I was one of the first to try this new train trip in the US - here's the verdict
The luxury rail journey will change how you see the American Southwest.
A new player is shaking up rail travel in the United States. From April 2026, Canyon Spirit will extend its two-day Rockies to the Red Rocks journey between Moab and Denver into a spectacular three-day itinerary linking Salt Lake City and Denver. Explore was among the first to try it. Here are seven reasons this ride is worth booking now.
1. It's a rail trip without the rattly overnight
Canyon Spirit - and its sister company in Canada, Rocky Mountaineer - are the world's only two leisure-travel multi-day rail journeys where guests don't sleep on the train. They travel from one location to another during the day in ridiculously beautiful train carriages, but spend nights in hotels in the towns and cities they stop at. Perfect for travellers who prefer a stationary bed to a moving bunk.
2. The American Southwest is a natural wonderland
One of the world's most visually arresting regions, the American Southwest is home to astonishing landscapes - craters and canyons, salt flats and deserts, mesas and hoodoos ... carved by wind and water over thousands of millennia. A road trip has traditionally been the only way to explore this expansive stretch of Mother Nature. But Canyon Spirit rail journeys give explorers a new way to take in the Southwest's blistering beauty without the logistics. No need to hire a car, worry about driving on the "wrong" side of the road and have these views compete with Google Maps.
3. Canyon Spirit's windows are massive
Scenery like this calls for big windows, and you can't get them more expansive than the ones on Canyon Spirit's carriages. There are no bad seats on these moving observatories, where enormous glass panels rise along the sides of the carriages and curve up all the way to a skinny ceiling, maximising the views.
4. Food on the train is full of local flavours
Guests are served breakfast and lunch as the train winds its way through one magnificent setting to another, with local produce playing a key role. Nopales, or pickled prickly pear cactus, from Moab appear in tacos, while peaches from the Palisades wine region in Colorado, which we pass through on this trip, star in the strata - an American layered casserole dish.
5. Food off the train is splendid
Free evenings in Moab and Glenwood Springs give guests an opportunity to not only explore these gorgeous locations at their own pace but to discover their food and drink scenes, too. Order bison empanadas with house-made molé and grilled mango salsa at Desert Bistro in Moab, and dig into Colorado buffalo steak at Co Ranch House in Glenwood Springs.
6. Glenwood Springs: the stop you didn't know you needed
Explore the town of Glenwood Springs on foot - the best time to do that is first thing in the morning when the rising sun bathes the nearby mountain ranges in mesmerising shades of orange. Then head to Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, which boasts the world's largest mineral hot springs pool. At 123 metres, it's longer than an American football field. Enough said.
7. It's possible to do the Arches in a few hours
The impossibly surreal Arches National Park is located just 15 minutes' drive from Moab. Sign up for a custom excursion with Moab Express Scenic Driving Tours, ideally first thing in the morning or around sunset when the red arches, hoodoos, boulders, cliffs and spires are at their fieriest.
SNAPSHOT
Getting there: Delta and United airlines offer flights from Sydney to both Salt Lake City and Denver via LA. United offers flights from Melbourne to both US cities via San Francisco.
Getting onboard: Canyon Spirit offers the three-day journey between Salt Lake City and Denver in both directions. From $US2123 ($3257) per person.
Explore more: thecanyonspirit.com
Akash is the Deputy Travel Editor for Australian Community Media. He has lived and worked in four cities around the world – Sydney, London, New Delhi and New York – and, at last count, travelled to 42 countries.
My all-time favourite destination is ... New York. You can drop a pin anywhere in Manhattan and start walking in any direction, and the sights and sounds of the city that never stops will begin to stimulate all your senses in an instant.
Next on my bucket list is … Scandinavia - at the peak of summer, when the sun almost never sets.
My top travel tip is … If you’re flying to Sydney from anywhere in the world, pick a window seat far from the wing on the left-hand-side of the aeroplane. If the weather gods and flight path align, you’ll have the most incredible views of the Sydney Harbour and Opera House.
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