It was a great family experience. Everybody is very kind, and inform you about everything, a good learning experience.

Last Christmas we received a group gift from one of our daughters. It was a family excursion on the Sugar Pine Moonlight Special for June 2026. We were pretty excited, and I'm afraid our expectations were high. And this trip blew our expectations out of the water! It was an evening none of us are likely to forget anytime soon. We had a ball! We arrived, checked in and had a drink at the outdoor bar. There was a pretty good crowd, but it managed to be not crowded. In a short while, they began to call tables to come get dinner. There were 6 of us, so we had 3 steak, 2 chicken and a vegetarian dinner. The steak was large, and perfectly grilled. The chicken was a huge off the bone barbecued breast, and the vegetarian was a well prepared veggie burger. Dinner came with all the fixings, and was more than enough to satisfy, and delicious! Meals especially for kids are available as well! During dinner a band called Sugarfoot played well known tunes, and they were incredible. We are a very musically inclined family, and delighted in hearing (and singing along with) the great music these folks did at dinner! After another drink the crowd boarded the Number 10 train, and we were off through the forest. What a gorgeous ride, with guided commentary throughout. We arrived at the Lewis Canyon "camp site" after a beautiful and relaxing rail trip. There was a big campfire burning, and Sugarfoot was on hand to do a fun sing along of folk songs, with plenty of laughs. Well after dark, we got back on the train for a peaceful, eerily beautiful night ride back to the station. This trip was with every penny, and then some! If you're from the area and have never been, GO! If you're visiting the Yosemite Area, definitely put this on your schedule. You'll be delighted that you did! We'd go again, and we highly recommend that you do, too! If you go in summer, bring a light jacket. The high altitude gets a little chilly after dark. The Sugar Pine Railroad has several excursions both during the day, and evening trips. Check out their website for choices! read more

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We really enjoyed the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad train ride in Fish Camp, CA. Be sure to purchase your tickets in advance. The admission cost is $32 for adults and $19 for children ages (3-12). You'll enjoy a 45 minute scenic journey through the woods along the historic tracks once used by lumberjacks. You'll learn about the areas rich history by conductor Darrell who was great!! Give yourselves enough time to use restrooms or to purchase lunchbox for the ride. We ended up having lunch after the train ride in snack bar and ordered two chili dogs, a pretzel and IPA Lagunitas beer. The food was surprisingly good. We sat in their outdoor picnic tables. Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, has a gift shop, snack bar and Gold Panning for kids to enjoy. Seating is first come, first serve. Check it out! Happy Yelping :) read more

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Really cool train ride! It was very peaceful going through the woods in this train, and the conductor was extremely knowledgeable. It doesn't go super far, as the train moves fairly slowly, but it's a very immersive experience. If there's one thing I would have changed, it's that the conductor was very talkative; while it was great to have the information, it would have been nice to have a better balance of enjoying the calming ambiance and knowledge sharing. read more

We loved relaxing in nature. Our conductor was great. We learned a lot about trees, the railroad and locomotive 15. I love that dogs are allowed! Definitely recommend read more

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We went to find some snow and we found it. Right before we have to enter Yosemite. There was a great spot where it was a picnic area. The sow was high and some spots our feet just sink deep in the snow. But there was some great areas to pay and have some fun. We just came out not being prepared. We needed some sleds to slide down. But we still had some great pictures of the snow and us on it. Some snow man was already made and we pretended we had built it and took pictures with it. Haha! Thank to whoever made it. Hi outside and have fun. For us that we live so close to this wonders we need to enjoyed it. Highly recommend. People come from all over the world to visit this wonders and I know many Fresno people had never visited Yosemite or Sequoias. read more

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Let's be honest here, this is not a thrill ride or meant to show you an immense area of the sierra national Forest. It is a tiny select loop for children and those who enjoys trains. The ride is very slow, and you don't see a lot of the vast forest, but you get some history and information along the way. The staff are super friendly and willing to answer any questions. We thoroughly enjoyed gold mining- with a real prospector. This was a detour for us when other plans had to cancel, but it was worth the time. read more

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What a blast this place is! The train ride was so exciting for myself and my 4 year old. Everything from reserving seats, parking the RV, narration throughout the ride was excellent! We did some gold panning and checked out the museum onsite as well. Highly recommend! read more

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This was such a great experience for my husband and I; and if we had children, this is the spot for children! They had a cute kids depot which offered a variety of awesome toys - Knick knacks - to buy. There was also a gift shop that offered products at a lower price than other places (Tenaya). There's an area to do some gold mining haha such a cool spot - definitely worth the visit! Tip: arrive early so you get a good seat. If you arrive late, you may be separated from your group and will seat in the open spots available. read more

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As locals I would recommend to people if you are already headed to Yosemite, Bass Lake, Shaver Lake or any spot up there I would suggest stopping by. It was a beautiful day and great weather. The staff was great and patient with the crowd and very informative. The entire train was full. One thing I would recommend to the company is to invest in a new sound system on the train because even though I sat right under the speaker in car 218 I couldn't hear anything Shawn was talking about. That was disappointing because hearing the history is the icing on the cake. And as it is an old train I would recommend taking a cushion to sit on. The shops are separate one for kids full of toys and the other full of cute trinkets and souvenirs. We bought a few things from the toy shop that my little one hasn't put down yet!! We didn't stop at the museum nor did we eat at the snack shop. read more

Have a lovely time riding the train with our two grandsons. We live in Fresno and have never been there. Can't believe it's been in existence since the 1960s. We had a lovely short train ride and the upgraded caboose. They served as a drink and a snack of our choice. Adam was very informative and taught us some new information. It would even be fun for a date night. read more

Visited on 5/17/2026@2:30.. We had an amazing conductor! All the staff were so kind and helpful. Especially the young man in the gift shop(sorry I forgot to get your name). He went above and beyond to help me find the size I needed... The train ride, fantastic! The conductor was funny and shared so many great facts and history of the train and logging industry . The view, breath taking.. We are looking into booking for the Halloween and Christmas ride.. Thank you everyone for making it an amazing time.. read more

It was a fun break from crowds and walking. We had a great time and a nice lunch. The panning for gold was fun for the kids. read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

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We took the 11am train departure time today 6/5/26 and it was a really great experience. Lots of families with kids. Some old folks (that is us-we are the old folks) a few families with their dogs. Some train enthusiasts- it is so much fun to watch train enthusiasts in their natural habitat We splashed out on the coupla in the caboose, reasoning that we won't be back in the area any time soon. Fair warning-just because this is the most expensive seat on the train does not mean it is the best. As far as I could tell every car had its perks. The Coupla is for people agile enough to climb up deeply set stairs that are vertical. You climb the wall to get to your seats and there are only 4 to be had. The windows slide open so you won't suffer too much but it does get warm. The caboose has padded seats as well. The covered open air cars give some shade and the open air cars give you a full view of the experience. Depends on the weather and how much you want to see on the tour. Shawn-Sean-Shaun-Shon (sorry I did not get the exact spelling)...was great. Personable, accommodating, courteous,a fount of knowledge about the history of logging in the area, and absolutely ready for cooler temperatures to return. If you are ready to get off your feet for a bit and let the steam engine do the work this is an excellent place to visit. Beautifully landscaped and maintained. Small gift shop that gets REALLY crowded after the people disembark and a nice little museum with lots of stuff to look at. Heads up-you can't buy the books in the museum though-you gotta go on E-Bay and get your own read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Steam engine hooked directly to the caboose - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

My nephew loves trains and his parents bought him tickets to ride his first real train here at the sugar pine railroad. He was blown away by the train and getting to hear the train whistle while it drove. I personally enjoyed the train ride too with all of the facts that are delivered over the speakers during the train ride, it was really fascinating to hear and experience how people used to travel back in the day. Our train ride was sold out and we had bought tickets a couple weeks before on our way to Yosemite. It was a great experience to get to stop during the train ride and walk around a little bit in the forest as well as take photos by the train! This was a fun experience for both adults and kids! read more

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Holy cow what a fun, fun fun experience! We reserved the Caboose and the Coppola so that, for me personally, my anxiety level with strangers and my son on a train was absolutely zero. My boy gets extra, super excited about being on trains and will yell at the top of his lungs and that's not exactly what other folks are paying good money to experience when they buy tickets. So I went the extra mile to try and make sure everybody who was there when we were there had as good of a time as possible. We had our own conductor, whose name was Ron, and we were able to learn a lot about the train, the history of the railroad and the land, its use and purpose during the railroad operation. And how the natives used certain plants and certain curses! There's a wind that screams through the Sierra Nevada's and will topple over huge, old trees, even uprooting them. This is a dangerous time to be in the forest. The story is that an Indian Chief placed a curse on any white man that came into the area. It seems to still be working! The ride will take you to a clearing where we stopped for about 20 minutes. Everyone can disembark stretch their legs and take another good up close look at the train. Talk to the engineer (Sean) and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. There are restrooms and wash stations if needed and picnic benches and tables. But again this is just a 20 minute stop so be quick. The return ride is back the way you came, but you know it's kind of like the backside of water. You're gonna be looking on the other side of the track and see new things. It really does feel so short once you've disembarked. My hubs was saying that he could do that for three hours and enjoy every minute of it. He was able to ride up in the Coppola and get some really great pictures. The caboose is a very comfortable ride And with our conductor, Ken, we had a very enjoyable visit and experience. At the train station there's a ticket counter, but also there are snacks, drinks and nibbles. Plenty of mementos to choose from and find that perfect souvenir. I highly recommend the Sugarpine railroad. This is something that, whether or not you're going to Yosemite, should be part of your experience when coming to the area. I'd really like to thank the engineer Sean, our conductor Ken and the very sweet young lady who checked us in and everyone behind the ticket counter. Thank you for being so welcoming and we totally enjoyed ourselves. The hubs and I are thinking about when we can come again! If I got anybody's names wrong, I apologize. But you're in our memories as the people we met and that's what's important. I showed my brother, the picture of all of us standing between the engine and the caboose with the engineer and he laughed. He said my son finally met his long, lost, brother! read more

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We had an amazing time at Sugar Pine Railroad over the Thanksgiving Break while visiting Yosemite. It's such a great way to do an activity near the park and it's close to Mariposa Grove so we paired it with a day trip there. The staff are so warm and friendly and the experience was easy to book online. We sat in the open air log cars and because food is allowed on the trains, the kids got to have snacks during the ride. It took about an hour total for the ride, stop for photos and exploring, and the ride back. Perfect timing for little kids. Our guide Darryl was fantastic and I learned a lot about the history of the railroad and the settlement around it. They have a cute gift shop and food on site so we got lunch after our tour. Simple, kid-friendly food like hot dogs, nachos, and chili that we ate on the picnic tables adjacent to the railroad. Coolest little thing they do is give you free postcards when you sign in and they have a letter box for them right next to the gift shop. They handle the postage and mail the postcards for you! My son was so excited to send his classmate a postcard! Would highly recommend adding this to your Yosemite itinerary. After spending time in the Valley and hiking, it was nice to do something different while we visited the Park. read more

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The train ride guarantees you a seat but not guaranteed you'll be seated together with your party. The seats are whoever runs in first to sit gets the the seats and we didn't know this thinking we'll checked in with our tickets and bands that they provided. We came in with a party of 8 and there were no seating and we were split into 4 different carts (We booked online in advanced). Yes, we were on time, 30 minutes prior to start time, apparently just didn't know you are supposed to fight people for seating that we had purchased together... The ride was boring no good view, and the dad jokes weren't good or delivered well either.. I had to sit alone with strangers where my family and rest of the party were in different carts.. The main guy dictating the tour said the only way to get us seating together is if we wait 3 hours (not the next train ride at 12, not the one at 1, but the one at 2:30pm), I asked if we waited will we be guaranteed seating together and he didn't even promise that.... That's the services you can expect to have with this experience and place and so that's why we went on as is as we already drove 2+ hours to get to this place and wouldn't be guaranteed seating together. The ride is just view of dead burnt trees from before, then some live trees, then rest stop in a camp area for 15 minutes, then just ride back to camp. This is just a tour of an old logging so don't expect anything beautiful or breath taking. The only thing good about this place was the gold panning experience for the kids as the old man who ran the place did really well with his story telling and panning experience. read more

Well ran, friendly but definitely concerned about safety. Nice view of the woods from an old narrow gauge railroad (36" tracks). Quite a history session of the logging the area. Their $16 lunch was nice, fresh sandwich, lots of meat. We had both a Turkey and a Salami. A definite once in a visit to Yosemite thing to do. read more

If you have not ridden this great steam engine you need to go. The weather is beautiful to ride on the train. It goes nice and slow so you can see the beautiful scenery and enjoy the mountain air. Your children are going to love it. It's all decorated up so cute for Halloween The is a great activity for your entire family. You can even take your dog with you. Show your family how people used to ride the train. Enjoy! read more

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We wanted a family friendly activity to do in the Yosemite area and happened to pick up a brochure for the Sugar Pine Railroad at one of our gas station stops up to Oakhurst. We were able to find availability at 9:30 am the next day for a train ride (booked our tickets just a couple of hours before). 10% off promotion for military, students, or AAA members. Would recommend you arrive up to 30 minutes in advance to get checked-in. You pull up your mobile confirmation and they give you wristbands for everyone in your party. About 15 minutes before the train leaves, the conductor will allow everyone to get on and pick a seat. I would recommend sitting in one of the cars instead of on the open logs to give you some shade as you'll be exposed throughout a good portion of the ride. The train leaves promptly at the scheduled time, regardless of whether or not all the reservations are checked in. No bathrooms on the train itself so make sure you go before you get on. They also have a museum, a regular gift shop, and a kids toy shop available to peruse as you're waiting for the ride to start. The train will make a stop about half way in in a forest grove area where you can get out, stretch your legs, explore the forest, and use some porta potties. The conductor was charismatic and gave some interesting facts and historical context throughout the ride. Overall, this was a very enjoyable and relaxing ride. read more

A One of a kind experience! In the train of Far West amid the forest of the Sugar pine trees! The Steward Sean was very interesting and added to this picturesque experience! read more

Very friendly, helpful staff - amazingly clean, and the sandwiches were wonderful - would recommend this experience to everyone!!!

This place was pretty awesome. I brought my 3 kids (10, 8, & 6 years old) & my father in law here back on June 5th, 2025. We barely made our train (there was traffic between Coursegold & The Sugar Pine Railroad, so plan to get there early & just look around.) My kids thought the short train ride was fun but stinky. They enjoyed the short break at the bottom of the hill where they explored for bugs. The highlight of the trip was the added on gold panning experience with Michael. He was so great with our kids & they loved panning for real gold specks that they got to keep. I would totally do this again when I have family in town visiting. read more

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Fun family adventure not that far from Fresno. Right off the 41. Educational and historical too read more

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Such a fun and memorable experience for visitors of all ages. Website and previous reviews mentioned railroad possibly closing at the end of October so we were unsure if it would be open or not. Drove up to see and luckily they are open for a few more weeks pending weather- their hope is to last until first week of December. Apart from online tickets they also sell in person at their gift shop. Other fun stops while you wait to board your train ride include the kids depot, museum, gold mining and the snack shop- there is something for everyone here. Railroad takes you on a slow ride through history with live narration, a pit stop in the woods for photos ops and sight seeing before returning you back after your hour ride. It is fairly cold up there so don't forget to bundle up and be sure to check out before their season ends!! Dogs welcomed too! read more

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This is a must visit if you are going to Yosemite and have kids. We stopped here to check out the train. We were greeted by employees who were directing traffic. They were very pleasant, professional and guided us to the correct parking area. Once we parked we visited the gift shops and looked at the train. But the real fun was when we all panned for gold. The guys that ran the gold mining seemed to really enjoy the kiddos. The were very nice and kind to all the kids, even some that were annoying (not mine). They were very engaging and made the experience very fun. They also have very clean restrooms and a nice area to relax if you need a break. read more

We had friends visiting and wanted to show them around even though Yosemite was fully booked or whatever. My wife has had the YMSP Railroad on her to do list for quite a while. It's a lovely train ride through the Yosemite forest with a fair bit of fun trivia and pleasant scenery. I went in completely blind and I'm gonna be honest, I was just kinda bored. The train itself was rad. The conductor had lots of great jokes and was very personable. All the staff was friendly and helpful. I enjoyed the mid ride break more than anything lol. But my wife and our friends really loved it. There's a lot of cool things to see and experience here. You can tell they've put a lot of work and energy into it. My boredom is not a fault of the railroad, but really I just... didn't feel that impressed by the novelty of the train and enjoyed learning to recognize the types of trees in the area more than anything else lol. I feel like I keep ragging on them. It's not a bad time. It's just... a warning lol. It seemed like kids and families loved their time here. However, I would never invite my group of friends here expecting a very good time. I'm sure you get what I mean. Don't let me talk you out of it. The whole thing is pretty cool and it wasn't a bad time. I could talk this circle forever... you get it. read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

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The area is beautiful and the train staff are absolutely amazing. Many really great events offered throughout the season we are looking forward to attending some. read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Gift shop really cute items - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

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It was a cold rainy day but it was still a wonderful experience! My 3 year old Grandson loves trains and he really enjoyed it! Our host on the train was wonderful too! Very friendly! Highly recommended read more

It was a nice change after a couple days of hiking for the kids. To sit and relax with the beautiful surrounding. Adam our tour guide provided some neat facts about the local habitat. He did mentioned that it was his 4th time narrating the ride, so maybe he was still a bit nervous. His tone was monotonous, with a sprinkle of humor here and there. Overall a positive experience. Not sure we would ride again though. We would rather hike through the trails and relax near the many breathtaking waterfalls. read more

We took the Holiday Lights Train ride and it was wonderful! I wish we would've checked it out sooner. There's gift shops, activities, and food. So fun. Only thing is the price is a bit much for just a train ride (but I get it, we've all got bills to pay). Anyway, definitely worth experiencing at least once! read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Holiday Train ride - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

Visited the area and was pleasantly surprised when we took a ride for the nighttime holiday lights ride. After checking in we received a complimentary cup of hot chocolate and took time to visit the gift shop. We had a pleasant 1hr ride where we were able to relax and enjoy the ride and some of the sights. Our trip was after dark so illumination was limited and allowed for a nice view of the night sky. Next visit we will take a ride during the day to take in all of the sights. read more

It was a fantastic experience. Sean was also an incredible story teller in the caboose and we learned a lot. The landscape is breathtaking. The whole team make you feel very very welcome! We will be back with more family! read more

This place was absolutely magical from the sweet staff being so welcoming to our fur babies to the thrill of watching the steam train ride go through Yosemite! We had this experience recommended to us and it was definitely worth it and even more so because my partner and I got engaged!! This place will be even more special to us!! read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

Booked the Moonlight Special. Here's how it went ... Arrived early, checked in and were given wrist bands and a table number. Picked a table, left our stuff and number on the table and then went on to explore the surrounding area. Refreshments (water, coffee, and lemonade) were available for free and we could help ourselves. Alcoholic drinks and sodas were available but extra. When it was time to eat they called up table numbers to come and get your food. There was a choice of steak, chicken, hot dog or vegetarian (veggie burger). For all of you vegetarians out there, they cooked the garlic bread and veggie burgers before any of the meats on the grill and set them aside. So this place is definitely vegetarian friendly. Everyone is given a plate with their protein of choice, along with garlic bread, beans and coleslaw. You then went back to your table and sat down to eat. Later you are served bread pudding for dessert. Just a note on the food. The people manning the grill did a fantastic job! The meat was cooked perfectly. I got the chicken (boneless skinless chicken breast) and although it can sometimes be dry. This was not. It was so juicy and tender. I couldn't believe it. These people know what they're doing. And the steak looked equally good. And the portions were a good size as well. The food here did not disappoint. Everyone in our group enjoyed their meal. Throughout the meal, the Sugar Pine Band entertained everyone. After the meal everyone got onto the logger steam train to head down to Lewis Creek Canyon. During the ride the conductor gave out historical information as well as some facts on the surrounding wildlife. After about a 30 min ride, we stepped off the train to an area that had a stage, fire pit, and seating for everyone. The Sugar Pine Band continued entertaining everyone with their music, jokes and overall cheery disposition. They encouraged audience participation and it was an amusing evening. At the end everyone headed to the train to ride it one more time back to the station. I really recommend coming here. Everyone had so much fun and it was not only entertaining but informative. The people working here had smiles on their faces the whole time and had the best attitudes. A great night was had by all. read more

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Ben you were such a amazing conductor ! Thank you so much for all the information such a great memory for me and my husband

We road their Holiday Magic train. While it was a nice experience, I was expecting more from the holiday experience. The train looked very nicely decorated. However, with the added cost of the afternoon and holiday special - we were expecting there to also be lights and more decorations along the way beyond the 1 decorated stop on the 1 hr train ride. Again, nice experience but we were expecting more pizzazz for the price and experience. read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Train ride - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

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An informative train ride through the Sierra Mountains. We choose the Logger Steam Train Excursion. It's a one-hour tour narrated by the conductors. You learn about the history of the Sierra Mountains. There is a small shop with souvenirs and other goodies. It's a good experience for kids and adults. I am glad I was able to experience it. I recommend you purchase your tickets online for a discount. If you buy in person, you may not find tickets available since it's a popular place. read more

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad - Tours Near Me - Fish Camp, California

We had such a fun time! The ride up to the mountains was pretty easy and short. We went early in the morning and we didn't get stuck in traffic. We arrive about 30 minutes before our train departure. There was plenty of parking for us. Also, plenty of time to check out the shop before and after the ride. So glad we bought our tickets online and in advance. The train ride times were all sold out in person. There were a lot of people that had to get turned away because they thought they would be able to buy tickets right before the train ride. The ride was about an hour long, which was enough time to enjoy the scenery and the jokes made by the conductor. Staff were really nice and offered to take our picture in front of the train before our departure time and also took a few more pictures when we took a break. Another staff member was helping guests get off and on the train when we took a break about half way through the ride. You are allowed to bring snacks and drinks. Make sure you bring a jacket/blanket/snuggle buddy. It does get cold. Definitely something we want to do every year as a tradition! read more