California Zephyr questions

It"s still a 33 hrs. train plus the travel from NC. I will also ride the Zepher this spring and also my first LD train ride. I think I'll never go back, but, I also am afraid it will be too much? The boys and you will never forget.

OP - where will you be flying from?

Southwest Airlines flies to Chicago Midway Airport from Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, and also Greenville/Spartanburg. This might be a more affordable air option for you..... and it's an easy ride downtown on the Orange Line to reach Union Station.

If you opt for Denver, check the website for the RTD....... there is a bus from the airport to downtown which last I checked was about $13 adult fare....... MUCH cheaper option than the $70 or so cab fare there.

Either way, the California Zephyr is a great choice for first long-distance train experience.

And sometime in the future (they're building the line now), there will be a rail line from the Denver Airport to Union Station!

The RTD Skyride AF bus from Denver airport to downtown Denver stops at Union Station, which is a short walk to the temporary Amtrak station. Travel time is 45 minutes. One-way fare is $11 for adults. Children age 15 and under ride for free with a paying adult.

Notelvis - I'm flying to Chicago from Raleigh.

You really would not miss much scenery if you skipped Illinois and Iowa and boarded in Omaha at 11PM. My recent westbound trip on the CZ was over 1.5 hours late into Burlington IA (after sunset).

I did step off the train in Omaha for a breath of fresh air while Amtrak was servicing the train. I was in the lounge car for the ride up the two huge swichbacks west of Denver. I also sat in the lounge car for the trip through the Glenwood Canyon. I got to see the full moon rise before we got to Green River Utah.

We got into SLC a few minutes early.

Sounds like an easy choice to me, nccb. If this is your family's first train trip, why not start it on a high note? Thirty minutes out of Denver, you're entering a remarkably scenic world of tunnels, pine trees and broad prairie vistas. After that comes the high Rockies, an awesome granite canyon, a sublime redrock canyon, several deserts, and finally the epic, scenic crossing of the Sierras. Thirty minutes out of Chicago, or even three hours, you're seeing acres of corn. The kids are wondering why they came. Point is, the Zephyr ride west of Denver is entertainment; east to Chicago, it's just transportation.

Also, two nights on a train, for the same price in points for one zone of travel, is a far better deal than only one. By the second night, everybody should be more relaxed and comfortable with the accommodations.

Like you, I'm planning to take a one-zone trip in late March, on points. It's our family's first overnight train trip together, so I can relate to your story. We'll go all the way to Vancouver from Denver. I could never afford the ticket price, with sleepers, but the points make it easy. Amtrak redemptions must be one of the most profitable ways to use credit card points.

To The Traveler-- The rail line to DIA is under construction right now, as is a large hotel at the airport. Rail service is set to begin in 2016, though I can't imagine how it would take so long. Bridges are under construction, and in the open land approaching the airport, catenary is being constructed. As a local, it's interesting to see how DIA's remoteness and lack of rail connection influences and deters tourists like nccb.

domefoamer - I follow you...sort of. You suggest starting in Denver, then you say two nights on the train is better - these two contradict. If I start in Denver, I get just one night.

You could connect the same day and take the Coast Starlight to either Portland or Seattle for the 2nd night - for the same amount of points! Actually, I think the reference was to domefoamer's trip.

I'd take the train all the way from Raleigh. There's tons of America to be seen between Raleigh and Denver.

the_traveler - the CZ gets to Emeryville ~4pm, the CS departs 8am the next day. I'd have to haul the kids off into a hotel and back on the train again. Not sure I want to do that. (or am I missing something?)

nccb said:

the_traveler - the CZ gets to Emeryville ~4pm, the CS departs 8am the next day. I'd have to haul the kids off into a hotel and back on the train again. Not sure I want to do that. (or am I missing something?)

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His point was the *northbound* CS gets to Emeryville in the *evening* and is in northernmost California by morning (with a dynamite view of Mt Shasta, then a trip through the Oregon Cascades, then the Willamette Valley. But I think you said your ultimate destination was southern California...

RyanS said:

I'd take the train all the way from Raleigh. There's tons of America to be seen between Raleigh and Denver.

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Agree, though it adds another zone plus another layover (WAS) w/kids.

Adding my two cents worth...

I took my first LD trip last spring on the EB from SEA to CHI. One, I was instantly hooked and am now planning at least one LD trip a year, next up is the SWC in May. Two, the EB would be similar to the CZ in that there are areas of stunning beauty and areas of not so much. But that was one of the great things about it. Leaving SEA you're pretty quickly winding through the Cascades before nightfall. Then when you wake up (if you're OT as I was), you're making your way into the Rockies and Glacier Park. Not long after, you're into the plains of Montana and North Dakota. What really got me as I woke up the next day in Minnesota was just how much country I'd already seen and how it changes. It really drove home just how vast this country is and in a way different and more enjoyable than in a car (I've also done cross-country road trips). I'm tentatively planning on taking the CZ next winter from CHI to EMY. I look forward to starting off in the middle of a large city and relatively quickly speeding through cornfields, watching the sun set. Waking up the next day with the Rockies in the distance and from then on out, I'm pretty sure the remaining trip will go by way too quickly.

Also, as another poster mentioned, I did find that while I slept better than I expected the first night, I definitely slept much better the second night. Out like a light.

You shouldn't have a problem catching the first flight of the day from RDU to either MDW or ORD and making the train with plenty of buffer time built in for a possible flight delay. On by EB trip, I did the blue line out to the airport and that went fine with the exception of timing. It was the middle of rush hour so I felt horrible having my roller bag with me taking up the space of a commuter.

So, if it was me, I'd definitely start the trip in Chicago. Either way, you're going to love it!