The Ski Train boards at Union Station in downtown Denver and unloads its passengers at Winter Park some two hours later. During those two hours, it passes through a transition of landscape that must be experienced to be believed. Much of the terrain is not accessible except by train, or by a strenuous hike on foot. Twenty-nine tunnels penetrate rocky obstacles, including the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel under the Continental Divide.

Leaving the railyards of Denver, the Ski Train winds through the sprawling suburban area to the north-west until emerging on the sloping knees of the Rockies. The tracks make use of the uneven topography to gain elevation, winding around a mesa at Rocky and into the mouth of Coal Creek Canyon, until they head north across the face of the Front Range. A number of tunnels provide passage through the escarpments and rock slabs, until South Boulder canyon is reached. The tracks then turn west, looping in and out of side canyons and tunneling through rock buttresses, climbing constantly. The canyon floor rises to meet the railroad grade at Pinecliffe, some 34 miles from Denver by rail, and from this point westward the tracks are never far from the creek.

The Moffat Tunnel was built between 1923 and 1927, and is one of the great engineering feats of the early 20th century.  It eliminated the need to cross the Continental Divide at Rollins Pass, which was some 2,000 feet higher and 23 miles longer. Once emerging from the west portal of the tunnel, the Ski Train stops--right at the base of the slopes at Winter Park. Passengers are let off the train, which then proceeds down the valley to be turned at Tabernash and stored until the return trip (usually at Fraser).

For more details, see the Route Maps.