A scenic, luxury train in Colorado is gaining popularity in its first full season.

For last year’s “preview season” from August to November, more than 7,000 passengers boarded the locomotive running between Denver and Moab, Utah, said Nicole Ford with Rocky Mountaineer, a Canada-based provider of rail tours. Midway through this season, she said the Rockies to Red Rocks route has exceeded those numbers.

“We continue to see guests booking closer to their travel departure date, so we anticipate this growing even more throughout the season ahead,” Ford said in an email.

Couples ringing in anniversaries and other adults celebrating with friends and family have been common, she said. They pay per-person fares starting at $1,375, which includes a hotel room in downtown Glenwood Springs along with multi-course meals, snacks and cocktails over two days of travel. Longer packages can be booked for additional stays in Moab and Denver; three nights start at $1,619.

History is narrated as scenes come into view from glass-dome coaches — “so guests do not miss a moment of the ever-changing landscapes,” Ford said.

The Rockies to Red Rocks route climbs over the Continental Divide, down through Colorado River-cut canyons and on to the ruby-colored desert of natural archways and hoodoos.

It’s an experience Rocky Mountaineer says it has perfected over 32 years. The route is the latest addition of the company, with other train rides through the Canadian Rockies.

“When we were exploring options for a new route, we knew it needed to be in a special location with many of the same features we have in Western Canada: incredible scenery, iconic destinations and the ability to travel by day, over multiple days, through a region that is best experienced by train,” Ford said. Rockies to Red Rocks “offers all this and more,” she said, “and it is an ideal way to bring the Rocky Mountaineer experience to this compelling region of the U.S.”

Last year, in the wake of a 2020 fire, mudslides barred trains and cars at times in Glenwood Canyon. Ford said the company has contingency plans in place for any such closures and said the company “will always keep our guests well informed of any changes to their planned travels.”

The season runs through October. More information at rockymountaineer.com.