I love trains and wanted to check out this one hour train ride near Apex. It's an open car and there was a breeze. The seats are like school bus seats so it's comfy. You can bring drinks and snacks on board. The process is easy. Order tickets online and check in at will call when you arrive. They have a big outdoor train set up at the will call area and this was wonderful. We loved the short ride and makes me want to take another train trip. read more

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New Hope Valley Railway is a relaxing and fun place to visit. The open air seating tickets are reasonable to ride the historic train cars. Parking is free and there is a large lot. It is all run by volunteers who enjoy trains and share their love with the visitors. Be sure to check out the mini railroad and the museum. They have displayed the cars and parts being restored. The train cars board about 15 minutes before departure. The ride is about 20 minutes one direction then the engine is moved from one end to the other for the return trip. It is a nice little getaway to enjoy nature and trains. read more

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We had a great time at New Hope Valley Railway! What's special about this railway is it is 100% volunteer run. Pretty impressive! You can tell that everyone there really does love trains and wants everyone to have a great experience. We went for one of their Thomas the Tank engine garden railway days. I had no idea but garden engines are essentially small like toy engines. They had a fun setup with quite a few Thomas characters driving around. You could watch those trains and explore the open railroad cards they have near the parking lot. Then, they make an announcement and it's time to board their open air train. I will say each railway car does fill up fast so we had to get on and off a few to find seats. The train moves at eight miles an hour, so it certainly is a scenic ride. In the back where you get on the train they have even more railway cars, caboses, a mail car, etc that you can explore as well. Restrooms are also located in the back there. The day we were there they had a hot dog cart selling hot dogs for lunch. A fun way to spend an afternoon if you or your kids love trains! read more

We visited New Hope Valley Railway for Brew 'n Choo and it was so much fun. They hold this event once a month and will bring in a food truck and local brewery. We walked around a bit to visit the gift shop and see a few other trains before grabbing a beer and boarding the train. The ride itself is about an hour and offered nice wooded views. The staff members are all volunteers and the ones that we interacted with were knowledgable. They mentioned that they really deck it out for Halloween so we will have to return to see that. read more

We had such a great time on the Slow Down Sunday train ride! It's so awesome that this entire place is entirely volunteer run! This was our second visit over the years, but our first with our son! He was soooo excited when he saw all the model trains when we first arrived. We purchased tickets online a week prior to our visit. It was super easy to pick up our tickets at will call and they even made it so it was contactless! We had fun walking around checking out all the trains before our train ride. You can go inside some of the trains and they have some historical info inside of them. They also have one part of a train that's set up as a gift shop. We went on an 11 am train ride. At this time masks are required on the train. There were a few individuals that didn't bother following the rules and didn't even seem to have masks with them. This is an open air train, but we opted to visit knowing masks would be required while sitting on a train with others for 50 minutes. Our train car was not too crowded so we felt pretty comfortable. I imagine if you go for one of their themed rides or a holiday it might be a lot more crowded. FYI - masks are currently only required on the train ride. Beware if you want to go inside the trains or in the gift shop, as many people were not wearing masks. They had lots of hand sanitizer stations set up which was nice! The only bummer about our visit was that the sound system on the train was broken so we didn't get a narrated ride. read more

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Definitely a family fun event. We bought tickets online to the Halloween train event. We arrived to find ample parking with lots of employees/volunteers to guide the way. Cool train displays and a small walk to the railway. The wait for our ticket time was filled with music, small activities, photo ops and train cars with different information centers about train history. Before I knew it we heard the train arrive and boarded with plenty of seating options. The 30 minute ride was great for someone that likes G rated halloween. The employees do an excellent job hosting the Halloween fun. We also grabbed burgers and strawberry lemonade from a food truck @cue-burger food truck and it was worth 5 stars! read more

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Had a great first visit for the "Hop into Spring" egg hunt train. We splurged on the private caboose, and we had a blast bringing the grandparents with us. Even with a number of areas closed due to covid, our little still had a lot to check out. The Easter Bunny was super patient (and surprisingly not creepy!) The train ride was a comfortable length, and their "eggs" were adorable. We will absolutely visit again! Bonus -- we stopped by the gift shop, and I felt all their offerings were priced really reasonably to be able to pick up a conductor hat and train whistle for the experience! read more

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It is very loud and the tables are too close together. Our server was not friendly. The food is good but the general atmosphere is not.

Interactive place, especially for kids! I live right down the street, so I visit the trains often without going for a ride. Train rides are a little pricey for how short the ride is; however, the halloween ride is great! The cars themselves are well kept and full of history! Great little gem. read more

Very fun and interest piece of local area history. Great outdoor activity for families, the holiday trains are a lot of fun! Inexpensive, great food trucks sometimes too! Worth the trip! read more

We had a very strange experience here yesterday. Website says it's open for business. The gates were open. But it was an absolute ghost town. Not a person around. The ticket booth and offices were closed yet my son and I were able to walk around the entire establishment. An eerie feeling. When I called the phone number to try to ask for assistance I was put on a long hold with the option of giving my phone number for a callback. I received the call back six hours later! It was a voicemail so I couldn't speak to the person about what I had experienced. I would think they would put updates on their website if they weren't going to be open during posted business hours. Extremely frustrating. read more

Ride on a train . There's nothing like a relaxing train ride through the pine-tree scenic area around Bonsai outside New Hill. The bad news: the train doesn't run that often and it books quite a while in advance. If you're fortunate enough to get a seat for the hour long ride, you'll be treated to some spectacular scenery in the open train and learn some railway history. The New Hope Valley railway is staffed mostly by volunteers who also staff the museum. An added treat for adults or perhaps the kids, is the opportunity to be a train engineer which would make a nice birthday present for anyone interested in trains. In looking at the train schedule, NHVR also offers Halloween themed train rides and Santa train rides which might really be fun. In general, if you're looking for a different way to spend a couple of hours on a weekend, and like trains, you'll probably like this. read more

New Hope Valley Railway - Museums Near Me - New Hill, North Carolina

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We went for the Holiday Santa Train ride and had a pretty good time. For the Holiday ride I would say it is best with a child who is in the Santa window i.e. old/young enough to be excited by him. Tyne is only 20 months old so still has that "WTF?" look when Santa comes near. She seems to get excited by trains when she sees them so we thought she'd be a bit more into the experience. Her picking up rocks off the ground versus wonderment at the giant inflatable Rudolph sums up her interest. The train ride was supposed to start at 3:30. I think it was probably closer to 4 by the time we pulled out of the station. They have some other things to look at while you're waiting to board the train. A few replica cars and a store. We didn't make it into the store, but did wander through a couple of the replica cars. There was also a tent with folks selling concessions. Nothing fancy, just hot cocoa, hot dogs, chips, etc. So the train cars were general admission. Not a big deal except two were open air and two were enclosed with windows. Obviously on a chilly late afternoon in December everyone wanted the enclosed cars. Thankfully we were able to score one. Maybe they should have folks select their car upon ticket purchase. They had a little scavenger hunt list of decorations to look for along the way, the main ones being Santa's escaped reindeer. Seeing some actual deer out running beside the train was one of the bigger highlights of the journey. The train stopped every so often to let Santa change cars. Upon reaching the end of the outgoing leg we had to wait for the engine to switch ends of the train for the return trip. That ate up about 15-20 mins. but it let Tyne run around for a bit. Pretty sure the 1 hour ride was more like 1.5 hours. Our overall experience was probably more 3 stars, but friendly volunteer staff and proximity to home bump it up to 4. We may try it again in a few years when Tyne is a bit older. read more

I love the fact that I can go on a train ride if I feel like it! Firstly, know that the people who run it are all volunteer train enthusiasts and are really great people. A couple of them came up to us and asked us how we were and where we were from. Very kind-hearted, personable people. The train itself is fantastic. We sat in an open car and it was lightly raining so the pine needles smelled amazing! There are food trucks and beer available for purchase at the station (bring cash!) which is great! My only negatives are that the station seems a bit messy, there is a lot of stuff that isn't apart of the charm that is just laying around like old porta potty's, paint buckets, tables etc. that are piled up alongside the stations outer areas. Most importantly I was unhappy to see that the only bathrooms available were porta potty's. We would've stayed a lot longer if there were proper bathrooms available. Especially when drinking beer, a good bathroom is needed! I don't expect a nice fancy restaurant bathroom but a bathroom with a sink, one that you might find at a camping ground, would be nice. While riding, my boyfriend and I talked about how awesome it would be if they served beer and food on the actual train. Maybe a cart with popcorn, candy, hot dogs, maybe even cups of chili. Great thing is that if people drop food on the train you could just hose it all off at the end. I hope that people would be respectful enough to throw away their refuse. Overall it's definitely worth it. I wish more people would go because I want this to be around for a long time! I want to get them more funding so they can build a better station. These people are great and so is the train and I'm really looking forward to their Halloween and Christmas rides! read more

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We had a wonderful birthday party at the party caboose! It's such a lovely place that you can hold your private party successfully. The volunteer and coordinators Tom and Diana, they are such kind and considerate people. They contacted with us soon after we booked the caboose providing all the helpful info and scheduling with us all the way. On the party day, they and other volunteers at the railway gave us such welcoming and coordination since the minute we showed up at parking lot. And they helped us the whole time from transporting supplies to caboose to final cleaning up and getting back to car. They treat the kids in such loving way. Without all their help, we couldn't have such a nice party. The kids and parents all loved the train ride and our caboose party! We'll highly recommend it to anyone we know! read more

New Hope Valley Railway - Party Caboose - Museums Near Me - New Hill, North Carolina

If you have a kid that loves trains this is the place to visit when they have train rides. This place is run entirely by volunteers and they do a great job to keep the trains running. We went for the ice cream event and went on the 11am ride and it was probably 90% full. We bought our tickets online before the event. They have a nice setup for model railroads near the entrance. They then have several trains where you can walk through. The train ride is an open air with a diesel on one end and a steam engine on the other. The steam engine is much louder than the Diesel engine. read more

This is such a cute place to take the kiddies. You can go in and out of the railcars they have on display there. There is also a model train area for the kids to view. Then you board open air cars for a 1 hour round trip train ride. The children seem to really enjoy it and it is nice for adults also. Book in advance because it doesn't ride all of the time, and get there early. Bring a lunch if you would like to sit at one of the tables whle you wait for boarding time. read more

Our train obsessed 2 year old had a wonderful time riding the choo choo. The volunteers were all very nice and full of train related information. The train ride felt a bit quick; 30min out by the diesel and 30min back by the steam engine. But I could listen to that steam engine all day! We enjoyed the open train car as it allowed the breeze to circulate and keep things relatively cool. read more

I decided to have a Mommy and Son outing this past Friday and I booked the 10:30 am Diesel Train ride. It was so nice - The people that work/volunteer there could not be nicer. They even have an area of model trains going around with Thomas the Train included! My son was already asking me when we could go back on the ride home! If you have a little one who is in LOVE with trains or even an older one who likes trains/history of trains - Look them up. You will not be disappointed. read more

What an awesome family outing for less than $30!! The train station is located in Bonsal outside of Apex and during the holiday they run a Santa train on the weekend. For less than $30 our family of four (including one under 2 yrs which is free) got an hour long train ride and a personal visit from Santa while on the train. Compared to recent family outings (Thomas the Tank Engine in Spencer, NC *cough,cough*), this was extremely affordable and well organized. The train ride just goes through the woods between Bonsal and New Hill with random Christmas "sightings" throughout (you'll see a cardboard snowman or candy cane, etc which is exciting for the little ones). We will definitely be back next year unless my toddler is over his train obsession by then! read more

Awesome place. Kids love it, the volunteers are so very kind and helpful. Great place to host an event!

We love New Hope Valley. Short drive...morning or afternoon trip to see and ride the trains.

We came for the Santa train ride. This was our second trip here. It's great for a child (or adult) fascinated with trains. The volunteers are helpful and knowledgeable. The train ride is okay. It's about an hour and goes one way for ~30 mins and them goes back the same way. Scenery is woods. The train cars are open air so dress for the weather. Another note, the entire area can get extremely muddy. Again, if there has been rain, wear appropriate shoes. Bathrooms are porta potties, there is sometimes a food truck but food & drink is limited. Also, the day we went the trains were delayed an hour. If you've reserved tickets it might be best to call early to see if trains are on time. Other than the train ride there may be a hour of looking at other stuff tops. read more

Really cool place for the train enthusiasts. There are several model trains running on tracks you can enjoy outside the ticket booths. Inside the ticketed area there are several different cabooses you can walk through. One has a gift shop inside, another a model post office and a third set up as a standard functional caboose would be. Great history here. My kids loved it and had a fun time. They loved the sounds of the track, brakes, and the WHISTLE. And it really was cool to see all that steam come out. It was a genuine experience that will help you imagine what it was like when this was standard travel. For our visit, we went here specifically for a ride on a steam train with Santa. Santa came around and visited each family while the train was moving. He sat with us and asked what they wanted and gave the kids a small candy cane. Problem if you want a photo since the set up is not exactly staged. Also our particular Santa was not very genuine. I could clearly see his brown facial hair beneath the ill-fitting beard in the few pictures I managed to get. I was hoping for a Christmas card worthy photo opportunity and this just wasn't it. Also I feel that this experience was a tad overpriced. It was about $70 for our family of 4. They have Porta potties and while they are clearly fundraising to build a bathroom it really doesn't help the current situation. You are exposed to the weather and on that particular day it was very cold. Some people only had sweaters on and were clearly unprepared. We were bundled up pretty good but could have used a blanket or two. I bet it gets hot during the summer, too. Make sure that your children will enjoy just sitting there and looking outside the train as its moving. Besides Santa there is not much else to do for an hour so if they aren't really into trains and looking at scenery your should skip it. While I know my kids enjoyed it, I definitely feel like this is a one-time visit kinda place. read more

We went when they were serving ice cream. I think more can be done. The bathrooms are porta pottys. On the train car they could at least serve something or do more. I know is volunteer but I felt they could have done more for the kids, maybe pass out train hats. The train ride was quick. Just felt more could have been done. read more

It's a one time experience. I loved the history of trains and of course the kids liked to see Santa. I would say that after the age of 5, it probably isn't worth taking them. If you love trains, then this place is for you. A very friendly staff! read more

It sounded like fun, bought tickets in advance for a trip. Turned out to be a Cold, rainy day that the kids would not have fun doing. They would not exchange the tickets for another day. That is POOR customer service and because of it, I will not bring my family back, they lost my repeat business. So if you go, do not buy your ticket in advance. VERY DISAPPOINTED! read more

Great attraction for the family. We highly recommend the Halloween train. It's the best one of all their rides.

Awesome. Fun. We will return without a coupon. My kids loved it and it was very educational and relaxing.