Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway: Trademark of the Reading & Northern Railroad Reviews Summary

Parking

Pros:

• "Plenty of parking, but come early and pay for the parking pass at a kiosk."
• "Parking can be expensive if you use the city lot ($8.25) but if you street park for two hours ($2.50) it should be enough."
• "There's a big parking lot near the train station for a fee."
• "Ample parking in the parking lot before the ticket place."
• "The parking lot was easy to get to, though you have to pay on top of the ticket price to park."
• "Ample paid parking around the station."
• "Parking: municipal parking is available, $12/day."

Cons:

• "Trying to leave the lot was difficult with awful street traffic."
• "You have to park very far and take a shuttle bus to the train station."
• "Parking in here is big problem. Coming bit early can help you to multitask with one person finding parking and other getting ticket."
• "Some parking is pretty far from the train depot."
• "Parking can be a challenge, and we found ourselves parking 1.5 miles away from the station for $25 alongside the road (service provided by the Manuch Chunk Museum staff)."
• "Parking lot is crowded!"
• "Most importantly, had to wait 30 minutes to park."

Train Experience

Pros:

• "The open air train cars are a wonderful experience!"
• "The staff was friendly, and the views were incredible."
• "The fall colors are just astonishing!"
• "The crew is amazing and will point out and speak on areas as you pass."
• "Highly recommend!"
• "A fun ride for the while family."
• "Enjoyed the ride, very reasonably priced."

Cons:

• "I have been anticipating this trip since pre-COVID. However, I was not as thrilled over the experience as I thought I'd be."
• "It made us very sleepy and was a little boring."
• "We could not see a single thing, only our own reflection in the windows."
• "95% of the time ⏲️, all you see it hill and trees with trash laying around."
• "The $30 tickets for the experience seemed a bit overpriced."
• "The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway ride was underwhelming."
• "The train ride itself was not what we expected."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The staff are very nice people and great with kids."
• "All of the train staff were very friendly and knowledgeable making or trip memorable."
• "The staff was very kind and personable and made us feel right at home."
• "The staff was incredibly nice and helpful, the views were gorgeous and it was nice to hear the fun facts from the conductor."
• "The staff were very friendly."
• "The staff was kind and friendly."
• "The staff were extremely pleasant and offered facts and history about each place we passed through."

Cons:

• "Wrote this email to the company 3 weeks ago, no effort to reach out at all."
• "BUT the major problem is RACISM, which might not have anything to do with the railway in particular."
• "The commentary from our engineer was a bit flatly delivered."
• "The parking attendant (or should I say guard, because she was guarding the entrance) was pretty short when asked for advice."
• "I asked many time to get some information but she have no helping mentally at all."
• "Unfortunately all the tickets for train ride for that day have been sold."
• "Definitely going to file a legal complaint."

Scenery and Views

Pros:

• "The views were unobstructed in mid February, I could see how that could be a downer in other seasons."
• "We even got to see a little waterfall."
• "What a great train ride through the state park with amazing views of the rolling valleys and Lehigh River."
• "As you glide along the rails, you're treated to stunning views of the Lehigh Gorge State Park."
• "Stunning views of the water and an old coal mine, over the water."
• "The scenery is truly breathtaking and captivating."
• "It was absolutely gorgeous! Went late October and the leaves were just barely past their peak—which meant some leaves had fallen which actually gave a better view of the river along the route."

Cons:

• "The 45-minute event wasn't really scenic, as all one can see us a glimpse of the Lehigh River through a forest."
• "The seats closest to the town miss the majority of the trip and just see rocks."
• "The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway ride was underwhelming."
• "The view mainly consisted of trees and the river not much else."
• "The ride was affordable, but we found the views to be largely obstructed by the woods."
• "The scenic views were not all that exciting."
• "While the experience was enjoyable, we expected a ride that showed more scenery at or above the treeline."