How to Ride the Oregon Coast Train
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This ain’t no commuter train. Railroads on the Oregon Coast began as a practical way of moving lumber and people through a mostly roadless area. Today, sightseeing tours on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad are for beauty alone. Less than two hours from my home in Portland, I’m no stranger to the drive between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. Seeing Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean from an open-air train car made it feel like my first time visiting. Here’s how to ride the Oregon Coast train.
Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
Tickets and boarding
Go to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad website to reserve tickets.
Choose your ride. The most popular is the Oregon Coast Excursion, a 90-minute ride between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. The trip includes a 30-minute layover, which you can extend by selecting a later return time.
Choose your departure location. If you’re taking the Oregon Coast Excursion, you can leave from either Garibaldi or Rockaway Beach. I’d lean slightly toward departing from Garibaldi. The Rockaway Beach train station's easy beach access makes it a better place to lay over. If you’ll be using the wheelchair lift, depart from Garibaldi. It’s the only ADA-accessible station for now.
Choose your car. The train has four cars: enclosed with seats around tables, enclosed with bench seats, open with a roof, and open with no roof. You reserve tickets for a car. Within the car, you can sit anywhere. The cars are the same price. I thought the open cars were more fun, but it wasn’t raining when I rode.
Show up at the station a little early to board. I arrived five minutes before departure, which was cutting it close. I’d suggest getting there 10-15 minutes early. If you’re using the wheelchair lift, arrive at least 30 minutes early.
Pick up your paper ticket when you get on the train. Once the ride starts, a staff member comes around and punches the tickets.
Covered open car
Ride options
The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad offers different flavors of the train ride depending on the season. From late spring to early fall, a good introduction is the 90-minute Oregon Coast Excursion between Rockaway Beach and Garibaldi. It’s the most flexible, running multiple times daily from late May through late September. You ride 30 minutes, have a 30-minute (or longer) layover, and then ride 30 minutes back.
Depending on when you visit, you might see other options available:
The Spring Splendor Excursions (April & May) and Fall Splendor Excursions (Oct & Nov) explore the line north of Rockaway Beach. The rides are 2.25 hours and include a 45-minute layover in Wheeler, a small town on the Nehalem River.
Wheeler Limited Excursions are a summer version of the train ride to Wheeler. You can leave from Garibaldi (4 hours) or Rockaway Beach (2.5 hours). It includes a 1-hour layover in Wheeler.
The Moonlight Excursion is a 3-hour, 21+ train ride from Garibaldi to Wheeler, with live music on board. It leaves around sunset and returns after dark. You can buy a ticket for the ride only, or add on food and alcohol.
The Candy Cane Express is a holiday-themed train ride that runs on weekends in December. The 1-hour trip between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach includes holiday decorations, hot cocoa, cookies, and a visit from Santa.
The Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular is a ride from Garibaldi to the Rockaway Beach fireworks show. You see the show from the train or the beach during the layover, then ride back when it’s done.
Other special events and holiday rides, like over Spring Break and Easter.
Rockaway Beach train station
Know before you go
Dogs: The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad allows pets in the open train cars. Only service animals can be in the enclosed cars.
Restrooms: The train does not have restrooms. They’re available near the Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach stations.
Food: The train sells refreshments. Alcohol is only available on specific 21+ rides.
Accessibility: The Garibaldi station has a wheelchair lift for boarding. The Rockaway station does not. Without the lift, you’ll need to walk up several stairs to board. The stairs have a railing.
Season: The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad runs for most of the year. Trains run multiple times a day during the summer. From fall through spring, they run on most weekends and special events like spring break.
Cost: Ticket prices vary based on the ride and the age of the rider. Adult tickets for most trips, including the Oregon Coast Excursion, are around $36. Special events, like the Moonlight Excursion or Candy Cane Express, cost more.
Boarding at Garibaldi
Oregon Coast Excursion
No matter which train ride you take, I’d expect the core experience to be similar. You board a vintage train, ride past stunning scenery, have a relaxed layover, and then ride back. The boarding process is a breeze. You line up, enter the train, pick up paper tickets, and choose a seat in your car. If seats are available, I’d recommend sitting on the side facing the ocean. It’s easier to see the cool stuff.
Sea stacks near Garibaldi
The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad passes some incredible sights. Although the train tracks run more or less parallel to US-101, the slower pace makes the experience more immersive, especially from the open cars. I took the Oregon Coast Excursion starting from Garibaldi. The ride begins along Tillamook Bay, where you have a good chance of spotting seabirds and perhaps a seal or two. You’ll pass The Three Graces, dramatic sea stacks topped with small, tenacious trees.
The Three Graces
North of Tillamook Bay, the train passes through wetlands. Watch for herons, eagles, and turtles. The journey is bumpy and noisy. It feels more like an adventure than a convenience. Puffs of steam from the 100-year-old locomotive add romance to the trip. Along the way, a docent provides history about the train and the Oregon Coast, like the ill-fated housing development on Bayocean Spit and the construction of the original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach.
Heron sighting from the train
After a 30-minute ride, the train pulls into the Rockaway Beach station. The Pacific Ocean is just across the parking lot. I spent the 30-minute layover watching the waves from a picnic table overlooking the beach. If you booked a longer layover, you could take a beach walk toward Twin Rocks or check out the shops and restaurants near the station. Then, time to head back to Garibaldi.
Garibaldi
Garibaldi U.S. Coast Guard Boathouse
Garibaldi is a fishing village on Tillamook Bay. Without beach access, it stays quieter than nearby spots on the Oregon Coast. The small town centers on the marina, which has a few restaurants and public piers for fishing and birdwatching. The most eye-catching sight is the Historic U.S. Coast Guard Boathouse at the end of a long pier. It’s a cool place to walk out and take artsy photos.
Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach access from the train station
Rockaway Beach draws more tourists than Garibaldi, but it’s still pretty laid-back for the northern Oregon Coast. In the summer, lodging costs about a third of what it does in Cannon Beach. The heart of town is the long, sandy beach. Offshore are Twin Rocks, sea stacks that look like a breaching sea monster. With 20 or so access points, the beach is one of the easier places on the Oregon Coast to spread out during summer. The Rockaway Beach train station is next to the shore. If you have a longer layover, consider stopping for lunch at the Sand Dollar Restaurant, where the patio overlooks the ocean.
Sand Dollar Restaurant
One of Rockaway Beach’s coolest hidden gems is the Big Tree Trail. This easy, 1-mile out-and-back hike leads through a swampy coastal forest to a giant Sitka spruce around 1,000 years old. The trail is a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk from start to finish. It’s stroller-friendly and a great hike with kids. The trail isn’t right next to the train station. It’d be a fun one to tackle before or after the train ride, when you have the car again.
Rockaway Big Tree
Where to stay
The Tradewinds Motel is right on Rockaway Beach. Some rooms have ocean views. The motel is an easy 2-minute drive or 10-minute walk to the Rockaway Beach train station.
The Rockaway Beach Resort is another great oceanfront spot in Rockaway Beach, next to the Tradewinds Motel. It offers extra amenities like a pool and hot tub.
In Garibaldi, the Harborview Inn & RV Park is right by the marina and close to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad station.
Getting there
Garibaldi station: 306 American Ave, Garibaldi, OR 97118
Free parking is available at the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad train station in Garibaldi. If the main lot is full, head to the gravel overflow lot. Public restrooms are next to the parking lot.
Rockaway Beach station: 103 S 1st St, Rockaway Beach, OR 97136
The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad train station is just off US-101 in the middle of Rockaway Beach. A free parking lot with public restrooms is next to the station. If the lot is full, look for street parking nearby.
The drive from Portland to either station takes about 2 hours.
Enjoy your ride on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad!
With love,
Emma
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