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Historic Rail Tour in Andrews, NC

Enjoy the adventure aboard North Carolina’s First RailBike Tour! An incredible 8.5 mile round-trip on the old railroad tracks through the Valley in Andrews, North Carolina. Your destination: the historic hand-carved Valley River Tunnel.

Tours leave promptly, 7 days a week, at 8:30 am, 11:30 am, and 3 pm from the Andrews Train Depot. You must be at the depot 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time for mandatory safety instructions. Check in at the Depot Office as soon as you arrive. There are three options for riding the rails at Andrews Valley Rail Tours: The RailBikes, The Cart, and The Choo-Choo.

Our rail tour adventures start at only $59.95 per person!

The RailBikes

Our RailBikes are electric pedal-assisted, similar to E-bikes, and require light pedaling by all riders. A RailBike is the optimal way to tour the Valley if you’re able. There’s nothing like the open air, unobstructed view of the mountains and river.

PASSENGERS = 4 PEDALING = YES WEIGHT LIMIT = 300lbs per person

 

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The Cart

The Cart Ride offers captain’s chairs that swivel and have armrests. A great option for those with limited mobility, or for groups that want to be able to hold conversations during the trip.

PASSENGERS = 9 PEDALING = NO WEIGHT LIMIT = NONE

 

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The Choo-Choo

The Choo-Choo Speeder Ride is our compact gas-powered speeder and offers a true “railroad” experience for riders with its locomotive-like appearance.

PASSENGERS = 2 PEDALING = NO WEIGHT LIMIT = NONE

 

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The Destination

Don’t forget to have your camera ready for the 5-mile trip to the Historic Valley River Tunnel. Take in the views from our beautiful valley that offers you the opportunity to experience mountains, forests, and abundant wildlife. You’ll see crystal-clear mountain rivers and streams as you cross Historic open deck railroad bridges on your trip to the tunnel.
 

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Below you will find answers to many common questions about our Rail Tours. Click the “+” to see the answer.

 

Tour tickets are $59.99 per person.
No. Due to liability concerns, no pets are allowed on any of the Rail Tours. This includes service animals.
Yes, ages 8 years and older can ride. Each child will need their own seat and to be secured with the seatbelt provided.
Yes, for safety reasons there is a weight limit of 300lbs per person on the RailBikes.
Yes! If you forget to bring your own, we have drinks and snacks available in the gift shop, or you can arrive early and get food to go from any of our wonderful eateries in town!

Please remember you will be outside, in nature. At the tunnel, you will have the option to walk down to the river, and there is a slight slope. You may encounter spiders, bees, and other insects during your tour.

Dress for the weather and temperature. Please do not wear skirts or flowy pants that could get caught in the pedals of the RailBike. To avoid losing your shoes, no flip-flops or sandals without a heel strap should be worn. Closed-toe shoes are best.

Groups with an odd number of riders may find that they will need to be split into more than one RailBike to even out ridership numbers. Please call if this is the case with your group, to discuss options. (828) 557-4021

RailBike rider parties that are larger than 4 will be seated on consecutive RailBikes.

If your party is less than 4 people, and you do not want to ride with strangers, you can purchase the additional seat(s) when you make your reservation. We cannot guarantee the additional seat(s) will be available to purchase later.

Yes, we have restrooms at the Depot as well as at the Tunnel.

Tours go out rain or shine. If the weather looks like thunderstorms or lightning then we will cancel your tour. If Andrews Valley Rail Tours cancels your tour, you will be offered to book another day in the future or you will be issued a full refund (your choice).

If you choose not to participate in the tour, due to weather conditions, and the tour you were scheduled for runs as scheduled, you will not receive a refund.

You can cancel up to 72 hours prior to departure. Within the 72 hours of departure, this reservation becomes nonrefundable. NO EXCEPTIONS. Should there be inclement weather, such as lightning, heavy rain or storms, you will be able to re-book for another day, or you will be fully refunded.

You will receive a phone call or text message if your tour is cancelled due to weather. If you do not receive a call or message your tour will depart as scheduled.

It is very important that you be on time for your tour. As is stated during your ticketing process, YOU MUST BE AT THE DEPOT 30 MINUTES BEFORE YOUR SCHEDULED DEPARTURE TIME for mandatory safety instructions. You will not receive a refund if you arrive late.

 


GOOGLE REVIEWS

 

Andrews Valley Rail Tours
4.8
Based on 676 reviews
powered by Google
Jennifer CutterJennifer Cutter
21:27 08 Oct 24
We had a great time. The staff was friendly and awesome. It was fun and we will be back again.
Shari KelloggShari Kellogg
20:55 08 Oct 24
Very fun relaxing and beautiful trip! The people are all so nice. Bathrooms are clean and we loved our trip. Definitely will be back. Books fast so plan ahead.
Bill KraftBill Kraft
15:17 08 Oct 24
Went there with some friends and had an amazing time. Not only are the rail bikes fun (and not too strenuous thanks to the electric assist) but the scenery in that area is amazingly beautiful. Lots of flora and fauna to see. The people who run the place are very friendly and easy going. It's a "must do" if you're ever in this part of the country. Bring friends and have fun!
J HJ H
09:46 08 Oct 24
Before I highlight what is wrong I want to say we did have a good time, the guides are really awesome, fun people and the sights are worth the cost, other people have covered the tunnel and general experience and I believe they are spot on. What I want to highlight as an issue are the wasps. I got stung three times on the way back, once on my ankle and twice on my back. I was going to chalk it up to just being unlucky, but then I heard another rider got stung on the way down, then I found a review from three months ago where the rider also got stung, it makes me wonder how many other people are getting stung and not saying anything? There is obviously a nest beside the tracks and the bees are being angered by the cars and swarming. I'm no bee expert, but If I really wanted to find and kill that nest I don't think it would be hard to do, so here is my offer to Andrews Valley Rail Tours, find and kill the wasp nest and I will take this review down, I just don't want anyone else to get stung.
Novie RobertsNovie Roberts
00:51 06 Oct 24
Great experience and the town has a restaurant called Morning Fog that just enhances the trip.
Cassie gustinCassie gustin
23:31 05 Oct 24
Great experience! Guides were very friendly and helpful. Couldn’t have asked for a better time. Would love to do it again!
Hamid QayyumHamid Qayyum
21:18 05 Oct 24
Awesome experience.
It was a very nice. Great scenery. Lots of fun.
Meredith MeskoMeredith Mesko
18:23 05 Oct 24
Great staff and so fun!
jbbailiffjbbailiff
14:32 04 Oct 24
Awesome activity to go down the railroad through a hand picked tunnel. Beautiful views, lots of cattle along the tracks, couple of turkeys too. They updated two carts' electric motors, which caused towing and maintenance issues on the excursion. Overall 8/10. Doing this again in the springtime.
Allison PappAllison Papp
13:58 30 Sep 24
We were looking forward to our trip, but unfortunately the hurricane cancelled our plans. Andrews Valley were fantastic with their communication and got us our refund without even needing to be asked.I hope they have a fast recovery and I look forward to being able to give them my business in the future once they recover
MicaellaMicaella
19:33 27 Sep 24
The staff was really friendly and riding the rail bikes was an overall great time! Recommend!
A FA F
16:18 27 Sep 24
This was a fun and really unique experience. We had a foursome and we chose the pedal car. I am not sure what happened to others on this ride who I see have left bad reviews related to chains coming off and rude personnel, but we had exactly the opposite experience. Everyone was friendly, polite and knowledgeable about the track and history of the town and tunnel. I suspect that some folks drop chains because they treat the car like a bike and they hammer on the pedals without using the electric assist trigger to get rolling first. We feathered the throttle when starting from a stop and had a perfect ride up and back. Highly recommend, other than the town (Andrews) being closed on Sundays. Drive to Murphy if you do this on a Sunday and want to eat or antique shop.
Marilyn EisenMarilyn Eisen
23:01 25 Sep 24
Jackie KirkmanJackie Kirkman
17:14 25 Sep 24
The rail was great. The staff were also courteous and knowledgeable. Also, great Mexican restaurant in town, Monte Alban.
Lindsey HowardLindsey Howard
22:44 24 Sep 24
This is a really fun way to spend an afternoon. The staff is very kind and fun natured. The views are beautiful. I would do it again.
Eric DeTorresEric DeTorres
12:48 24 Sep 24
Took old ball and chain out for her birthday. Had a blast. David and Cassie are top notch hotties with a ton of knowledge and nice buns. Ken fixes stuff and he's a little quiet but he's awesome too
Tracy ParkerTracy Parker
23:04 23 Sep 24
We had a great time. The tour guides were super nice and very friendly.
Jeff CogginJeff Coggin
22:20 23 Sep 24
Cool adventure! Didn’t have to pedal at all on the way back.
Michelle CoffeyMichelle Coffey
21:13 23 Sep 24
A must do experience in Andrews NC.
Wenda ClinardWenda Clinard
20:12 23 Sep 24
What fun! You cannot come to this are of NC and not take a ride on the Andrews Valley Railtour. It is a fun adventure for all ages. My husband and I did the bike ride with several of our adult children and their partners and we ALL had a blast. It was a great way to spend a morning while in Andrews, NC. The staff was friendly and eager to ensure we all had a safe and fun time.
cheryl Rcheryl R
17:50 23 Sep 24
Staff was great from front desk to the people who took care of the bikes. My issue is I feel the bikes need better maintenance. The chain on mine was missing. The lady in front chain kept coming off. So the worker ( who was awesome) made it up to us by pushing us. He also acted like our personal tour guide. All in all we had a great time and hope they get better maintenance.
Patrick PricePatrick Price
21:38 22 Sep 24
Our group of 7 had a great time! It was a lot of fun! Staff was excellent!
Darci NewmanDarci Newman
22:51 21 Sep 24
It was very relaxing. My party rode in the group cart. On the pro side, the scenery was nice. The town of Andrews was quaint. The staff were very griendly. Marilinos Italian Restaurant was amazing. On the con side the only thing I would say is for the $60 price a bottle of water and a packaged snack should be provided to each rider.
Courtney NeedhamCourtney Needham
20:46 21 Sep 24
Very friendly staff, nice day trip!
Amber EvansAmber Evans
19:47 21 Sep 24
We went for a bachelorette and had a great time! The staff was super friendly
Melissa BarberMelissa Barber
17:43 21 Sep 24
Great excursion for the family, the guides are wonderful. Take advantage of the opportunity!
Madelyane WhiteMadelyane White
17:30 19 Sep 24
Wish this review was of a different experience but unfortunately we did not get any experience. Now, to preface this, I understand my lack of research and planning was at play for not getting to experience what I was hoping to be an amazing morning.I had purched tickets the day prior and looked up gps from our air bnb to the depot. It showed 20/30 minutes away. Doable.This morning we get up, get in the car and the gps changed to over an hour away and there was no way to make it in time for the mandatory safety demo and then ride. I called to see if there was anything we could do and was answered with "Well just put Andrews NC in your gps, but if you're not here that's too bad."I asked to see if we could change ticket dates, times, or anything and was told they were a small business and if they changed our tickets that was taking away money they could have made, and it just was too bad we weren't gonna make it, said she had other people to help and hung up.Now, I completely understand this concept and I am an avid small business supporter. I still believe you have to have some compassion and work with customers in all circumstances. This however just is just plain greed.Also, hindsight... reading similar reviews and even responses to those reviews from the company, I'm not nearly as upset as I was at first but still disappointed in how I was treated. To conduct your self as a small business and have no compassion or understand really goes to show why small businesses don't have longevity.And to add insult to injury we opted to spend our day in Pigeon Forge to contribute to the "big businesses and consumer capitalism"
Devon WilliamsDevon Williams
13:32 19 Sep 24
Elizabeth ProutElizabeth Prout
23:34 18 Sep 24
Staff was wonderful and informative. The ride had beautiful views. The pedal assist made the ride easy.
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