21 Day rail trip planning

Hi all,

I am planning a 21 day fly/train/drive family vacation in the summer. We will be leaving from Minneapolis, and my goal is to ride the train segments with the most fantastic views during the trip. I am thinking about flying to Denver, spend a few days there, then take the California Zephyr to San Francisco, spend a few days there, then take the Coast Starlight to Seattle, spend a few days in Seattle, and then fly back to Minneapolis from Seattle. The trip can be reversed if the views will be better. The only train I have taken is between Minneapolis and Chicago, and being from the midwest, I am not interested in seeing more plains and prairies or anything flat. We are two adults with an 8 year old child.

I would appreciate any and all suggestions from people who have done more rail travels than we have. Thank you very much in advance.

Hi!

That sounds like a good itinerary to me! One thing I would suggest is to board the Coast Starlight in San Jose because it gets you on the train earlier in the evening. It's easy to catch a commuter train from San Francisco to San Jose.

Were you thinking of traveling in a Family Bedroom? It's a great accommodation if your child would fit in a 4' 9" berth.

Instead of flying back from Seattle, it may make sense to take the Builder back from Seattle to St. Paul. While eastern Montana and North Dakota likely would not interest you, I've heard good things about the western part of that trip. If the train is on time, you'd have late morning and the afternoon of the second day with Montana/North Dakota prairie (along with the overnight, but you can't see much outside then.) If you enjoy the train part of the trip, it'd also add a nice, relaxing end to the trip. (Extra benefit is that if you work a standard day shift at work, you'd have most of the day on arrival to unpack and relax before heading back to work, versus on a flight likely only getting half a day or less. Of course, when I'm taking the train next month I'm also taking the day after arrival off, just to ensure I have plenty of time before getting back into work rhythm.)

I do recommend flying to Denver, though, and the direction you're taking it sounds good.

Your plan is excellent!

You'll get to see the best scenery on the Zephyr Route in daylight ( Denver-Green River,Utah/Rockies and Reno-Sacramento/Sierras).

Also,while you'll miss the Ocean and Mountain scenery on the Starlight Route between Santa Barbara and Paso Robles, you'll go through the Cascades and get to see Mt. Shasta,Western Oregon,Portland and Western Washington State in daylight before arriving into Seattle in the late evening if the train is on time.

Lots of info on this site about your areas of travel, please read them and ask questions, we like to help!

You have picked some great routes for scenery. I would also suggest the EB from Seattle, where you ride so close to the Sound, photros look like you are on the water, then the next day from Daybreak you are in the Montana Rockies and Glacier NP. Beautiful run,