Best Winter Scenic Train Rides: Bernina Express, California Zephyr & The Canadian

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There is a specific kind of silence that falls over the world when it snows. It’s a hush that dampens the roar of cities and turns jagged mountain peaks into soft, white sculptures. Most travelers experience this from the stressful vantage point of a delayed flight or a white-knuckled drive on an icy highway. But there is a better way.

When the mercury drops, these routes transform from mere transportation into moving theatres, offering front-row seats to landscapes that look like they’ve been lifted straight from a storybook.

Forget the summer crowds and the heat haze. Here are three scenic train rides that prove the journey really is the destination—especially when the world is frozen.

The Red Arrow of the Alps: Bernina Express (Switzerland to Italy)

If you have ever seen a photo of a bright red train curving dramatically over a stone viaduct against a backdrop of blindingly white snow, you were looking at the Bernina Express.

Running from Chur, Switzerland, to Tirano, Italy, this isn’t just a train ride; it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site in motion. While the route is spectacular in July, it is transcendent in January. The contrast of the train’s cherry-red exterior against the monochrome Alpine winter creates a visual poetry that photographers dream of.

• The Experience: As the train climbs to the Bernina Pass—sitting at over 7,000 feet above sea level—you aren’t just looking at the mountains; you are in them. The panoramic windows curve into the roof, allowing you to gaze up at glaciers and snowfields that sparkle under the winter sun.
• Why Winter Wins: In the summer, the landscape is green and grey. In the winter, the “White Lago” (White Lake) freezes over, and the viaducts look like stone bridges floating in clouds. It is a four-hour masterclass in Swiss engineering and Italian flair.

The American Epic: Amtrak California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco)

For those who think the American West is just dry desert and dust, the California Zephyr in winter offers a stunning rebuttal. This legendary three-day journey between Chicago and San Francisco cuts through the heart of the continent, tackling two of North America’s most formidable mountain ranges: the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada.

• The Experience: There is something profoundly cozy about sitting in the observation car with a hot coffee while the train threads the needle through the Colorado Rockies. You pass through Gore Canyon, a place no car can reach, seeing frozen waterfalls suspended in time and elk foraging in the deep drifts.
• Why Winter Wins: The Sierra Nevada lived up to its name (which means “Snowy Mountain Range” in Spanish) during the winter months. The Zephyr offers a safe, warm passage through terrain that would be treacherous to drive. It turns the hostile, frozen wilderness into a mesmerizing moving painting.

The Great Northern Voyage: VIA Rail – The Canadian (Vancouver to Toronto)

If you want to understand the sheer, terrifying scale of winter, you have to go to Canada. The Canadian is VIA Rail’s flagship long-haul service, a four-day odyssey that connects Vancouver to Toronto.

This is the definition of “slow travel.” As the train leaves the mild coast of Vancouver and hits the Canadian Rockies, the world turns white. You glide past Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, looking majestic in its winter coat.

• The Experience: The silence of the Canadian Shield in winter is palpable even through the glass. You pass endless forests of spruce trees heavy with snow, frozen lakes that stretch to the horizon, and tiny remote communities where smoke curls from chimneys.
• Why Winter Wins: The summer version of this trip features lush greenery, but the winter version feels like an expedition. The train is often less crowded, meaning you can often have the Skyline car (with its glass dome) largely to yourself. It is a meditative, peaceful journey that forces you to disconnect and just be.

The Human Side of the Rails

There is an emotional component to winter train travel that is hard to quantify. It’s the feeling of warmth when you step back onto the train after a brisk stop on a snowy platform. It’s the gentle rhythmic clatter of the wheels that lulls you into a nap. It’s the shared glances with strangers when a particularly beautiful vista opens up—a silent acknowledgment that you are both witnessing something special.

In a world that rushes, these trains ask you to slow down. They remind us that winter isn’t something to be endured, but something to be admired—preferably with a glass of wine in hand and a window seat.