Boulder City's Railroad Museum Heads Into Its First Holiday Season With a New Front Door

"I thought there'd be 10 or 15 people showing up today," Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony told the crowd at the Nevada State Railroad Museum on September 19, according to the Boulder City Review. Hundreds came. The occasion was the grand opening of the museum's new 9,000-square-foot visitor center, held on the museum's 35th anniversary.

A few weeks later, Anthony was back in town for a second ribbon-cutting, this time at the new Travel Nevada Adventure Center on Nevada Way. In under a month, Boulder City picked up two state-funded buildings built to receive visitors. The first big test for either one starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when the holiday trains start running from a platform that wasn't there last December.

A building planned for weekends that opens five days a week

A year ago the visitor center was still a concrete shell. In November 2025, museum director Dr. Christopher MacMahon gave BoulderCity.com a construction update. Track sections to the new passenger loading platform were due to go down in December, and interior finishes would follow in the new year. Because the Legislature had approved only one part-time employee working 19 hours a week, he expected the center to "only be open on weekends."

The schedule turned out better than that. The museum now lists the visitor center and its Open-air Display Pavilion as open Thursday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with admission at $5. That gives you a quiet Thursday or Friday visit as an option, not only the weekend crowd.

Inside, the exhibits cover three stories that connect to this area:

• How railroads made Nevada's mining booms possible
• The railroads that built Hoover Dam
• The top-secret Jackass & Western Railroad that ran at the Nevada Test Site

FOX5 Las Vegas reported that the galleries also include interactive exhibits, a projection-mapping theater, research archives, educational space and a shaded platform for weekend passenger excursions. The site also gained a museum store, a welcome plaza, a bus loading area and a passenger loading area with tracks on both sides.

The Boulder City Review put the price at $23 million, paid for with Conserve Nevada bonds. The museum's own Visitor Center page calls it a $25 million project. Either way, it may not be the biggest project on the property for long. The same article estimates a future exhibit hall at about $88 million.

The holiday calendar keeps its usual rhythm

Families who have done the Santa Train before will recognize the 2026 schedule. The museum lists it on Saturdays and Sundays from November 28 through December 20. Last year it ran from November 29 through December 21, which BoulderCity.com called the 24th annual run. The calendar dates are one day earlier this year, but the pattern is the same: it opens the Saturday after Thanksgiving and runs every weekend until just before Christmas.

The setting is what's new. Last year's riders boarded beside a construction site, and this year's will board next to a finished visitor center, a welcome plaza and a shaded loading platform.

Two holiday trains share those weekends, and they're built for different parts of the day.

The Santa Train is the daytime tradition. Santa and his helpers walk through the cars handing out candy canes and stopping for photos while riders sing along. The museum says spaces are limited and asks riders to book early. Last year, BoulderCity.com said the ride tends to sell out each weekend.

The North Pole Express is the evening option, and it raises money for Friends of the Nevada Southern Railway, a group that supports the museum. The museum notes it is not a Polar Express-branded event. Tickets went on sale November 1. The museum's overview page lists $35 for adults and $30 for children 3 and older, with $5 off for members. The 2026 event listing shows coach seats at $39 and $32. Check the current price at checkout on the event page. The venue is listed at 1000 Boulder City Pkwy.

The weekend before the Santa rush

If you want younger kids to try a train ride before the holiday crowds, Story Time Trains run on Saturday, November 21. Children get a story, coloring and crafts aboard vintage equipment. Departures are at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and fares are $15 for adults and $6 for children.

The regular 45-minute weekend ride, also $15 for adults and $6 for children, runs September through June. It stops between Christmas and Martin Luther King weekend for maintenance. That makes December 20 the last weekend for the museum's full-size excursion trains until mid-January. The miniature Live Steamers run on a separate schedule, on the second and fourth Saturdays from September through December, depending on staffing and weather.

The other new front door, on Nevada Way

The Adventure Center started much earlier than the visitor center. Boulder City Chamber of Commerce CEO Jill Rowland Lagan first raised the idea of a one-stop shop for outdoor adventures 18 years ago, according to the Boulder City Review. She recalled that every operator in town came to that first meeting. According to a release cited in the Review, the Adventure Centers are backed by a $3.7 million Economic Development Administration award. That award is part of more than $7 million invested in this center and a second one planned for Carson City next year.

Travel Nevada's announcement gives the address as 102 Nevada Way, next to the Chamber. The center opens daily from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is meant to serve Nevada residents as well as visitors. Seven operators were confirmed at opening:

1. Canyon Riders, for e-bike rentals and tours
2. Desert Adventures, for kayaking, hiking and biking
3. Hoover Dam Rafting Adventures
4. HPP Armory, for lockers
5. Lake Mead Cruises
6. Loop Trail Rentals, for e-bikes
7. Papillon Airways, for scenic air tours

The Boulder City Review reported that Desert Adventures expects to take walk-up customers for same-day kayaking trips. The building was designed to hold more than a dozen companies, so expect the list to grow.

An e-bike or kayak booking on Nevada Way in the morning fits inside the center's 9-to-2 window, and the 3:30 p.m. Santa Train or a 5 p.m. North Pole Express departure fits after it.

This Saturday comes first

Before any of the holiday trains run, the first full weekend of November has two events:

• Airport Day runs Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Boulder City Municipal Airport. Admission is free, and there will be aircraft displays, pilots, food and free Young Eagles flights for ages 8 to 17.
• Artists in Action, the Boulder City Art Guild's show and sale, runs November 7 and 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation New Gym, 900 Arizona Street. More than 30 artists will demonstrate and sell their work.

The 2026 dates for the community tree lighting and Santa's Electric Night Parade haven't been posted yet. Last year they fell on the first Friday and Saturday of December. The City of Boulder City events calendar is where they'll appear.

Farther down Nevada Way, there's one more thing to watch. Demolition started in August at the former Milo's site for Nora's Lakeside. The owners plan to open the attached bed-and-breakfast, Villa Nora, first, and told the Boulder City Review the restaurant would take about a year after demolition and approvals. Until then, the newest places to bring holiday guests are the railroad museum and the Adventure Center.

If the train weekends have you thinking about what a home close to the museum and the historic district is worth this season, Jenn Taylor and The Taylor Group follow Boulder City closely. Request a Personalized Home Valuation, and we'll put together a clear, local picture before the holidays.