Privacy Policy

Mendocino Railway (“we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and retain personal information through the websites, online ticketing and guest-service channels, surveys, promotions, events, and related operations we operate for our consumer-facing rail experiences, including Skunk Train and River Fox Train.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information we collect online and offline in connection with our websites, reservations, ticketing, trips, attractions, stations, events, retail sales, surveys, sweepstakes, discount and promotional programs, customer-service communications, accessibility requests, safety and incident response, vendor relationships, and similar business activities. It does not apply to websites, services, or practices of third parties that we do not own or control.

Children and Minors

Our websites and online services are intended for customers arranging tickets, reservations, events, trips, and related services. Users under 18 should use our websites and online services only with involvement from a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 unless legally required consent has been obtained. A parent or legal guardian may provide information about a minor in connection with a reservation, ticket purchase, accessibility request, safety matter, guest-service request, or similar interaction. We use that information for the purpose for which it was provided and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy. We do not knowingly sell or share personal information of consumers under 16 years of age. If you believe that a minor has provided personal information to us without appropriate parent or guardian involvement, please contact us so we can review and address the issue.

Information About Other People

If you provide personal information about another person, including a guest, passenger, gift recipient, minor, employee, applicant, vendor representative, or emergency contact, you should have authority to do so and should share this Privacy Policy with that person when appropriate.

Third-Party Websites and Services

This Privacy Policy does not apply to websites, applications, platforms, or services that we do not own or control, including third-party booking platforms, payment processors, survey tools, email and messaging platforms, analytics providers, social-media platforms, maps, embedded content, and other third-party services. Those third parties handle personal information under their own privacy policies and terms.

Personal Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal information: identifiers and contact information, such as name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, account or reservation identifiers, and similar information; commercial information, such as reservations, ticket purchases, products or services purchased or considered, discount codes, survey or promotion entries, prize or tax documentation, and transaction history; payment-related information, which is generally processed by our payment processors and may include limited payment confirmation details available to us; internet or other electronic network activity information, such as device information, browser type, IP address, pages viewed, referring pages, interactions with our websites, cookies, pixels, and similar technologies; geolocation information, such as approximate location inferred from an IP address or location information you choose to provide; audio, electronic, visual, or similar information, such as customer-service communications, security or operational camera footage, and photos, videos, testimonials, survey comments, or event content where permitted by applicable notice, consent, release, or law; inferences drawn from the information above to help us understand guest preferences and improve our services; and professional or employment-related information if you apply for a job, act as a vendor or business contact, or otherwise interact with us in a business capacity.

Sources of Personal Information

We collect personal information directly from you when you make or manage a reservation, buy tickets or merchandise, request information, contact us, subscribe to communications, participate in a survey, sweepstakes, promotion, or event, request an accessibility accommodation, submit a review, comment, photo, video, or testimonial, report a safety or service issue, apply for employment, or otherwise interact with us. We may also collect information automatically through our websites and communications, from service providers that support our operations, from business partners involved in trips, events, surveys, sweepstakes, promotions, or ticketing, from social-media platforms or other third-party services when you interact with us there, and from publicly available sources.

We and our service providers may use cookies, pixels, tags, software development kits, analytics tools, and similar technologies to operate our websites, remember preferences, understand website performance, measure marketing effectiveness, support security, and improve the guest experience. These technologies may be provided by analytics, advertising, social-media, embedded-content, map, email, survey, booking, or similar providers. You can usually adjust cookie settings through your browser or device. If you disable cookies, some features may not work as intended. We do not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals because there is no consistent industry standard for those signals.

How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information for the following business and commercial purposes:

To provide and manage our websites, reservations, ticketing, trips, attractions, events, customer accounts, guest communications, retail sales, accessibility requests, and related services.

To process purchases, payments, refunds, exchanges, gift certificates, discounts, promotions, sweepstakes entries, winner verification, prize fulfillment, tax or eligibility documentation, and other transactions.

To respond to inquiries, provide customer support, administer surveys and guest-feedback programs, personalize guest experiences, analyze trends, improve our services, develop new offerings, maintain safety and security, investigate incidents, protect our rights, and comply with common-carrier, operational, tax, accounting, legal, insurance, and regulatory obligations.

To send operational messages, reservation confirmations, service updates, safety notices, customer-service responses, and other non-marketing communications.

To send marketing communications, newsletters, offers, event announcements, survey invitations, and promotional messages, including through email, online advertising, customer-list matching, remarketing, or similar tools, where permitted by law and subject to your opt-out choices.

To evaluate employment applications, manage vendor and business relationships, enforce our terms and policies, protect our websites, property, operations, guests, employees, and others, respond to legal process and governmental requests, and support any merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or similar business transaction.

How We Disclose Personal Information

We may disclose personal information to our affiliates and related brands; booking, ticketing, reservation, payment, survey, sweepstakes, email, messaging, analytics, advertising, website-hosting, customer-service, security, information-technology, professional, insurance, legal, accounting, and other service providers; business partners involved in trips, events, promotions, or guest services; social-media, map, embedded-content, and similar providers when you interact with those features; governmental authorities, regulators, courts, law enforcement, insurers, or other parties when reasonably necessary for safety, legal compliance, claims, investigations, or protection of rights; and parties involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or similar business transaction.

We may also disclose information at your direction or with your consent. For example, if you submit a testimonial, review, survey comment, photo, video, or other content for public or promotional use, we may use or disclose that content as permitted by the consent, release, sweepstakes rules, event notice, photo and video disclaimer, or other terms that apply. We do not intentionally identify individuals by full name in connection with photos or videos, or disclose personal identifying information in that context, without consent or another appropriate basis.

We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes without appropriate permission.

Our websites may contain links to third-party websites, applications, platforms, maps, social-media pages, embedded content, or services. Your use of those third-party services is governed by their privacy policies and terms. We encourage you to review them.

Marketing Choices. You may opt out of marketing emails by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us. We may still send non-marketing communications, such as reservation confirmations, service messages, safety notices, customer-service responses, and legal or transactional notices. If we offer SMS or text-message programs, those programs will be subject to the consent, opt-out instructions, and other terms presented when you enroll.

Sale or Sharing for Cross-Context Behavioral Advertising. We do not sell personal information for money. Some website analytics, advertising, remarketing, social-media, embedded-content, or similar technologies may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information under California law if they involve disclosure of identifiers, internet or network activity, or similar information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Visitors may use the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” or “Your Privacy Choices” link on the website, where available, to opt out of sale or sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising and manage applicable cookie or tracking choices.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to provide services, manage reservations and guest relationships, administer surveys, promotions, and sweepstakes, maintain business records, comply with legal, tax, accounting, insurance, safety, and regulatory obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and protect our rights and operations. The specific retention period depends on the type of information, the relationship involved, applicable legal requirements, and business need. We dispose of personal information in a secure manner according to our retention and deletion practices.

Sensitive Personal Information

We may collect sensitive personal information in limited circumstances, such as accessibility-related information you choose to provide, payment-related information handled by payment processors, government-identification or tax information needed for prize or legal documentation, account log-in credentials if accounts are offered, or information relevant to safety, security, incident response, or employment applications. We use sensitive personal information only for the purposes permitted by law, such as providing requested services or accommodations, processing transactions, administering promotions, maintaining safety and security, preventing fraud, complying with law, and managing employment or vendor relationships. We do not use sensitive personal information for purposes that would require a right to limit under California law unless we provide the required notice and choice.

International Users

We are based in California, United States. Our websites may be accessible outside the United States, but they are operated from the United States and are intended primarily for guests, customers, and business contacts who interact with our U.S. operations. If you access our websites or submit information from outside the United States, your information may be collected, transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

Supplemental Notice for California Residents

If we are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, California residents may have the rights described in this section. This section also serves as our notice at collection. In the preceding 12 months, we may have collected the categories of personal information described above, including identifiers; commercial information; internet or other electronic network activity information; approximate geolocation information; audio, electronic, visual, or similar information; inferences; professional or employment-related information; and limited sensitive personal information where needed for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. We collect those categories from the sources described above, use them for the purposes described above, disclose them to the categories of recipients described above, and retain them under the criteria described above.

California Privacy Rights and Choices

Subject to applicable law, California residents may request to know or access the personal information we have collected about them; request deletion of personal information; request correction of inaccurate personal information; opt out of any sale or sharing of personal information; limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information if we use it for purposes beyond those permitted by law; and not be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights. To submit a request, contact us using the information below. To opt out of sale or sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising and manage applicable cookie or tracking choices, visitors may also use the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” or “Your Privacy Choices” link on the website, where available. We will verify your request by asking for information reasonably related to your request and your prior interactions with us. Authorized agents may submit requests on behalf of California residents if they provide proof of authorization, and we may require the resident to verify their identity directly or confirm the authorization. If we deny a privacy request, you may appeal by contacting us using the information below and including “Privacy Appeal” in the subject line.

Supplemental International Privacy Information

Our websites are operated from the United States and are not directed specifically to any country outside the United States. If privacy laws outside the United States apply to our processing of your personal information, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, objection, withdrawal of consent, or review by a supervisory authority, subject to legal limits and exceptions. To exercise rights, contact us using the information below.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information. No website, system, transmission, or storage method is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us promptly.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on our websites with the effective date. Changes are effective when posted unless a later date is stated.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to submit a privacy request, please contact us at: