Off The Grid In Gold Class: Finding Presence On The Rocky Mountaineer

“What do you mean this train doesn’t have Wi-Fi?”

There I was on the Rocky Mountaineer, one of the most luxurious trains in North America, and some of the first thoughts going through my head (I hate to admit) were that connection through that the small, yet mighty device would be, of all things, rocky.

Between emails and deadlines, work rarely stops for me, even when I’m out of the office. I can count on one hand how a travel experience itself prevented me from checking a Microsoft Teams or Slack message, and an email, to say the least. However, as a passenger in Gold Class, I was forced to unwind. So, I took my welcome champagne and toasted with my neighbor as we embarked on our two-day adventure from Vancouver to Lake Louise, with an overnight stay in Kamloops.

The Rocky Mountaineer: A Luxury Experience Unlike Any Other

There are two distinct experiences for guests to choose from on the Rocky Mountaineer: SilverLeaf and GoldLeaf. Passengers who choose the Silver Leaf experience will travel in a single-level, glass-domed coach. This particular railcar features full glass dome windows and an outdoor viewing area. A chef prepares the meals on board, which include a gourmet, restaurant-style breakfast and lunch. Both meals are served in the comforts of your seat. Travelers also have access to complimentary drinks and snacks for the six-to-eight-hour train ride.

Gold Leaf is the elevated experience. Think of it as a first-class ride. While it contains all the fabulous offerings found in Silver Leaf, this premium experience places riders in a bi-level glass-dome coach instead. This carriage features oversized glass-dome windows and an extensive and exclusive outdoor viewing platform. It’s a front-row seat to a special corner in the world where the sky, mountain peaks, and rivers are the backdrop in the carriage’s massive windows.

In Gold Class, you won’t be dining at your seat. Instead, you venture down to the lower level, where the dining room is set up like a fine-dining restaurant, complete with a white tablecloth and a proper dining set.

My only disappointment, besides not trying the Alberta striploin steak served with green peppercorn jus, is that you don’t get to sleep on the Rocky Mountaineer. Every passenger disembarks after a day’s journey and sleeps in a real bed. I would rather gaze at the stars at night from the train.

Maximizing Scenic Presence, Minimizing Screen Time 

Within the first two hours and after the first meal of lemon ricotta pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a vanilla cappuccino with oat milk, the reflex of reaching for my phone significantly decreased. The only time I would be racing for my phone was for the moments I didn’t want to forget on our journey.

Luckily, our two on-board hosts made capturing those unforgettable moments easy. Between their history lessons, trivia moments, and storytelling, they announced when it was time to take out your camera. Everyone listened intently when the hosts alerted us to important landmarks approaching at mile markers.

By the second day, I couldn’t care less about my phone. Feelings of missing social media were replaced with immense gratitude for Mother Nature and being within arm’s reach of some of the most stunning and dramatic landscapes of my life. There was no better view than watching the train curve and weave in and out of tunnels, nestled among the majestic mountain peaks of Western Canada, with rushing turquoise and white waters on either side. This, coupled with the season changes from summer to fall, made every hair on my arms and neck stand up.

Free Of The Digital Reflex

The awe from nature hits deeper when you’re intentionally searching for it. Admittedly, checking emails or mindlessly scrolling through social media would have robbed me of that intentionality.  

One of my favorite moments (besides the hosts’ surprising us with warm blueberry scones) was how excited people were about animal sightings. Our car was full of pure joy when we saw a convocation of eagles and a duet of ospreys. The best moment arrived as we neared the end of our two-day journey. There was a radio announcement of a bear sighting, and every passenger darted to the right side of the train to find it.

I embarked on this luxury experience with the anticipation of sharing Instagram stories and checking work emails periodically. Instead, I shared real-life stories and embarrassing personal anecdotes with fellow passengers that I would never share with even my closest friends. I also had the chance to take in some of the most incredible views of Western Canada without distractions.

Staff will tell you that’s exactly what the Rocky Mountaineer experience is designed to do.

“There is nothing else out there that can replicate [this experience], especially through the areas we travel through and the terrain we get to see,” Wendy McMichael, Rocky Mountaineer’s senior on-board manager, tells Travel Noire. “Some of our highlights you can only see from the train.”

The Rocky Mountaineer is a luxury and seasonal experience that operates from April to the beginning of November, and sits at the top of many people’s bucket lists for good reason. The average cost per two-day rail journey on Gold Leaf is approximately $2,350 per passenger, but this varies depending on your itinerary and service level.

The service is top-tier, the food served on board will make you dread going back home to your own kitchen, and the scenery will have you questioning if you’re living on the right side of the world. However, the real luxury found on the Rocky Mountaineer is the freedom to disconnect from technology. The Rocky Mountaineer reminded me that our world and its beauty are much more vast when you are intentionally present, rather than shrinking it into a screen or a social media platform.   

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