Agawa Canyon Tour Train
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Closed until Oct 14, 2024

Agawa Canyon Tour Train

Agawa Canyon Tour Train
3.5
Temporarily closedClosed until Oct 14, 2024
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Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

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Agawa Canyon Tour Train
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles1,276 reviews
Excellent
389
Very good
406
Average
258
Poor
130
Terrible
93

Laura A
Sterling Heights, MI72 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019
We went during the fall peak color season and it was absolutely spectacular. Here are some things you need to know...
1. This train has updated cars and older outdated cars. I noticed the nicer cars went to the large groups
2. Seats are grouped in fours. Purchase tickets in quantities of 4 or you will be sitting in close proximity of strangers for 8 hours. The fall color tour sells out every year so they sell every single seat.
3. The $10 food voucher that comes with each ticket will buy a sandwich, chips and water. You can bring your own food.
4. The train ride is about a 10 hour round trip. It breaks down into a 4 hour trip to the Agawa Canyon with a 1.5 hour stop then a return trip of 4 hours.
5. If booking the fall tour during peak season purchase your tickets in the spring. We tried to buy tickets in August and they were sold out so we waited another year and purchased them in the spring for the fall tour.
6. There is time if you hurry to visit both waterfalls and the scenic overview in the 1.5 hours allowed at the Canyon. We saved the 350 step climb to the scenic overview for last and I was the only one of our party of 3 to make it to the top after hiking to both waterfalls. We didn't spare much time, we walked fast, passed other guests, snapped a quick photo and moved on. I really wish this tour would allow 2 hours instead of 1.5. I was gasping for breath as I neared the top of the lookout (yes, it really IS 350 steps) and my legs were jello as I made my way back down.
7. Remember WHY you went on the trip. The views from the train window are truly spectacular. There is an automated speaker system that alerts you when a photo opportunity is near. I noticed several people dozing in their seats, they missed several photo ops. I took most of the photos here from the train window.
8. The seats do not turn around on the return trip. If you'd like to sit on the opposite side of the train you will have to ask to switch yourselves.
We stayed two nights at the Watertower Inn in Sault St. Marie Ontario and extended our fall trip by touring Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
I gave this review 4 stars out of 5 because I wish we had more time in the Canyon and because of the outdated cars. But this truly was a spectacular trip.
Written January 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Keri B
Grimsby, Canada59 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Couples
The Agawa Canyon Train tour was a beautiful day trip departing from downtown Sault Ste Marie. Most amazing fall foliage I've ever seen.

To make your day go smoothly, I would recommend picking up your tickets from the depot the day prior to your trip and packing a light lunch and some snacks to bring with you.

Understand that you will only have 90 minutes to explore the canyon. Have a plan for how you will spend your time. Only the very athletic will have time to hike to both waterfalls and climb the 300+ stairs to the lookout point. Even if you can physically do it, it would be very rushed.

We chose to climb up to the lookout point and really take our time to soak in the view. In my opinion, the stunning view of the falling colours in the canyon made the long trip very worth while.
Written October 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Navigate784168
5 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Couples
Overall, this was a good experience, and I was glad I researched ahead of time and read reviews from other visitors to get tips. A few to reemphasize:
1. Keep in mind this is an old fashioned experience and you need to suspend some of your current day expectations like wifi, comfortable seats, speed in transit, etc. Nonetheless, you will have plenty of time for conversation, reading, relaxing onboard. The train staff was very friendly and engaged.
2. Bring a small cooler or bag with your lunch, drinks, and snacks. You can order a lunch online ahead of time and pickup the morning of your trip, for convenience, at a higher price. There is a "dining car" with limited snacks for sale, a few beer, wine and pop selections at a higher price.
3. You will have an assigned car but not assigned seats, so arriving early to line up on the train platform is recommended. 7am arrival, 7:30am boarding time, 8am departure. The trip is 4 hr each way with a 90 min stop at the canyon park. Some people eat at the park picnic areas, but many eat onboard to allow more time for hiking. We were in the standard red seat car with 4 seat pods, 2 facing each way. If you have long legs, you will be cramped if all 4 seats are full. We were lucky, and had 2 open seats to allow us to stretch our legs. If you are able to bring a seat cushion and neck travel pillow, even better for the long ride. There were a few cars that had premium padded seating at a higher price.
4. If you can download some magazines or a book to your tablet or phone ahead of time, this may help pass the time on the trip back, when there are much fewer travel announcements over the PA system. Be fully charged, there is no electric outlet, and definitely no cell or wifi connection onboard.
5. We were there mid-sept, before the fall colors but it was a beautiful way to see Canadian forests, with a larger variety of trees, lakes, and lovely landscape. If you are up to hiking at the park, there are some waterfalls.

We were glad we made the trip to Sault St Marie Ontario to take the Agawa Canyon train ride.
Written September 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bettina
Toronto, Canada36 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
It’s a very long train ride – 4 hours there and 4 hours back, with only approx. 90 minutes in the canyon. On the return portion, it became a bit of an exercise in endurance. We were lucky that fall colours were beautiful and in full swing, and that we happened to sit in a car with fairly comfortable seats and clear windows (according to the reviews of other passengers, this is not always the case). Luckily, I am fairly short, but I am certain that the legroom can be quite challenging for taller individuals.

Passengers seated on the right side facing the direction in which the train traveled, overall have the better view and have more opportunities to see scenic outlooks and canyon views than the ones on the left side. Since the train does not turn around, this is the same on the return portion, now going in the opposite direction.
The camera system that was supposed to show footage from the front of the train, was of extremely poor quality and practically rendered the entire experience useless. They might have as well shut it off completely.

Onboard washrooms are substandard at best and the state and cleanliness does not reflect Canadian standards and are an embarrassment towards tourists and guests. This definitely needs to be greatly improved upon, especially for the price of the tour we expected a much higher standard of functionality and cleanliness.

There was some spectacular scenery but train did not slow down enough to be able to fully enjoy it.

The main and strongest negative aspect was the handling of the passenger crowds in the canyon. There was no crowd control and there were way too many people attempting the climb the rather steep and quite slippery wooden staircase up to the lookout. There were by far too many people on the stairs with varying levels of physical fitness and even carrying small children plus their strollers. This is a serious safety hazard and an accident waiting to happen!!! The vastly overcrowded state of the wooden stairs to the lookout also extremely hampered our enjoyment and largely took away from the experience. There was absolutely no way to physically distance. There should be some sort of crowd management or different time slots allocated to smaller groups, so that people can safely enjoy the experience.

Overall, the views can be enjoyable, provided you pick the right time of the season and sit in a more comfortable car with a clear window. However, given the overcrowding situation in the canyon, in particular on the wooden staircase leading up to the lookout, I would not recommend this experience to anyone.
Written October 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pam
4 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Family
The train was old and dirty. The value was probably one of the biggest rip offs I’ve ever experienced. At $150 per person you’d expect someone to help get on and off the train. It was a terrifying and dangerous experience doing such with my elderly mother. The employees were inconsistent in questions being answered and this caused us having to backtrack and stand in a line WAY TOO LONG when I had a digital ticket (that was totally useless with their antiquated system of verifying tickets). We were in a set of seats that had NO window for half the seats (see picture), why in the world would you have seats on a scenic train with NO window next to them? The windows were filthy dirty, so much so that pictures focused on the dead bugs between the glass panes instead of the view. The lights should be dimmed, but that wasn’t possible and at most angles you saw more reflection (see reflections and dead bugs between the panes in the very small window that was the only view for four seats) than view. Now at the end of a VERY LONG train ride people were pushing and shoving on very crowded paths with inadequate signage and no employees to guide people toward the very limited sights at the park. If I were driving to this location I would only stop if it were road side, these waterfalls and “scenic 🤣overlook” would get me to detour maybe 5 minutes out of my way. The entire park area was mediocre at best.

So many beautiful, and much less commercial, experiences across our continent. This one ranks pretty close to the bottom. My traveling companions were all family, but generic adult family wasn’t an option for Trip Advisor, but we had no children with us - but based on those around us with children, this train ride was about 6 hours too long.
Written September 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cheryl D
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Couples
The view for the majority of the train ride is not much further than the trees right outside the window, making for a very, very long day. The train was at 50% capacity due to Covid, so the seating was comfortable, but at 100% capacity it would not be nearly as comfortable. The falls at the top are beautiful, but not spectacular and certainly not worth a nine hour train ride to see. The box lunch available for purchase at the train station was a dry, flavorless sandwich and the snacks available to purchase on the train were very limited, to say the least. You can bring you own food, which would be advisable. I took the last fall foliage trip for 2021 and the leaves were almost all gone. Perhaps another time might have been better for fall colors, but it is always hit and miss on that depending on the weather.
Written October 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marina1867
Toronto, Canada49 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
Just like any other review in here, I can tell that the scenery, and colours, and picturesque view of the canyon are breathtaking!
However, in my opinion the tickets are way overpriced, considering how uncomfortable the trip is and lack of accommodations during the trip.
Even for me, a person of an average build, there was not enough leg room, and by the end of the trip I had a severe knee pain due to the fact that I was unable to stretch or move my legs. There were 2 restrooms on our car, one of which was out of order, so the entire car riders were staying in line to use the restroom. The restroom itself was dirty and stinky (no wonder!). We took our food with us, since the lunchboxes they were offering were overpriced ($22 for a cheese-sausage sandwich, small box of a juice and an apple). When we decided to buy a tea and a coffee from one of the dining cars, we spent about 15 min in line, even though there were 4 people in front of us. The baristas were barely moving, and the entire process is poorly organized.
The signal from the cameras on the locomotive was very unstable and the screens in the car were almost useless, there was nothing to watch - the picture was on and off, of poor quality. Thankfully, though, the windows were crystal clear, so, we ere able to take pictures through the windows.

On the positive side - there was a recorded narrative about the area and its history that was played throughout the entire trip, and it was interesting and informative.
I'm not sure if I want to do it again. I'll probably spend my money elsewhere.
Written October 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Janske S
Stayner, Canada2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
The lack of views due to tall trees beside the track. If possible trim back some of the trees by the lakes and areas with nice views and slow the train down at these areas so you have time to see it. The trip is 9hrs and you only get a few minutes to see lakes or views. By the time you get your camera ready the trees are back in the way. The trial at the canyon was also closed ? This trip is only available for a few weeks in the fall. It’s not as if they didn’t know. Why couldn’t they have it ready? Pay all this money sit on train with no views for 9 hrs then the trails are closed. Not happy …
Written October 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MrsCaptain
Michigan251 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
We had a wonderful time on this trip. We got there at the last minute and they were kind enough to hold the train for just a few minutes for us, found us seats together and were very understanding.
We were seated on the aisle, which was nice to have access to, however the window seats have a far better view. I would suggest a couple sit next to each other and switch on and off. Definitely speak to the people on the other side of the aisle about switching sides for the return trip as the train doesn't turn around, they move the engines to the other end.
Book early and try to get one of the newer cars. They are quite comfortable although leg space is tight and you get to know your neighbors well.
Bring snacks and drinks. The offerings are institutional and the walk to get to the two cars that have the snack bars can be long and rocky. Bring your own lunch.
There is plenty of overhead storage and behind seat storage so don't worry about bags. You can leave them on the train when you go out sightseeing, just bring a backpack for valuables.
When you get to the canyon, pick which end you want to go to. We chose the waterfalls and I'm glad we did. Plenty of space to walk and you can walk the tracks back for a different view. We heard from many who took the 300 stairs to the overlook that it was extremely crowded.
If you go when the weather is cool expect it to be cooler at the canyon, wear comfortable hiking or walking shoes, dress in layers and bring hats and gloves.
I would not suggest this trip for small children AT ALL. The ride is very long and there is no room for them to roam. It is an adult oriented trip.
Written October 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rose P
Ancaster, Canada37 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
Due to covid rules of 50 % capacity, we had oodles of room
the staff were excellent, The pre recorded commentary was just enough and not too much. There was some abut the history and some about the geology. The PA system was excellent and you could hear the two speakers. It was nice they alerted you to the scenic views of note; like the fantastic curved trestle bridge. The hour and a half stopover was very nice especially as the overcast turned into a beautiful warm sunny day. The walk to bridal veil falls was easy and lovely. I would say about 15 or 20 minutes each way. The ride home was nice, but it does seem long and many people were dozing.
Written October 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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