Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right through Boulder City! Hey it’s Wendy Rush. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I took the family out to Boulder City to check out the recently returned Santa Express. It’s a fun activity for the family. And, bonus, it helps our local Nevada State Railroad Museum.
When we first got to the Nevada Southern Railway train station, Baby Z was blown away by the train. The Santa Express is an actual Union Pacific train on the railroad tracks. And to make it festive for the holidays, the Friends of Nevada Southern Railway have decked it out in Christmas lights. And the walkway up to the ticket office also has cute decorations to get you into the holiday spirit.
We chose an inside car on the Santa Express because they are heated and it was cold out. The Boulder City Santa Express only runs at night so plan accordingly if you’re not getting a heated car. But even if you are, dress warmer than you think because you’ll be outside in Santa’s Railyard for almost an hour.
The train ride was fun. About 45 minutes out to Railroad Pass and back. The train cars are decorated in stockings and garland. There’s a woman reading The Night Before Christmas. We even had some riders break out into Christmas carols. Z liked looking out the window at the scenery going by.
After the ride, the train stopped at Santa’s Railyard. We were greeted by elves, Santa and Mrs. Claus. There was a gift shop, goodie bags and a special tent for VIP passengers and hot chocolate and sugar cookies. Everyone also got a photo with Santa in front of a train. More food was available from the Chilly Jilly’z food cart so we got hot dogs and chips to munch on. Z’s favorite part was probably the snowball yard where she and other kids threw “snowballs” at each other.
When the snow came, it was time to get back on the train. A very short ride back to the station and we were done. It’s a quick hour and a half trip (total) that helps a local museum. We’re happy we went. Thank you, Friends of Nevada Southern Railway! We’ll see you at Easter. 🙂
–Wendy Rush, 96.3KKLZ Las Vegas
