Denver and the ski towns of the Rockies have always been close on the map but painful in practice. Interstate 70 snarls with traffic on every peak weekend, and the Winter Park Express ski train only runs on select days from roughly December to March. From November 2026, that changes: Colorado Mountain Rail will offer a daily round trip between Denver Union Station and Granby, every day of the year.
Phase one covers 76 miles of existing Union Pacific track, with stops at Winter Park Resort and Fraser-Winter Park before terminating in Granby. Possible future stations at Arvada and Rollinsville are on the table. The standout stretch is the Moffat Tunnel — a 6.2-mile bore under the Continental Divide that was the longest railroad tunnel in the Western Hemisphere when it opened in 1927. Service through it is secured by a new 25-year lease between Colorado and Union Pacific.
After the tunnel, the train passes Winter Park Resort's forested slopes and the small outdoor town of Fraser, then rolls into Granby, where wide valleys open up and the Fraser River meets the Colorado. If all goes to plan, the line could extend northwest to Craig by around 2029, reviving a corridor that hasn't seen passenger trains since 1968. Proposed stations include Steamboat Springs, Hayden, Hot Sulphur Springs, Kremmling, Oak Creek, and the ski town's namesake stop.
For travellers, the appeal is obvious. The train doubles as practical transport and a sightseeing ride — swapping the High Plains for Front Range peaks without touching a steering wheel. Winter Park Resort, just 66 miles from Denver, serves up more than 170 trails plus snow tubing, gondola rides, ski-biking, and ice skating. Come summer, the same area switches to hiking, fishing on the Fraser River, and Trestle Bike Park's 40 miles of lift-served downhill runs, with hundreds more miles of trails across the Fraser Valley.
Granby itself is a handy base too. Rocky Mountain National Park is not far away, though you'll need your own wheels for that final leg. And getting to the departure point is easy: Denver International Airport's RTD A Line runs straight to Union Station, so you can fly in and board the train without renting a car.
The catch right now is the unknowns. Schedules, journey times, and fares haven't been published, and the launch target of late 2026 still needs to hold. But with one guaranteed daily round trip year-round, the service fills a genuine gap — the existing Bustang Outrider bus runs only once a day, and flights to Yampa Valley skip the scenery entirely.
It's one to watch if you've been putting off a car-free Rockies trip. Skiers get a winter option beyond the limited ski train; summer hikers and mountain bikers get a car-free route into prime trail country. Keep an eye out for fares and timetable releases closer to the November 2026 launch, and consider pairing a Granby stay with Rocky Mountain National Park for the full mountain fix.
