Address: 100 Railroad Park Rd, Dunsmuir, CA 96025
The Railroad Park Resort and Dining Car Restaurant was built in 1968 and is located in the town of Dunsmuir, California. Dunsmuir is a union pacific “Train Town” that was a thriving railroad community during the golden era and located in the Shasta Cascade. In 1968, the Park Railroad owner started the Caboose Hotel business in Northern California. The old and authentic caboose or rail cars were collected and preserved during the Rail era. The old, antique rail cars were all converted into a unique, and comfortable units for visitors to stay in.
It took us about 4 hours and 20 minutes (274 miles) to drive from San Francisco to Railroad Park Resort via I-5 North towards Mt. Shasta. The Railroad Park Resort is situated on 50 acres of land and each caboose is separated from the other. The Railroad Park is the only hotel in Dunsmuir that offers 23 cabooses, RV hook-up sites, tent campsites, and vintage cabins. We were surprised to see that they also have a unique, and vintage dining car restaurant on the premise. Some of the Hotel’s amenities are a dining car restaurant, free Wifi, free parking, game room, vending machine, hot tub, outdoor pool (closed during winter), gift shop and campsite.
Upon our arrival, we went directly into the main office and also a gift shop to check in. I already contacted the Hotel a few days earlier and asked them if they can set up something inside our caboose for my daughter’s birthday celebration. A friendly front desk lady greeted us with a smile and walked us towards our reserved caboose which is located across from the main office. Our reserved train caboose was colored bright yellow and had to ask my daughter to open the door. She was surprised, happy, speechless as she opened the door and to see the caboose was filled with colorful balloons, a “Happy Birthday” banner, cupcakes, and free birthday gifts. We stayed at Caboose #1 with one King bed, twin bed, air conditioning, full bath, toiletries room, refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, clan foot tub, climb up cupola, free Wifi and can accommodate a maximum of 3 people. We even parked our car right on the side of our caboose which was easier for us to carry and load our belongings inside the caboose. The inside of the antique caboose cars were all authentic and original with a rustic feeling but equipped with modern-day comfort. My daughter enjoyed going up and down the cupola which is a small windowed projection on the roof of a caboose with an elevated seat that the crew uses to inspect the train from this perch.
Overall, we enjoyed our short stay at the Railroad Park Resort and a hidden gem in the Dunsmuir area. It was a one-of-a-kind experience for my family to sleep inside a genuine train caboose with modern amenities in a rustic setting. It was fun waking up in the morning with the stunning view of Castle Crags. And we were able to watch the beautiful, and bright stars in the sky at night. It’s a great unique and romantic place to stay with your family while enjoying the great outdoors. It was a fun and memorable experience for us to stay in one of the vintage train cabooses and experience life in the Railroad Era.
Tips: Make sure to eat at the unique, vintage, one-of-a-kind dining Train Themed Restaurant which is an 1893 Wells Fargo Car or Pullman “Club Car”. Take a picture and visit the 1927 Williamette Steam-driven locomotive that is parked inside the property and located close to the train restaurant. The restaurant is a museum itself full of unique and original parts. There are a lot of nice places to visit within the area such as the famous Mossbrae Falls, Hedge Creek Falls, Lake Siskiyou, Castle Lake, Shasta Lake, Castle Crags, Trinity Alps, Dunsmuir Botanical Garden, and many more. There is also a popular restaurant place called “Yak’s on the 5” that serves one of the best BBQs I had ever tasted.
Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about the Railroad Park Resort and Dining Car Restaurant after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.
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