- The longest train route in North America takes travelers between Toronto and Vancouver over the course of four days.
- The Canadian winds its way across the provinces of Canada, which each have their own landscapes filled with different mind-blowing sights.
- From abandoned farms to glacial lakes, there is so much to see along the way.
- Here are the most mesmerizing sights I experienced on my trip across Canada by train.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Canadian takes travelers through Canada's southern countryside between Toronto and Vancouver over the course of four days.
From lakeside vistas just outside of Toronto ...
... to the snowcapped Rocky Mountains in Alberta, there are so many stunning views to enjoy along the way.
Traveling across the country, we were able to see how Canada's landscape changes from province to province.
The first day of our journey took us from Toronto through Sudbury Junction, both cities in Ontario.
We first rode through the landscape just outside of Toronto, which proved to be filled with vast green lawns and rural homes.
Orchards and vineyards were visible from the train's windows in Ontario ...
... as were both abandoned-looking and working barns.
The landscape started to change as we continued on that first day. The views of homes and rural life were taken over by views of color-filled trees.
The trees throughout the province of Ontario boasted luscious, fall colors.
One VIA Rail employee told passengers that day one through Ontario was the only time we'd get to see red trees on this trip. So everyone went snap-happy with their cameras.
The trees weren't the only interesting things to look at in Ontario, though. There were train-watchers scattered all along the route who waved at us as we chugged by.
The different bridges we saw along the way were also beautiful. This was the first bridge sighting of the trip in Ontario between Toronto and Sudbury Junction.
Bridges and the top of the train could only be seen from the glass dome of the Skyline car — a train car with a lounge and an elevated observation seating area. There were four of these on the train I was on.
From the elevated, front-facing windows, we were able to see what was coming ahead. In this case on the first day, we saw what looked like a fire coming up on the left.
There was something cinematic about watching real-life happen outside this glass bubble we were sitting in.
The only downside to the elevated seating was that when it rained — which was quite often on my trip — the windows were covered in raindrops making it difficult to see the scenery.
The next day we were still moving through Ontario, but now we had passed our first station checkpoint of Sudbury Junction and were on course to arrive in Winnipeg, a city in Manitoba, that night.
As we moved across southern Ontario, we passed through communities known for fishing. Docks had small motorboats that were waiting to be taken out on the water.
Source: VIA Rail
Farther from the water, there were plenty of abandoned buildings, too. The towns we moved through were mostly built to service the railway and facilitate fur trade.
Source: VIA Rail
We stopped mid-day at the Sioux Lookout station in northwestern Ontario, which looked like a station from mid-2000s romance movies I've seen.
It's a short ride from there to the Ontario-Manitoba border. Once we crossed into the next province, we saw lakeside homes and communities like this one.
Source: VIA Rail
This area of Manitoba is made up of undeveloped forests and lakes in the Whiteshell Provincial Park and is known for canoeing and fishing.
Source: VIA Rail
Continuing through the forest, were able to see out above the tops of rock walls that lined the tracks by sitting in the Skyline car.
In this same area, there were beautiful, bright leaves growing on the sides of dark tunnels we passed through.
From the Skyline observation deck, we were able to get a full view of the train as it snaked around curves on the edge of the forest and the cusp of a lake.
But different parts of the train offered different views. From the Park car — exclusive to first-class travelers for most of the day — these windows looked like picture frames.
Even as the landscape changed, it looked as though someone was just changing a green screen outside the glass.
I preferred watching the locomotive wind around rocks in Manitoba from my business-class Skyline seat, though.
As we got closer to Winnipeg, we passed more farms. We started to see herds of cattle ...
... and even horses grazing on the snow-soaked ground.
Because of its location, Winnipeg was once the center of the Canadian fur trade. Today, it's a fully developed city — we pulled in and saw the lights illuminate the sky.
We ended day two of this journey in Winnipeg and began day three en route to the Saskatchewan border while crossing the prairie region, which stretches from Manitoba to Alberta.
Just outside of Winnipeg, before we reached the border, we passed through "some of the richest farmland in Manitoba," according to VIA Rail.
Source: VIA Rail
Most of the land was vast and empty. But as we passed into the Saskatchewan province, there were areas scattered with farming equipment and smokestacks ...
... and there was even a junkyard littered with car parts as if out of a movie.
Passing through our Saskatoon stop and continuing along the Saskatchewan prairies, we saw endless golden fields.
Some portions were dotted with abandoned-looking buildings and seemingly rotting wood.
There were track maintenance employees working all along the route, even in the rain.
The fields were intermittently interrupted by small pools of water like this one.
As we got closer to Alberta, passengers were getting restless for some moose sightings. But this prank was as close as we got to seeing a moose out the window.
Instead, we were greeted by more cattle, and burned out barns were a common sight.
The flat land started to bubble into rolling hills, which had crevices that were sprouting birch trees.
We crossed into Alberta and started to see tall, skinny birch trees all along the route. The white and brown patterns on the bark were gorgeous.
We also saw so many flocks of birds flying in formation.
The rolling hills got even more interesting with splashes of greenery shaking up the color scheme.
We also started to see some breathtaking homes scattered across the horizon.
Just inside of the Alberta border, we passed through "oil country." Here we saw some oil silos in the distance as we waited for this freight train to pass by.
The next day took us from Edmonton, Alberta, through Jasper and all the way to Kamloops in British Columbia. We were headed through the Rockies!
Most mornings were laden with cloudy skies, but we did get to witness one glowing sunrise just outside of Edmonton.
The warm colors bounced off the clouds and the roof of the train.
Mid-day clouds also provided some mind-blowing color schemes, especially for anyone riding in the Panorama car. We got our first look at the Rocky Mountains as we passed through towns just before Jasper.
The Panorama car wasn't elevated, but it featured walls made of windows allowing travelers to cloak themselves in the scenery of the Rockies.
That scenery includes lakes filled with ice blue, glacial water ...
... snow-capped mountains ...
... and the green trees and golden marshes at their foothills.
We saw variations of pine trees start to pop up, which was expected as we were traveling through some of Canada's coniferous forests.
We also saw some more wildlife as we passed through the Alberta province.
We passed a pair of rams grazing ...
... and goats gathering next to the tracks.
We even saw elk taking a rest under some trees.
Back in the Skyline Car, we were able to see how the tree-covered mountains on the left contrasted against the snow-covered ones in the distance on the right.
As we got closer to Jasper, more and more of the landscape looked like this.
The mountains we saw from the train station in Jasper, Alberta, were awe-inspiring.
At the stop in Jasper, this colorful little bird — called a black-billed magpie — hung out at the station with us.
As we pulled out of Jasper, we watched the train wind its way through the remaining small stretch of Alberta toward British Columbia.
The elevated seating offered travelers a birds-eye perspective of the landscape, giving us leverage for seeing the beautiful reflection of mountains on the water.
The trees of British Columbia provided a visually interesting obstacle for the fog that rolled around on the rainy afternoons.
It even added a layer of character to Pyramid Falls seen below.
The fog set a beautifully ominous tone for our day spent moving through the Rockies.
Even though the mist blocked some of the mountains in the distance ...
... it made for some really stunning and eerie photo ops.
As we traveled deeper into British Columbia we saw the trees had more fall colors similar to the ones in Manitoba.
But there were still some patches of bare birch trees ...
... some of which were even sprouting life, like the trunk seen here that was growing a mushroom.
Even though we didn't see any beavers, we did see loads of beaver dams dotting rivers along the way. This one was near Blue River, British Columbia, which is known for outdoor activities.
Source: VIA Rail
As we approached Kamloops, the track route became more dramatic. It seemed like we were riding through remains of a mudslide — watching the train disappear around bends was unbelievable.
Dirt crevices gave way to hillside views. But we passed through most of Kamloops at night, so there was just a short window during which we could appreciate the sights.
Even at night, when it was almost too dark to see anything, though, the moon peeking out from behind clouds provided enough light to see the beginning of winding Kamloops.
When we woke up the next morning, we had arrived in our final stop, Vancouver, where many more mesmerizing views and experiences were waiting to be photographed. But we'd have to disembark first.
