Georgetown Loop Railroad: Make Your Holiday Ride MAGICAL 🎄

We've done this ride a few times now, and it still holds up. The Georgetown Loop Railroad's holiday version — Santa's Lighted Forest — runs a synchronized light show set to Christmas music through the forest above Georgetown, and it sounds a little cheesy until you're actually on it. My wife and I brought the kids out last December on a Friday evening, and by the time we crossed Devil's Gate High Bridge with the lights going, nobody was looking at their phones.

Georgetown is about an hour west of Denver on I-70, which makes this more accessible than most mountain excursions. If you're already heading up to the mountains for the weekend, this fits cleanly into that trip. The town itself is a quick walk from the railroad depot, and it has that old Colorado mining-town feel — not manufactured, just genuinely old. Worth showing up a little early to walk around before your departure.

What the Ride Is Actually Like

The route runs from Georgetown up to Silver Plume and back, winding along hairpin turns above Clear Creek. During the regular season that scenery carries the whole experience. During the holiday run, they layer the light show on top of it, synced to music that plays in the train cars. It's a good mix — the lights don't overwhelm the landscape, they complement it. My younger kid was locked in the whole time, which is saying something for a train ride that runs under an hour.

The train cars are open-air on some runs and enclosed on others. For the holiday rides, I'd recommend checking which car type you're booking because December in the Rockies is cold. We were in an enclosed car and that was the right call. Dress warm regardless — even with the enclosure, it gets into the seats when the train moves.

What Works and What Doesn't

The light show is legitimately impressive up close. Photos don't capture it well because the trees move past quickly, but in person the scale of it works. The synchronized music adds something I wasn't expecting to care about.

The main downside is that tickets sell out fast. This is a popular Colorado holiday tradition and the runs book up well in advance — especially weekends in December. We planned about six weeks out and still had to be flexible on dates. If you wait until December 10th and expect to find a Saturday night slot, you're going to be disappointed. Go to the Georgetown Loop Railroad website and look at availability earlier than you think you need to.

Parking near the Georgetown depot is a little tight on busy weekends, but the town is small enough that it's manageable. Give yourself fifteen to twenty minutes of buffer on arrival.

What to Do Beforehand

If you're making a day of it and want something to do closer to Denver first, Larimer Square on 14th and Larimer is a solid stop — especially during the holiday season when they do lights along the block. It's an easy walkable area with good food options before you make the drive west. Not a requirement, but it pairs well with an evening Georgetown departure.

For families specifically, the Georgetown run is one of the better-designed holiday experiences in Colorado. It doesn't feel like a cash grab — the ride itself is the attraction, not a bunch of add-ons. There's a Santa visit component on some runs depending on the package, which my kids appreciated more than I expected.

The Bottom Line

If you're going to do one holiday outing outside of Denver this winter, this is the one I'd pick. Book early, dress for the cold, and get there with enough time to walk the town before your departure. The drive is easy, the experience is real, and it's the kind of thing that actually sticks with people — which is why we keep going back.