Wisconsin Scenic Train Rides (2026): A Complete Guide
Last revised: October 2, 2026
By: Adam Burns
Wisconsin’s October rides are not all the same machine. The Wisconsin Great Northern at Trego is a dinner train along the Namekagon River, still inside its 2026 season. The Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway is a Minnesota Transportation Museum train that boards in Osceola, on the St. Croix. Mid-Continent at North Freedom is a museum railroad on diesel in October, with autumn-color and pumpkin trains on the posted weekends. East Troy is an interurban. The National Railroad Museum in Green Bay adds a short diesel loop on October weekends. The Riverside & Great Northern at Wisconsin Dells is a miniature. The Lumberjack Steam Train at Laona has finished its 2026 season.
Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad's handsome F7A, #423, has long led the company's popular excursions. WGNR photo.
Tourism and excursion destinations only. Intercity travel: Amtrak Empire Builder and Borealis (Milwaukee, Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Tomah, La Crosse) and Hiawatha Service between Milwaukee and Chicago.
Wisconsin Train Rides at a Glance
| Railroad / attraction | Area | Notes | Site / deep dive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Great Northern | Trego | Dinner train along the Namekagon. 2026 window through December 17. Not a downtown Spooner boarding | spoonertrainride.com · 715-635-3200 |
| Osceola & St. Croix Valley | Osceola | Fall colors ride, about 90 minutes, in the St. Croix valley. Confirm which October days are still posted | trainride.org · Fall guide |
| Mid-Continent Railway Museum | North Freedom | October trains are diesel. Autumn Color weekends, then a pumpkin special Oct. 24–25 | midcontinent.org · 608-522-4261 |
| East Troy Electric Railroad | East Troy | Interurban, about 7 miles to Mukwonago. Harvest Fest weekends. Confirm the last day | easttroyrr.org |
| National Railroad Museum | Green Bay | Diesel loop, about 25 minutes, on October weekends, plus admission. Big Boy #4017 is on display | nationalrrmuseum.org · (920) 437-7623 |
| Riverside & Great Northern | Wisconsin Dells | Miniature railway, about two miles by the Wisconsin River. Not a full-size excursion | dellstrain.com |
Confirm the day’s train. Dinner, pizza, and pumpkin tickets are separate products. Compiled October 2, 2026.
State Rail History (Brief)
Wisconsin’s first railroad was Byron Kilbourn’s Milwaukee & Waukesha, chartered in 1847 and renamed the Milwaukee & Mississippi before it opened. A directors’ special ran about five miles from Milwaukee toward Wauwatosa on November 20, 1850, on 6-foot gauge. That was not the public train. The first train opened to the public ran from Milwaukee to Waukesha, 20 miles, on February 25, 1851. Madison came in 1854. The Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien came in 1857. That company became the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific, the Milwaukee Road.
The North Western, the Soo Line, and the Burlington covered the rest of the state. The tourist lines sit on pieces of that map: Mid-Continent on a former Chicago & North Western branch at North Freedom, East Troy on an interurban remnant, Osceola on the old Soo into the St. Croix valley. The Wisconsin Great Northern uses track along the Namekagon in the northwest.
Related: Railroad history · Minnesota · Illinois · Michigan.
Tourist Railroads & Excursions
Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad
Board at Trego, on Dilly Lake Road. Do not go to the old downtown Spooner depot and expect this train. The Dinner Train Ride is a supper in heavyweight cars along the Namekagon River. The 2026 season window is May 5 through December 17, and the homepage lists trains Tuesday through Saturday through Christmas. Pizza trains, wine trains, and a moving bed-and-breakfast are other tickets. Santa Pizza is listed for November 13 through December 20. This page does not print a mileage. The railroad’s own pages checked for this revision did not agree with the round numbers that show up on secondary sites. The phone on the policies page is 715-635-3200.
Wisconsin Great Northern dinner train · Wisconsin dinner trains · Railroad profile · spoonertrainride.com
Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway
The train is a Minnesota Transportation Museum operation. The boarding depot is in Osceola, Wisconsin, at 114 Depot Road. The Fall Colors page describes a 90-minute round trip in the St. Croix valley. It does not print a 2026 date grid, so use the ticket calendar for whichever October weekends are still on sale. The Pumpkin Express is a different ride, about 50 minutes round trip to Dresser, with the festival and one pumpkin per child. The museum’s other site, the Jackson Street Roundhouse, is in St. Paul. That is a shop visit, not this train.
Osceola fall colors · Wisconsin fall foliage trains · Wisconsin Halloween trains · trainride.org
Mid-Continent Railway Museum
North Freedom’s October trains are diesel. Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 #1385 is still a restoration fundraiser, not the engine on these trips. The homepage table for 2026: October 3–4 is the last regular summer weekend; October 10–11 and October 17–18 are Autumn Color; October 17 also has a Harvest Flyer; October 24 is the Halloween Flyer at 4:30 p.m.; October 24–25 is the Pumpkin Special, 7 miles and about 55 minutes, out to Quartzite Lake. The museum page says four pumpkin trips and does not list the clocks. Do not add departure times from a third-party calendar. The phone is 608-522-4261. Santa trains are on the Christmas page.
Mid-Continent fall trains · North Freedom meal trains · Wisconsin Christmas trains · midcontinent.org
East Troy Electric Railroad
This is a surviving piece of Milwaukee-area interurban, about 7 miles from East Troy to Indianhead Park in Mukwonago. October is Harvest Fest weekends, plus a few dinner trains, not the summer timetable. The museum’s own pages do not agree on the last day. One says through October 25, one through October 26, one through October 31. Book the date that is on the schedule you are looking at, and read that page’s end date. Oktoberfest on October 3 and the Sweetest Day dinner on October 17 were sold out. An adult Halloween trip on October 31 was still listed. Christmas tickets were set to go on sale in October. Confirm before you treat a dinner seat as open.
National Railroad Museum
The museum is at 2285 South Broadway in Green Bay. The collection includes Union Pacific Big Boy #4017, which does not pull the train. The ride is a diesel loop of about two miles, about 25 minutes, included with admission: daily in the summer, and weekends in October. The Great Pumpkin Train is October 10 and 11. From November into April the ordinary ride stops. The licensed Polar Express, November 20 through December 13, was sold out when this page was revised. The phone is (920) 437-7623.
Wisconsin Polar Express · nationalrrmuseum.org
Riverside & Great Northern Railway
At Wisconsin Dells this is a miniature railway, about two miles along the Wisconsin River, behind steam from Hyde Park Station. It is not a standard-gauge excursion. Pumpkin trains run on selected October days, including weekends, into the end of the month. Confirm the Friday you want. The operator site is dellstrain.com.
Not a Current Ride
The Lumberjack Steam Train at Laona, Camp Five, ran its 2026 public season from June 17 through August 22, Wednesday through Saturday, with a Vulcan 2-6-2. That season is over. A September cowboy day has also passed. The phone, if you are planning for next year, is 715-674-3414.
Planning Tips
- Northwest: Trego, and only Trego, for the dinner train. Spooner is the mailing name people still use.
- West of the Twin Cities: Osceola. The roundhouse visit is in St. Paul, on a different day.
- South-central: North Freedom for a museum train. East Troy if you want an interurban and you have checked which October weekend is actually listed.
- Green Bay: a short ride and a large collection. The Polar Express is a winter ticket, and 2026 was sold out.
Seasonal & Related Reading
- Wisconsin fall foliage trains · Wisconsin Christmas trains · Wisconsin dinner trains · Wisconsin Halloween trains · Wisconsin Polar Express
- National tourist trains · Fall foliage · Christmas trains
- Neighbors: Minnesota · Illinois · Michigan
Always verify schedules on the operator’s website before you travel. American-Rails.com does not sell tickets.
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