4 Holiday Train Rides Michiganders Can Take This Christmas Season
You promised the kids a Santa train ride, and now you’re checking the December forecast.
On the Southern Michigan Railroad Society’s Santa Express, trains run rain, snow or shine, and the cars have small propane heaters.
Here are the holiday train rides Michiganders can take this Christmas season.
1. Little River Railroad
Coldwater’s Little River Railroad runs Christmas-themed train rides with Santa on board, and its 2026 schedule lists them for Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13.
The window is short.
Saturdays give you 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. trains.
Each Sunday has one afternoon train.
Adults pay $22, and children ages 3 to 11 pay $15.
Kids 2 and under ride free, though booking fees apply.
The railroad requires pre-purchased tickets for the December Christmas Express, a round trip to Quincy, so you need yours in hand before you drive out.
A separate Nov. 28 trip, the Christmas Express with Quincy Stop and Shop, leaves at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
That one adds a longer layover in Quincy for holiday shopping.
2. Huckleberry Railroad
The Huckleberry Railroad at Crossroads Village gives you an evening train ride during Christmas at Crossroads, the Genesee County Parks holiday event in Flint.
The Huckleberry is a narrow-gauge railroad with original and replica wooden coaches and a classic red wooden caboose.
Open nights run Nov. 27-29, Dec. 4-6, Dec. 11-13, Dec. 16-20 and Dec. 26-27, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Four drive-through-only nights (Dec. 7, 14, 21 and 24) are listed separately.
The page doesn’t say the train runs on those nights, so book one of the other dates if you want a seat.
The combination ticket, which pairs the train with the village, costs $27 for adults, $26 for seniors 60 and older and $25 for children ages 25 months to 12.
Village-only tickets cost less, at $17 for adults.
Santa’s in the village too.
Ticket sales end at 8:30 p.m., so you should arrive well before the 9 p.m. close.
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Quiz
Michigan Rails and Lakes
Answer nine questions on Michigan’s railroads, bridges and Great Lakes shipping. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
The schooner nicknamed the “Christmas Tree Ship” loaded its evergreens in which Michigan town before a late-season storm sank it in 1912?
3. Coopersville & Marne Railway
The Coopersville & Marne Railway runs its Santa Train on weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The ride lasts 90 minutes and is open to all ages.
Santa has a reserved seat on the vintage train.
Elves escort each child to see him individually, so parents can take pictures.
Bring your camera.
Elves and sometimes Mrs. Claus may also show up to read stories aboard.
Coach tickets cost $38 for ages 13 and up and $33 for ages 1 to 12.
Premium Class costs $49 for ages 13 and up and $47 for ages 1 to 12.
It adds table seating, plus hot cocoa and a cookie from Delly Belly bakery.
Trains sell out quickly, the railway warns, so buy tickets in advance.
The railway sells seats through an online booking calendar that updates as changes are made, so check it for the exact weekend dates you want.
4. Southern Michigan Railroad Society
The Southern Michigan Railroad Society runs its Santa Express holiday train on Saturdays and Sundays in late November and December.
Trains leave from Clinton United Methodist Church and roll about 15 minutes each way to Clinton Station.
It's a quick ride.
Once you get there, you have a 45-minute stop to visit Santa in his caboose.
Each child receives a gift from Santa.
Every passenger gets complimentary hot cocoa in the gift shop.
Saturday departures are at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Sundays skip the 10 a.m. train.
Adults ages 16 to 64 pay $20.
Seniors 65 and older and children ages 3 to 15 pay $15, and toddlers 2 and under ride free.
Trains run rain, snow or shine, so you'll be outdoors on the platforms.
The listed cars include a Chicago South Shore & South Bend commuter coach and a New York Central bay window caboose.
Families can also book a private Conrail caboose for up to 8 passengers at $150, or a Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific caboose for up to 10 at $175.
The booking calendar lists the exact days.
Holiday Train Fine Print
Little River Railroad treats every ticket as non-refundable.
The Southern Michigan Railroad Society's cars have small propane heaters and no central heating.
Portable restrooms are at the platforms, and the cars have none aboard.
The historic cars aren't wheelchair accessible.
The Coopersville & Marne Railway sells wheelchair seats on a tie-down track for $47.
Arrive 30 minutes early in Coopersville and 20 minutes early in Clinton.
North Pole Express
This one is a bonus, and seats are scarce.
The Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso runs the North Pole Express, a 4.75-hour round trip to the Village of Ashley Country Christmas with a two-hour stop there.
Seats are scarce.
Trips are listed from Nov. 20 to Dec. 20.
You can't join a waiting list once tickets sell out because the railroad doesn't keep one.
Coach seats cost $85 apiece, and Cocoa Class runs $250 for two seats at a shared table.
Claus Club tables of four cost $550.
Pere Marquette 1225 pulls the train, though diesel may be substituted.
If you see tickets elsewhere, the railroad says it sells them only through its official website.
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