AT THE VERDE CANYON RAILROAD EVERYBODY'S IRISH ON ST. PATRICKS DAY

CLARKDALE, AZ - Everybody can enjoy the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick ’s Day aboard the Verde Canyon Railroad! On March 17, toast your luck with a green beer as you ride the rails through the pristine beauty of the Verde Canyon . A spring shower may well paint the sky with a rainbow, luring leprechauns to search for a pot of gold amidst the burgeoning springtime green that covers the Verde Canyon floor. Wildflowers abound, spilling colors down the canyon walls and flooding the edges of the Verde River , one of the very last rivers flowing free in Arizona .

Before train departure, St. Paddy’s Day specialty drinks will be offered out on the patio where live music, sumptuous foods and a clear, crisp spring day will coax passengers in to joining in on a little Irish jig.

The American bald eagles are anxiously guarding their newborn eaglets in a nest easily visible from the train. During eagle nesting season, the Verde Canyon is accessible only by rail, and the historic route is nestled between two national forests and adjacent to a designated wilderness area. This unique geological wonderland features rugged, high desert rock faces and spectacular panoramic views. This distinctive confluence of desert and wetland is populated by a variety of wildlife, which thrives among the indigenous trees, shrubs, cactuses and wildflowers.

Springtime in the Verde Canyon offers a quiet solitude bursting with vibrant colors that dot the landscape. A patchwork quilt of color blankets the hillsides as wildflowers and cactuses bloom from March through June . Indigenous prickly pear, desert marigolds, larkspur, Blackfoot daisies, ocotillo, and Indian paintbrush add vivid hues to the scarlet canyon walls. During spring, more trains are added to accommodate the many passengers wanting to see this colorific canyon in bloom.

Passengers on this popular excursion train are enthralled as the eagle-decorated, vintage engines roll past towering, crimson cliffs, near ancient Indian ruins, over old-fashioned trestles, and through a 680-foot manmade tunnel on a four-hour round trip to deserted Perkinsville Ranch and back.