Black River & Western Railroad — Attraction in East Amwell Township

For the price we paid for the North Pole experience, I'm honestly pretty disappointed. I teetered between 2 & 3 stars, but I'll give 3 to give the benefit of the doubt.

-The train experience was okay. Based on the photo on the website, I pictured a dark train car lit by colorful Christmas lights. It was actually brightly lit the entire time and the white Christmas lights were barely noticeable. You couldn't see well out of the train because of how bright the overhead lights were. Other than that.. it's a train ride. Exactly what you'd expect.

-The North Pole Station was kind of a joke. It's line after line of half-hearted set ups. You go through a train car to get hot cocoa and cookies (half filled cup of basic hot cocoa mix & water and a store brand cookie). Next you go through a museum car, which was okay. People do not follow the "Entrance" and "Exit Only" so it gets congested. The entrance takes you through 2 photo ops-- a sleigh and a tree with presents.

-There's a photo booth area, which was the most chaotic to get into, so we skipped it. There's a very (very) small gift shop with expensive things that was nearly impossible to navigate due to the crowding. There are restrooms (2 stalls) and 2 more photo ops-- a wreath and a face-in-hole gingerbread man.

-My biggest complaint is that they pull the train away from the station and you're not permitted back on until they bring the train forward again. It was FREEZING at the North Pole Station and everyone was complaining about how bitter it was, but we weren't allowed on the train. The station could invest in outdoor heaters or allow folks on the train, but for the time being, it's a very uncomfortable experience.

-The last point was the on board entertainment/experience. The elf was the most bubbly and that man deserves a raise for his energy. Mrs. Claus was a sweet woman and she handed out lollipops or candy canes. No real interaction with the kids. Santa came through with bells and he was a bit more interactive with the kids, but he's for sure a smoker because the odor was lingering on him. The bells they hand out are pretty nice and the golden tickets they got were cute, but that's probably the biggest plus of this whole experience.

Overall, I would say it's an overpriced experience for what it is. If there was more focus on guest satisfaction, they could definitely improve the package. But for us, it was a one and done excursion. We won't...

The train was clean, the event was well organized and everything was on time. The volunteers were fantastic! That being said, it really lacked Christmas “magic” and holiday cheer. On the train, an elf read the night before Christmas. He did a great job. But it took up about 5 minutes of a 30 minute train ride that felt like hours. The rest of the ride was just a quiet train ride. Then we got to the “North Pole”. There is nothing fun for kids to do there. It’s literally a place to take picture of your kids in front of a few different backdrops- a tree, a wreath, a sleigh. No Christmas music playing. Nothing overly Christmasy about it at all. There is a line to wait in to get cookies and hot chocolate, but there’s no where to go to enjoy them. So you have to juggle everyone’s cookies and hot chocolate while trying to convince your kids to wait in more lines to take pictures. There is a train museum, where you can watch the model trains but they are high up so the kids need to be picked up to see them. The “North Pole” visit didn’t take us very long so we mostly stood in the cold trying to keep our kids entertained while we waited for the train to pick us up. It should also be mentioned that it all takes place on a railway platform so there isn’t a lot of room for people to move around. Santa visited us on the train on the way back. He was nice but smelled like cigarettes. My kids are young and are so excited about everything Christmas but this missed the mark. Overall I was disappointed. I’d like to try one of the other events they offer bc the volunteers were great and the event was well orchestrated but we definitely won’t be back...

FLEMINGTON/RINGOES: the Black River & Western Railroad is a dog friendly historic train ride that travels between Flemington and Ringoes. You can board at either station and travel to the next with peaceful views of the Hunterdon County countryside. Dogs are allowed on the “Black River Limited” rides.

The roundtrip ride is about 30 minutes one-way with a 20 minute stop where you can disembark and take a look around, then 30 minutes back. The train runs rain or shine and it was a bit rainy during our excursion and didn’t impact the enjoyment. There is no air conditioning and the windows are open to get air in the summer. The Ringoes station has a cute gift shop and some photo opportunities with an old caboose. (There is also a museum, but it is temporarily closed for renovations.)

Thank you to their employee, Diana, for inviting us to participate in this unique experience. And, thank you to Maddielyne, a member of the train crew for chatting with us about Brie and sharing the history of the train and the area.

If your dog is sensitive to noise, the train is loud riding over the tracks and the train horn blares frequently for safety precautions.

Official pet friendly rules: “Are pets allowed? Well-behaved, leashed dogs are invited to ride the Black River Limited train at the conductor’s discretion. We do ask that pet parents please make every effort to clean up after their pet for the convenience of our train crew. We recommend bringing a towel for your pet to sit on and other necessary supplies. Service animals are not considered pets and are permitted in all areas where customers...