Spokane, WA

Fall is my favorite time of year, so when I heard that the North Pond Oreille Valley Lions Club offered a Fall Foliage train tour in September and October, I informed my family that we were going to go. I had never been on a train and I love looking at the different colored leaves of fall so I figured it would be really fun. The fall train tours take place on Saturdays and Sunday for 3 weekends in a row. The only weekend we had available was the first weekend, so we planned the trip for that weekend. There are 3 tours per weekend-day: 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm. We originally planned on the 1:00pm ride, but by the time I tried to make reservations (less than a week before) that ride was sold out, so we opted for the 11:00am one instead.

We reserved 6 tickets online and were informed that we should arrive at least 30 minutes early. The train actually departs from Ione, which is 1 ½ hours from the Y on Division in North Spokane, so it is quite a lengthy drive. So we headed out pretty early on that Saturday morning, stopped at Starbucks for a latte to get us started and headed up north. The drive up to Ione was very beautiful. We could see many trees that were starting to change colors as well as peeks of the Pend Oreille River along the way. Once we got to the train depot, we grabbed our stuff, picked up our tickets and boarded the train. Riders have a choice of indoor seats, or open car seats. We chose the open car seats. We also brought a blanket so we’d be prepared for the cold and we’re glad we did because the train ride got a bit chilly at times.

The train departed on time at 11:00am and started into the forest. It was very beautiful with views of the trees we were passing, as well as rock walls and view of the river. During the ride, the train passes through two tunnels, one of which is pretty long and it becomes pitch black when going through it. The other one looks as if it was carved right out of a large rocky hillside. There is a section of track that is actually part of a bridge spanning the river. The train tour stops on this bridge in order to give the passengers plenty of opportunity to take some pictures of the magnificent view.

The train travels round trip to Metaline Falls, which is about 8 miles north. The train takes about 45 minutes to reach it’s destination and while you don’t get a chance to get off the train before it turns around and heads back, you get quite a surprise! The train gets “robbed”! The local drama club dresses up as bandits and comes and “robs” the train. They actually collect donations for their theatre (all of which are tax deductible). It’s cute to see kids as young as 5 dressed up and coming on board. Once the train is robbed, the train heads back the way it came.

The entire train ride was an hour and a half long. There wasn’t a chance to get off for the entire ride, but there was a small bathroom on board our car (and I’m assuming on each of the other cars). Tickets sell out fast, but you may still be able to get tickets for one of the fall tours during the next two weekends. Tickets are $12.00 per adult and $7 for kids and seniors. You can reserve tickets, view the train schedule and get directions to the station online at http://www.povn.com/npovlions/schedule.htm. This was an unforgettable day trip that was a lot of fun. The kids on the train seemed to love it (make sure you bundle them up) and it was also make a great date as the drive up there leaves lots of talking time. Hope you can catch a ride on this wonderful train!