The Mountain Christmas Light Delight, Explained

Picture the daytime railbike, then turn the lights off and string a few hundred of them along the track. You board at the Frostburg Depot at 19 Depot Street, settle into a seat with a seatbelt, and coast downhill along roughly 2.5 miles of historic railroad while the forest on both sides fills with twinkling strands, lit displays, and Christmas music. There is no pedaling to speak of; gravity does the work, and a guide on the lead bike sets the pace so nobody has to think about brakes.

At the bottom, a shuttle carries everyone back up the mountain to the depot. Budget about half an hour on the rails and a little more for check-in and the ride home. It is an open-air ride in a mountain winter — that is the whole charm, and also the reason the single most repeated piece of advice is "dress warmly."

The 2026 season runs November 27 through January 2, every night of the week. Departures leave at 5:00, 6:00, and 7:00 PM nightly, with an extra 8:00 PM run on Thursdays through Sundays. The operation takes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, so December 24 and 25 have no rides at all.

Every rider checks in at the depot 30 minutes before departure — that is when the Tracks & Yaks waiver gets signed, in person, by each adult in the group. A 6:00 PM ride means a 5:30 PM check-in, and departures do not hold for latecomers. If you are staying at the inn across the street, that walk takes about a minute.

Tickets are $29 per person, and unlike the daytime railbikes they are priced per rider, not per bike — every seat, kids included, needs a ticket. On fifteen December weeknights the price drops to $20 a person: November 30, December 1–2, 7–9, 14–16, 21–23, and 28–30. Those are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, which also happen to be the quietest nights to ride.

Both prices match what Tracks & Yaks charges on its own site. The only thing added at checkout is the 5% Tracks & Yaks activity tax, so a $29 ticket lands at $30.45 and a $20 weeknight ticket at $21.00. There are no booking fees on top.

Families first: toddlers get their own seat with a safety harness, infants ride in a front carrier on a parent's chest, and the no-pedaling format means grandparents ride exactly as comfortably as teenagers. Couples take the 7:00 or 8:00 PM runs when the mountain is darkest and the lights read brightest. Groups of friends book a whole railbike line — riders move in bunches of five or six bikes with a guide up front.

Two limits to know before you book: each seat carries a 300-pound weight limit, and the railbikes are not wheelchair accessible. Questions about either go to Tracks & Yaks at 240-730-4064.

This is the one Tracks & Yaks experience you can book at tunnelhotel.com without a room. Head to tunnelhotel.com/book, pick how many are riding, tap a night, pick a departure, and pay — your confirmation email is your ticket. If you want to stay over, the same screen offers the two rooms the hotel keeps heated all winter: the Railrider Retreat Suite (Room 201) and the Big Savage Bunk Room (Room 202). Add one and it goes into the same checkout at its normal nightly rate, with lodging tax itemized separately from the ride's activity tax.

There is no bundle discount, and there does not need to be: the ride stays $29 whether or not a room is beside it, and the rooms cost what they always cost. What you gain is one transaction, one confirmation, and a bed a minute's walk from the shuttle drop.

Earlier is warmer. The 5:00 PM departure is a few degrees kinder than the 8:00 PM, which matters with small children. Second, layer for sitting still, not for walking: you are seated in moving air for half an hour, so a windproof outer layer, a hat, and real gloves beat a bulky coat with nothing underneath. Third, the Trail Inn Cafe at the hotel is open 8 AM to 6 PM daily — eat something before the early departures, because the later ones return after the kitchen has closed, and downtown Frostburg's restaurants and pubs are a walk up the hill.