Closest mountain hotels/cabins to Amtrak in GA or SC? I'm in Jax FL

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Hi,

We are thinking of Amtrak-ing it to the closest mountain town, that we can stay up in the mountains like in a cabin or hotel with hot tub etc. We would like to take Amtrak from Jax FL (or Savannah would be ok if needed), and don't mind renting a car from the tracks but not more than an hour or so if possible. We have been on Amtrak several times all the way up north to Toledo Ohio and to NYC etc. so we are familiar. How close can we get in the southeast area from northeast Florida? Are there "good" mountains in Georgia dn where should we stay? Thanks in advance.
 
Both the Silver Star (no dining car) and Silver Meteor (traditional dining until October 1st) stop in JAX. The Silver Star runs further west than the Silver Meteor, but not very close to mountains, in my opinion. The Silver Meteor travels further east, not too far from I-95.

The Crescent route stops in Gainesville, GA, which could be considered mountains of GA. However, one cannot directly access Gainesville, GA from JAX.
I believe the furthest stop west on the Silver Star route is Columbia, SC. I do not know how long one would need to drive to visit mountains from Columbia, SC.
 
Hi,

We are thinking of Amtrak-ing it to the closest mountain town, that we can stay up in the mountains like in a cabin or hotel with hot tub etc. We would like to take Amtrak from Jax FL (or Savannah would be ok if needed), and don't mind renting a car from the tracks but not more than an hour or so if possible. We have been on Amtrak several times all the way up north to Toledo Ohio and to NYC etc. so we are familiar. How close can we get in the southeast area from northeast Florida? Are there "good" mountains in Georgia dn where should we stay? Thanks in advance.

You'll have to go via Washington, DC, to do this on Amtrak: Silver Star or Meteor to DC, then Crescent southbound. I can recommend Toccoa, GA, for this--there's a decent motel (Country Hearth?) a very short walk from the Toccoa Amtrak station. You'll need a rental car for sure, and I'm not familiar with which companies rent there. Please note that many businesses, including restaurants, are closed on Sundays.
 
Amtrak stops in Charlotte, NC - that is about a 2 hour drive to Asheville, NC ... it is a multi-train trip from JAX(or SAV)

Looks like the cheapest price is the Silver Star (92) to Cary, NC (goes through Raleigh) and connects to the Piedmont (75) to Charlotte

Here is a site that has information about that area https://www.visitnc.com/asheville-the-foothills



There are some additional options from Savannah, but then you do have to drive from Jax to Savannah
 
Amtrak stops in Charlotte, NC - that is about a 2 hour drive to Asheville, NC ... it is a multi-train trip from JAX(or SAV)

Looks like the cheapest price is the Silver Star (92) to Cary, NC and then the Piedmont (75) to Charlotte

Here is a site that has information about that area https://www.visitnc.com/asheville-the-foothills



There are some additional options from Savannah, but then you do have to drive from Jax to Savannah
Amtrak stops in Charlotte, NC - that is about a 2 hour drive to Asheville, NC ... it is a multi-train trip from JAX(or SAV)

Looks like the cheapest price is the Silver Star (92) to Cary, NC (goes through Raleigh) and connects to the Piedmont (75) to Charlotte

Here is a site that has information about that area https://www.visitnc.com/asheville-the-foothills



There are some additional options from Savannah, but then you do have to drive from Jax to Savannah

If you're going to rent a car anyway, perhaps best to skip the leg from Cary to Charlotte: driving from Cary to Asheville (4 hrs) would be much quicker than layover-train-car (6 hrs), but still way over the "hour or so" specified by OP.

Toccoa, GA, is a scenic 2 1/2 hour drive from Asheville, BTW. The Greenville, SC, Amtrak station is an hour from Asheville--but Amtrak gets there way too early for hope of a rental car, and the area around the station is unattractive, with no restaurant or other services within reasonable walking distance.
 
Greenville SC is a lovely town to visit though. Lots of neat walkways along the River, suspension bridge over the falls, art stores and such.

It’s not a mountain town but a nice southern city to visit.
 
I live in Columbia I can be in the mountains on a good day in about two and a half hours.

I second Crescent-Zephyr’s opinion of Greenville it’s a lovely southern City. If I would chose a southern mountain city to visit Asheville is my choice.

The former Southern Railway station in the biltmore village is an awesome restaurant. The village wayside slightly dysfunctional people pleasers
 
The Greenville, SC, Amtrak station is an hour from Asheville--but Amtrak gets there way too early for hope of a rental car, and the area around the station is unattractive, with no restaurant or other services within reasonable walking distance.
There used to be a restaurant or grill in Greenville right across from the station. I patronized the place in 1972 when I was waiting for a delayed northbound Southern Crescent just before Christmas. I don't believe I have ever been in a restaurant where cleanliness was obviously such a low priority but it was the only show in that part of town and I was younger then and must have had a good immune system so I survived.
 
There used to be a restaurant or grill in Greenville right across from the station. I patronized the place in 1972 when I was waiting for a delayed northbound Southern Crescent just before Christmas. I don't believe I have ever been in a restaurant where cleanliness was obviously such a low priority but it was the only show in that part of town and I was younger then and must have had a good immune system so I survived.
The Greenville Amtrak Station in not the old one that used to be close to Downtown. It's now isolated in the Freight Yard, and has been said is not in a desirable area!
 
The Greenville Amtrak Station in not the old one that used to be close to Downtown. It's now isolated in the Freight Yard, and has been said is not in a desirable area!
I guess I am behind the times. So the Amtrak station in Greenville is different than the one the Southern Railway used?
As I vaguely recall, the Southern passenger station was some distance from the bus station and it didn't seem to be in a great section of town either. It was after dark when I arrived in Greenville on the bus so I really didn't get a great look at the place.
 
If it were me I might break this idea into two separate trips. One trip on Amtrak and another trip to the mountains by airplane. Florida and mountains don't mix so easily on Amtrak. Even here in Texas it's not that quick and easy to reach a mountain via Amtrak. We got plenty of hills though. Lots and lots of hills. :cool:
 
I believe the Greenville station is still in the same location as the Southern Railway one.

I don’t know where the Southern Railway station was, but the current one is at the end of Washington Street and there is nothing around it. NS appears to have an office there in a separate bldg.

I’m bummed by the lack of baggage svc. Since it is now our main station and we’d like to use Amtrak to travel to cruise connections, vacations etc.

If Clemson actually will have baggage svc. Maybe we will go there although it isn’t convenient from Simpsonville where we now live.

Sorry for getting so off topic. Greenville, while not a “mountain city” (Not counting Paris Mountain just outside city limits) but is close and you can see them from town.

Truly difficult to get to the mountains from Florida by train. We used to just give it up and drive!
 
Florida has Mt. Dora. Many people have made the arduous climb - and some have T-shirts: "I climbed Mt Dora (elev. 110Ft)."

As to being able to see the mountains from Greenville - you can probably see the Rockies from Kansas but tat doesn't mean a lot either.
 
I did notice that, while driving from Greenville, SC to Asheville, NC takes about 30 minutes less time than driving from Charlotte, NC to Asheville, NC -
  • The train takes an additional 2 hours to go from Charlotte to Greenville
  • Looks like the train tickets are $20-$40 more per person to stay on till Greenville
  • Looks like there are more train transfers to go to Greenville
  • All the train options get into Greenville about 5 AM
  • The SS-Pied train option gets into Charlotte about 1:10 PM (afternoon)
  • There is only a two hour layover between the SS and the Piedmont at Cary - if the SS is late you could miss the transfer
  • The other train option from Raleigh has an 8 hr layover and gets into Charlotte around 2:20 AM
  • There is checked baggage at Jax
  • There is checked baggage at Charlotte
  • There is NOT checked baggage at Greenville
  • There is an Enterprise Car Rental about a 5 minute walk from Amtak
  • There is a Hertz Car Rental about 10 minute walk
  • Hertz and Enterprise are both closed on Sunday
 
I don’t know where the Southern Railway station was, but the current one is at the end of Washington Street and there is nothing around it. NS appears to have an office there in a separate bldg.
The 1965 Official Guide says that the Southern Railway station at Greenville was at 1120 West Washington Street which is the same address as the present Amtrak station.
 
Hi! We are in Jacksonville, Florida. Have taken the train lots of times before long distances. Haven't been to a mountain town yet. We would like to stay in a mountain resort for a couple of nights. Where is the closest to the train stations on either of these trains? We would prefer going from Jacksonville (Silver Service) but Savannah is ok, too, because it has both trains starting from there. We don't want to drive too far from a station. Where would be the closest without driving or going on the train too far?

MODERATOR NOTE: This recent post was similar to a post in another thread. The 2 threads have been merged.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
And btw the reason I posted again in a different way is because I wanted to be broader in my request so that I may get better responses. Thanks, all!
 
If it were me I might break this idea into two separate trips. One trip on Amtrak and another trip to the mountains by airplane. Florida and mountains don't mix so easily on Amtrak. Even here in Texas it's not that quick and easy to reach a mountain via Amtrak. We got plenty of hills though. Lots and lots of hills. :cool:

Thanks for this, I hate flying, but this sounds like an awesome idea. :)
 
I did notice that, while driving from Greenville, SC to Asheville, NC takes about 30 minutes less time than driving from Charlotte, NC to Asheville, NC -
  • The train takes an additional 2 hours to go from Charlotte to Greenville
  • Looks like the train tickets are $20-$40 more per person to stay on till Greenville
  • Looks like there are more train transfers to go to Greenville
  • All the train options get into Greenville about 5 AM
  • The SS-Pied train option gets into Charlotte about 1:10 PM (afternoon)
  • There is only a two hour layover between the SS and the Piedmont at Cary - if the SS is late you could miss the transfer
  • The other train option from Raleigh has an 8 hr layover and gets into Charlotte around 2:20 AM
  • There is checked baggage at Jax
  • There is checked baggage at Charlotte
  • There is NOT checked baggage at Greenville
  • There is an Enterprise Car Rental about a 5 minute walk from Amtak
  • There is a Hertz Car Rental about 10 minute walk
  • Hertz and Enterprise are both closed on Sunday
ok so it sounds like maybe I should go from Jax to Charlotte, then on to Asheville by car? I also have posted a revision asking where would the closest mountain resort be if not this one, to where I'm coming from.
 
Florida has Mt. Dora. Many people have made the arduous climb - and some have T-shirts: "I climbed Mt Dora (elev. 110Ft)."

As to being able to see the mountains from Greenville - you can probably see the Rockies from Kansas but tat doesn't mean a lot either.

Mt. Dora...lol...good one.
 
You could take the train to Virginia and drive the blue ridge parkway down to Asheville and then continue driving down to Greenville or somewhere for your return. The blue ridge parkway itself is a national park and a really special place.
 
Thanks, I'm trying to avoid driving one way or another. Short trip from the train would be fine. Good idea, for sure, though!
 
I drive to Columbia to take the Silver Star to Florida. It would be a simple train trip from JAX-CLB, but I think the rental car would be the biggest issue -- Silver Star arrives at the station 4am-5am if running on time. You'll not find rental agencies open at at that hour, and the Columbia airport is nowhere near the Amtrak station. Any rental agencies that are downtown won't open until 8am or so.
If the train is running behind -- which is sometimes does -- that is better for you!

From Columbia you can go up I-26 and go anywhere to the mountains -- Hendersonville, Saluda, Asheville area, anywhere along the NC/SC border ridge. That is a lovely area.
You could also do Lake Lure, which is more up toward Asheville. My sister lives in Columbia and her family has a cabin in Hendersonville they go to often. Easy drive.
 
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