Thunder Mountain Tour Train Train enthusiasts, couples and families will love a scenic train ride on the Thunder Mountain line. The train takes regular trips from the Ashley Inn in Cascade to explore the Cabarton section of the Payette River canyon, and there are a number of other trip options available such as a five-hour trip from Horseshoe Bend to Cascade, dinner and wine-tasting trains, Murder Mystery train rides and Wild West train rides. The train operates from May through October out of Cascade.
The ruby red Thunder Mountain locomotive moves slowly so you can soak in all of the scenery and wildlife along the tight, forested canyon of the North Fork of the Payette River. Watch carefully along the route for fox, deer, elk, blue heron, osprey and bald eagles.
The Cabarton Flyer adventure — the most common trip during the summer — begins in the mountain community of Cascade and travels along remote stretches of the pristine Payette River, where you can watch rafters and kayakers negotiate Class 3 whitewater just outside the window. You’ll pass under the historic Rainbow Bridge, through a steel trestle, and through the shortest rock tunnel in the nation. At Smith’s Ferry, the locomotive will switch as you prepare for your trip back to Cascade.
