #15 was parked in front of the ticket and gift shop and it was loading passengers. The conductor was sounding off the train whistle and steam was bellowing from the stack. I instantly became a fan. It wasn’t our time yet and we had time to kill. We panned for gold and visited the museum to check out the artifacts and history. The staff at Sugar Pine Railroad was informative, kind, and funny and made the experience A1 (no, I’m not getting paid for this).

 

At last, it’s time to ride. We hopped on and a few minutes later the train was on its way. The train moved through the Sierra National Forest showing off a portion of its beauty. The fall colors were kicking off and it was a great sunny day. The conductor was kicking out the history and facts like a mad man and I enjoyed every second. At the halfway point, they had to prime the train for the trek back and during this time you get to walk around the train and ask questions. On our way back, the conductor was blowing steam and the whistle and I was having a great time.

 

 

 

 

End of the Line: Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Reviews

 

The whole train ride was about an hour, but gave me a lifetime memory. Once we returned to the station, we got to walk around and poke our heads into the garage. There were mechanics working on locomotive #10 and were welcoming to guests. I took the opportunity to take a few Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad photos and walked away with an experience I never thought I would enjoy, but I did. If you are ever in the area, I would 100% recommend stopping in at Sugar Pine Railroad Yosemite. You won’t “regert” it, not even once.

 

 

 

 

Yosemite Train Info

 

Where is Sugar Pine Railroad?

Here is the Sugar Pine Railroad Address:

56001 California-41, Fishcamp, CA 93623

 

Sugar Pine Railroad Hours

• Monday-Friday 9am-3pm
• Saturday-Sunday 9am-4pm

 

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Tickets

You can purchase tickets directly on their website.

 

How long is the Sugar Pine Train Ride?

The steam train is a 4 mile journey that takes about 60 minutes roundtrip.

 

Hotels near Sugar Pine Railroad

There are several lodging locations you can stay nearby in Oakhurst, Coarsegold, and Fishcamp. The historic Tenaya Lodge is the closest option at just 5 minutes away.

 

 

 

Are there any roadside attractions that you’ve experienced in the past that you didn’t think would be worth it? But then you gave it a shot and it ended up being a great time? I would really like to hear about it in the comments. Feel free to also share this post to get the word out about places like the Yosemite Mountain Railroad. For more information on the Yosemite Railroad, please visit their site here.

 

Thanks for reading!