About 1.5 hours away from San Francisco in Felton, California, Roaring Camp Railroads is a recreated 1880s logging-era town hosting one of the area’s most quintessentially Californian experiences in the redwoods.
Tourists and locals alike come to enjoy excursions on vintage locomotives dating from around 1890, making them some of the country’s oldest narrow-gauge steam engines still in passenger service.
While Roaring Camp hosts a fun lineup of seasonal train experiences all year long, it’s worth looking into this summer’s moonlight dinner parties in June, July, August, and September.
Moonlight train options for 2026
Roaring Camp has two 4-hour evening dinner party experiences available: one starting in Santa Cruz and one starting in Felton.
Santa Cruz Starlight Evening Dinner Train
This trip starts at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (now with free programming all summer long), traveling 1 hour along the San Lorenzo River through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park to reach Roaring Camp. There, guests can enjoy a barbecue dinner with chicken and ribs, a campfire, and dancing to a live band, before taking the train back to Santa Cruz.
🗓️ Dates: June 13, July 11, Aug 22, Sept 12
Moonlight Evening Dinner Train
Another option is the Moonlight Dinner Party, which starts right at Roaring Camp, where guests can enjoy a barbecue dinner and apple pie. Then, a vintage steam train takes participants up to Bear Mountain, where they’ll be greeted with live music and hot apple cider before riding back down to camp.
🗓️ Dates: June 27, July 25, Sept 6, Sept 26
You can learn more and book your spot at the Roaring Camp Railroads website.
