Roaring Camp Railroads

My daughter was looking for a barn setting for her wedding reception (on Sept 13, 2015) and we found Roaring Camp Railroads. I knew a few people who had either been to weddings here or used the site for a wedding, which was helpful for getting their opinions on the location, food, service, etc. Heather (Roaring Camp Wedding Coordinator), was great to work with, responded promptly to our emails and questions, was on-​time to meetings, easy to schedule meetings with, stayed on top of our details (I don’t know how she does it with all the different events she’s managing), and was helpful throughout the planning process. The venue is naturally beautiful, Bret Harte Hall was a perfect setting for my daughter’s «pinteresty» DIY decorations, and we got a LOT of positive feedback from our guests! We were very happy with our experience at Roaring Camp and its proximity worked well for our ceremony in the Mount Hermon area.
A few things we learned:
1) Some of our older guests and those who had trouble walking said it was a long way to walk from the parking lot to Bret Harte Hall, as well as to the restrooms.
2) We REALLY liked the food we choose (flat iron steak cooked medium rare, rosemary chicken, roasted red potatoes). Our 1^st tasting of the teriyaki chicken, chicken and steak combo with Marsala sauce and polenta caused me a GREAT deal of concern about the quality and taste of the food because all the meat was dried out. Both the flat iron steak and rosemary chicken were tasty and moist and the chicken was a huge portion! In fact, a number of guests said they choose the steak because the chicken serving was too large; and as a result we ran out of flat iron steak. A friend told me the same thing happened at their wedding.
FYI We ordered medium-​rare steaks since they continue to cook while in the chafing dish. The rolls served at our reception were hard and not edible. Ask for fresh rolls! Overall, guests said the food was very good and we were pleased, but it’s not cheap when factoring in the cost to rent the hall.
3) It was nice to be able to bring in our own alcohol and not have corkage fees or per person charges for beverages.
4) Same with desserts — We could bring in whatever we wanted for dessert without additional charges. But, it’s important to know that for both the alcohol and desserts, you are responsible for stocking, serving, setting-​up, as well as packing-​up any leftovers to take home.
5) The food was ready and served on time.
6) Roaring Camp is not full a service facility. If you want things done (like napkins folded a certain way, wine glasses at the beverage bar instead of the tables, a bar tender, etc.) you will have to do it yourself or find people to do it for you.
7) The tables had NO salt and pepper. There was only one shaker of each at the buffet line, which was rather inconvenient. I didn’t know about this until we were at the reception, so it was too late to make other arrangements.
8) It would have been nice to have a pitcher or carafe of water at each table instead of guests having to get up and go to the beverage table.

Took my kids here for the Day Out With Thomas ride. It was just ok. My son LOVES trains but he was not too excited. The ride was relatively short and very packed. The line to take picture with Thomas was long. The food was meh (but we didn’t go there for the food). There were other activities like two bounce houses, bubble station, and something else — one of the ladies said those were all run by volunteers. This place seems to get high margins. We left right after the Thomas ride.

I absolutely loved this place.
Anyone who as ever been to the Renaissance Faire or a Civil War Reenactment can tell you that the best part of recreating history is trying to get all the details right. It’s hard enough getting the correct and historically-​accurate buttons for your costume, much less all the bits and pieces of stuff that made up the lives of those who lived back in the day. There is nothing like finding a friend who just acquired the most realistic replica of a civil war musket. And it’s really a big deal when you get to experience an actual historical relic of the past.
So you can imagine my reaction to showing up at Roaring Camp Railroad, and finding an actual 19^th century steam locomotive. And as if that wasn’t enough, I actually got to touch the thing, talk to the engineer, and have the iron horse drag me up a mountain and back.
The views were astounding (the tracks travel through a redwood forest), the people were amazingly friendly, and everyone from the engineer to the ticket seller to the printer at the 19^th-​century lettershop printshop could tell you everything about steam locomotives (and trains in general) that you would ever want to know.
I don’t have kids and generally prefer entertainment that doesn’t involve screaming rugrats, but I have to say it was a pleasure to watch the excited little guys experience riding a real train through nature, rather than texting endlessly.
As I said, I loved this place, and felt it would have been well worth the visit at twice the price.

Kids and I had a fantastic time on the route from Roaring camp through the canyon. An added bonus was having Henry Cowell redwoods next-​door! Be sure to check it out!

This review is based upon my unprofessional, disrespectful, and disappointing meeting with wedding and event coordinator Heather Troy.
Very soon after becoming engaged I began looking for a venue for my wedding. The enchanting pictures of Cathedral grove with towering sequoias immediately stole my heart and I stopped looking anywhere else until I had the chance to see this venue in person. After contacting Heather about general questions and availability I was convinced that this could very well be where I marry the love of my life.
The appointment was set up by Heather and when the day came we made the two hour drive into the Santa Cruz mountains and it was breathtaking to see the edge of the forest as we drove to roaring camp railroad. Upon arriving on time at Barte Hall, we waited for Heather with no luck. We went to her office and she was not there either. After 15 minutes of waiting she arrived and took us into the hall.
The hall is big enough for nearly any wedding with ample room for both ceremony and reception in the same room. I immediately asked about our trip to the Cathedral grove, as I was eagerly anticipating seeing the beautiful trees, however I was informed that our appointment was set after the last train for the day had already left. Imagine my displeasure after taking a two hour drive to see my dream venue and being told I cannot see the place where I would be saying my vows. To make the situation worse, she took zero responsibility for setting the appointment time so late and made no effort to arrange a drive to the grove. Which can be accessed by car as we would all drive to the site for the rehearsal if we chose to have our wedding at this venue. She was unsympathetic, unapologetic and made zero effort to try and get us to the place where we were meant to say our vows.
After the disappointment of not seeing the grove I then asked for specifics about catering and rentals for linens. Heather had vague and unspecific answers. She could not give me accurate logistics or services that roaring camp would provide for my wedding. I eventually gave up trying to get any answers about catering and services and began the tour of the facilities that we would have access to the day of the wedding. The bridal party has a wood shed that has been sparsely decorated to resemble a school house to use for getting dressed. However, makeup and hair should be done before hand as there is one questionable outlet in the room and no furniture or mirrors. The most ridiculous part of this ‘schoolhouse’ is the «Pretty Potty» (her words not mine) that the bride and her bridal party may use. It is LITERALLY a cheap shower curtain mounted on the door of a construction job site porta-​potty.
After leaving this location we dodged 3 large piles of dog poop on the lawn and a large pile in front of the reception hall in the middle of the only main road leading through the camp. There is a wedding planned for the following day and I am not sure if they will be cleaned or not.
Before this meeting I was ready to book this venue and give my deposit so I could save our date and start planning right away. Roaring camp and the cathedral grove have so much potential as a beautiful, historic and unique wedding venue, but every ounce is squandered by poor maintenance and even poorer event management by Heather. I cannot adequately explain my disappointment in how easily my concerns were dismissed or the poor state of facilities and services.

This place has so much potential. Heather Troy is completely unprofessional. My best friend was looking at this as a wedding venue. She fell in love with the photos of Cathedral Grove and was ready to put down her deposit today. For many reasons, this did not happen.
First: We arrived on time, and spent 15 minutes hunting down Heather, as she was not where she said she would meet us. Then, when we asked to see Cathedral Grove, she told us that was impossible, as the last train had departed for the day. My best friend said that was the whole reason we drove out. Heather took no responsibility for her error. She blamed my friend for not mentioning Cathedral Grove. We later reviewed the e-​mails, and my friend clearly asked to see the grove in their correspondence. When we asked if she could drive up to the site, she said, «Oh, we can’t drive up on a weekend…» (this is BS because for the rehearsal, the bridal party is driven up the day before, regardless of the date.) It turns out that she booked another venue viewing with another couple right after our appointment, and didn’t want to take the time to drive us up there. Another Heather error.
Second: After learning that we had driven 3 hours to only see half the venue, Heather took us to see the «School House» where the brides put their dresses on before the ceremony. It is a small shack with a plywood floor and only one power outlet. Also, if the bride has to use the restroom before the ceremony, she has to walk outside and use a porta-​potty. I’m serious. On our walk across the lawn, we were constantly dodging dog poop. There was literally dog poop everywhere on the lawn and in the walkways. She told us that a wedding would be taking place the next day. I doubt they would be able to clean all of the dog poo up by tomorrow, even if they tried.
Third: Heather told us that my best friend would only have 10 minutes at the ceremony site to take photos. If we are paying $ 6,000 for the venue, shouldn’t we be able to postpone the train’s departure, at least for a little bit? Heather was unhelpful and only gave vague answers to all of our questions. The bathrooms that the guests would have to use were dirty and smelled horrible.
Finally: This venue is beautiful. The train aspect is both romantic and unique. The TERRIBLE MISMANAGEMENT of this beautiful venue is a tragedy.

I really wanted to like this, but for $ 27 each I think it’s one of the most overpriced things that I have ever paid for. Also, the day I went there was an accident so our train was cancelled. I know that’s not under their control, but they were very unprofessional and rude to everyone who just wanted to know what was going on. They should be prepared for situations that arise. The train ride was ok, just out through the redwoods and back and was pretty slow. Then it went back past the station for an extra 15 minutes for no reason with no sights to see, then back to the station. I would pay $ 10 max for this thing, and I’m not a cheapy. It’s just not worth it.

A special and historic place, the people who work here all love trains. It’s a costly little adventure at $ 27 but you can bring your dogs (call ahead to see how crowded they are) and right next door is the Redwood Grove Loop trail with giant redwoods.
I love the room showing silent movies and just the great outdoor experience. The dogs loved it too, although one of my labs didn’t like the squealing of the wheels against the rails when it turned.

My review is for Roaring Camp as a wedding venue as I was just married there 2 weeks ago!
Heather and the Roaring Camp staff were great to work with on our wedding day and everyday leading up to it. Heather answered all of my questions in a timely fashion, helped coordinate with our vendors and made me feel like I did not need to worry about the room being ready on our big day. My husband and I chose to get married on the lawn, the weather was awesome and the setting was gorgeous. The hall looked wonderful with the lighting provided by Roaring Camp (we did not do any additional lighting and it was absolutely fine) and the tables and chairs suited our needs. We had 215 people at our wedding and the hall did not feel overcrowded by any means. The schoolhouse adjacent to the lawn was fine for changing into dresses and applying last minute makeup with the ladies. We used outside catering so I can’t comment on the RC catering but used many vendors from RC’s preferred list and all of them were great.
A couple things to note (we were fully aware of these things though before booking): the bathrooms are a little stroll from the hall (we provided flashlights but this could be tricky for older guests) and the venue only allows beer and wine (again, not a huge deal, but worth mentioning).
Our wedding was amazing and I can’t thank Roaring Camp staff enough for their help.

This is a hard review to write as we have had a variety of experiences here so I will try to break it down based on each time we have visited.
1. Day out with Thomas (4 star): my son loved this. Lots of activities for the little ones and no expenses except parking ($ 8), food and the train ride if you chose to take it. We spent the entire day here and everyone had a good time. I would skip out on the pricey train ride if your kids will not be too upset. It goes up the track a little bit, stops and comes back. Really nothing special.
2. Big trees steam train ride (5 stars): this was fantastic. Lots to see and learn and everything was as expected. When we got back from our train ride we had a bite to eat at the café there. Really nothing to complain about.
3. Holiday lights train out of Santa Cruz (1.5 stars). No, just no. The train is beautiful and the kids seem to be having fun but do not expect much of a train ride. This train goes up the track past some junky looking storage yards, past a Costco, past a campground and through some neighborhoods (some of which did not look overly friendly). There is nothing to see. It only lasts an hour because they take their time going up and back the track (it goes back the same way), and they stop the train and sit still for 10 minutes to kill time. I wish this was done at Roaring Camp itself and have the train go up the mountain (maybe with some activity at the top or decorations along the way). For the $ 90 we paid for my husband and I to take our son, we were very disappointed.

My fiancé and I were looking for the perfect place to host our big day. Roaring Camp was the first place which really stood out. I contacted Heather Troy back in September. After our initial conversation she still couldn’t get my name right then there was silence. I spent two months trying to book an appointment. After several rounds of emails and voicemails I finally heard back from her on October 10^th. During my many attempts to reach her I also included our request for a date change but never received confirmation.
Sometimes things happen and you need to give the person some leeway especially if they have a full plate. Once our appointment was officially booked I realized that she couldn’t remember time, date, or my name.
During this painstaking process the lack of communication, lack of interest in helping us make our special day just that… a «special day» I found out she gave away our actual request date without communicating to us this was happening.
We are so dissapointed in the entire process Roaring Camp has set up for event coordination. My advice to any bride looking to book their day with Heather is :
1) Stay on top of it! Call every day if you have to.
2) Live close so can rush to her before she gives your date away without notice. I drove from Oroville CA which is close to Chico for my appointment to find she still couldn’t get date and time right. Plus she no longer had the 12^th of August open. Total waste of drive time.
3) Have a back up Plan
4) Make sure you ask questions. once your appointment is booked, if you have never been there before ask «how do I enter» and «exactly where will we meet»?
Hope you have a better experience than I did. Personally, I don’t recommend it for a wedding, but I do think it is an amazing place for children.

Caveat emptor. Utterly inflexible customer service took an event that my wife and I were excited to take our three year old daughter to and turned it into something where we are completely uninterested in going and spending any additional money on them. This afternoon, my wife spent $ 75 on tickets for their Holiday Tree Walk, quite certain that she was buying for Friday morning. When the confirmation screen came up, she saw that the tickets had come back for Sunday morning, when we already had plans. Within two minutes of the transaction, we called Roaring Camp attempting to correct the situation and the person who answered demanded an additional $ 15 ($ 5 per ticket) to change a reservation where an error had occurred. There was no one else available for us to speak to either.
Whether or not it was a computer glitch with the transaction or there was a human error in which day was selected, this is a very unaccommodating and disappointing posture to take given the promptness of our outreach and the price of the tickets.

Was here for the Thomas «Halloween Event» for my son, but other than a few cheap decorations taped onto parts of the trains and coaches you would have no idea it was Halloween.
Definitely felt nickeled and dimed. The parking fee on top of the ticket price for the so so train ride. The food prices wouldn’t have been outrageous had the quality not been below high school cafeteria standards. Not to mention how horribly ran the food stand was. Let’s not even get started about the «beware of poison oak signs» that are around heavily walked areas.
The Thomas and Percy steam engines are great looking, nicely done. But overall this «event» felt anything but. Just a bunch of random things here and there throughout the area. I guess just seeing Thomas and Percy was great for my son, but nothing else is memorable about this experience.

I highly recommend this place. My husband and I took my 2 year old son here for the Halloween –day out with Thomas and Percy. It was super cute and my son enjoyed it. Apart from the train ride they had a tent set up for activities (tattoos, face painting, storytelling, cookie decorating). Can’t wait to go back.

TOO EXPENSIVE! Took my son on the «Halloween» day out with Thomas today and although the he was happy I think it was way too much money for the experience provided. If you are going with only one child I’d recommend only one adult going to make the cost not so high. All the little extra are cute and fun but be ready to spend money on pictures and over prices souvenirs. Or if you are smart you’d avoid the general store all together! Lol little walk through H.C.R after made it a enjoyable day for all.
Oh yea a big gripe for the Thomas train ride was the lack of Halloween décor!!! Major let down.

I haven’t written that many 1 star reviews over the years, and my new approach is to reach out to the business first. I did that on Saturday and didn’t get a response so here we go.
Little off putting that they charge $ 8 for parking. I guess i could justify such a fee if you are just visiting the grounds and not taking the train. After all, this is why most people are here. However, when it’s above and beyond what you need to pay to ride the train, it starts to feel like nickel and diming. We arrived early, around 1:20 in time for a 2pm departure. The plan was to get some water and explore a bit. It didn’t take us long to realize that there is only ONE facility in the entire park that sells bottled water. At 1:30, I joined the mass of people in the concession line to buy bottled water. At 5 minutes to 2, I still hadn’t been waited on and needed to get in line for the train. Since there isn’t a priority put on beverages over food (like most normal concession stands for grab items like water), it meant at the very least a 45 minute wait for water. Absolutely ridiculous for a park of this size. My request to speak to a manager fell on deaf ears and they refused to give me a name. Looks like no one is in charge. I honestly can’t understand how a company can get away with not having water readily available in the event of a medical emergency, which isn’t a far out scenario when it is as warm here as it tends to be. As for myself, I was really sick at the end of the train ride because of dehydration so it was a somewhat miserable experience.
The ride itself is pleasant, but the audio quality of the «tour» is horrible. Most of the time, we couldn’t understand a word the guide was saying. The prices are exorbitant for what they offer. Sodas are $ 2.50 per can, plates of fried food are $ 12+. I could possibly understand and consider that if it was in Timbuktu, but this is centrally located.
Again, as lovely as the redwoods are, as a whole I would definitely say visit them elsewhere.

Shameful nickel and diming and lack of water.
One star, because this is a real safety issue. On a day when it was well over 100 (my car said 108 upon return), there was no water to buy in the store, only a small amount of soda at $ 2.75/can. There’s no water fountain on site. You can get water from the food stand — but you’d have to stand in line for at least half hour (no, I’m not kidding). Seriously. I’m sure there were plenty of people suffering dehydration.
I’m sure if you were desperate, you could drink from the tap in the bathroom, but who knows if that’s potable.
Ironically, they were grilling meat on site, and by some estimations, 1 pound beef = 1500 gallons to water to raise. Oh, and it’s $ 8 to park, which is kinda steep on top of the ticket price.
Well, the train ride itself was fine — fortunately tree covered most of the way, so was much cooler. However, we sat behind the engine, and missed most of the commentary. What I did hear from the young guy was a bit overblown, and not really worthy of historic commentary. Might have been a great experience — stream trains are kinda fun, and there is a lot of history here (I think).
At the top of the ride, there’s bathrooms — but they’re locked, for shame. I guess no water to operate them, but some notice might have been nice.
Really, if you go here, plan ahead. Be aware of the prices, and the water situation. I think though, if you want a fun train ride, go on the Redwood Valley Train in Tilden Park.

I think all the good reviews here must be for the steam engine trip up through the redwoods, because the trip between the camp and Santa Cruz Boardwalk is not good. Pitiful is the word that comes to mind.
The train was FILTHY. I’m not exaggerating. The Xmas decorations were still up and were covered in cobwebs. There was dirt all over the floor and God-​knows-​what on the seats. It’s not hard to sweep or run a duster around. You can leave the Xmas decorations up. The holidays are only a few months away.
They get two stars because the conductor was a very nice man and he obviously liked his job.
OMG I almost forgot! The most remarkable thing about the trip was the homeless encampments in the woods (and in town and along the river). Trash was everywhere. It was pretty sad (again, pitiful fits).

My husband found this and took me on a surprise train ride to Santa Cruz Boardwalk. I had no clue trains dropped people off there. There are a couple different train rides, I’m not sure where they take you but the longest and most expensive one is to the boardwalk.
The ride itself is about an hour and 20 minutes which sounds really long but when you’re on it, it only feels like half an hour because you’re just enjoying the scenery of trees and the ride itself.
During the ride a train «tour guide» if you will, shares landmark info and such as you ride along but the mic he was speaking into wasn’t loud at all so we didn’t hear much. It would’ve cool to hear some cool facts.
The train dropped us off around 11 and picked us up by around 4:15. It was a good amount of time to play and eat without the hassle of finding parking at the park.
This is something little kids and grown adults alike can all enjoy.
Try to grab an outdoor seat under the canopy when it’s warm and nice out!

At $ 27 for adults and $ 20 for children, this is a very good value for a pleasant 1.5 hour train trip through 2,000+ year old giant redwoods. I recommend that you board one of the open cars so that you can take in the full splendor of the forest’s canopy.
Now for the cons: Parking should always be considered a cost of doing business! So the $ 8 per car parking fee is inexcusable. The food is as pricey as you would find at a theme park but they do let you bring your own food and provide picnic tables. The train seats are just hard wood benches, so bring a pillow if a couple of hours of bouncing around on a very hard surface is a problem for you.