West Coast Trip

[redsandal]

We are thinking of taking the SWC from ABQ to LAX then Coast Starlight to...well, not sure where. Want to take the train up the coast. Will get roomettes. Notice it then travels up the middle of CA on it's way to Seattle. Would like to see the Cascades from the train, perhaps? Any suggestions for this trip and good places to get off the train for a day or two? Would also love some info on the Coast Starlight. Have traveled the SWC a couple of times to LAX, but it's been a while. Thanks so much for any advice/suggestions.

 

[manderson]

We are thinking of taking the SWC from ABQ to LAX then Coast Starlight to...well, not sure where. Want to take the train up the coast. Will get roomettes. Notice it then travels up the middle of CA on it's way to Seattle. Would like to see the Cascades from the train, perhaps? Any suggestions for this trip and good places to get off the train for a day or two? Would also love some info on the Coast Starlight. Have traveled the SWC a couple of times to LAX, but it's been a while. Thanks so much for any advice/suggestions.

You'll pass through the Cascades in Oregon on the Starlight. Definitely check out the Parlor Car. Many of us spend most of our train time hanging out there. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver BC are all good places to stop. The trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC can be very scenic, up around Bellingham in particular.

 

[Sactobob]

Northbound is by far the best for scenery in the daylight in winter. You will see the California Coast up as far as San Luis Obispo, plus the Oregon Cascades between Klamath Falls and Eugene. Both those stretches are in the dark in winter. On the other hand, traveling southbound, if the weather is clear you might see Mt. Rainier out of Seattle, as well as Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains out of Tacoma. That section is dark northbound in Winter. I would add Santa Barbara and the San Francisco Bay Area as good places to stop over.

 

[redsandal]

Northbound is by far the best for scenery in the daylight in winter. You will see the California Coast up as far as San Luis Obispo, plus the Oregon Cascades between Klamath Falls and Eugene. Both those stretches are in the dark in winter. On the other hand, traveling southbound, if the weather is clear you might see Mt. Rainier out of Seattle, as well as Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains out of Tacoma. That section is dark northbound in Winter. I would add Santa Barbara and the San Francisco Bay Area as good places to stop over.

i'm a little confused..will we go through the cascades in the day time?

 

[Sactobob]

Northbound is by far the best for scenery in the daylight in winter. You will see the California Coast up as far as San Luis Obispo, plus the Oregon Cascades between Klamath Falls and Eugene. Both those stretches are in the dark in winter. On the other hand, traveling southbound, if the weather is clear you might see Mt. Rainier out of Seattle, as well as Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains out of Tacoma. That section is dark northbound in Winter. I would add Santa Barbara and the San Francisco Bay Area as good places to stop over.

Edit:

Sorry, I left out an important word. The third sentence should have said: "SOUTHBOUND, both these stretches are dark in the winter."

 

[ScottC4746]

San Luis Obispo (SLO) is near wine country. Not sure what the deal is with rental cars at that station. Anyone have any idea?

 

[NETrainfan]

Also agree that Santa Barbara and San Francisco are good stopovers. We stayed near the beach in SB and could walk to restaurants, a winery, and the zoo.

 

[gswager]

San Luis Obispo (SLO) is near wine country. Not sure what the deal is with rental cars at that station. Anyone have any idea?

I don't think there are car rental at station, but there are car rental brochures on desk. The best way is to use car rentals' websites to find out the info such as Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, etc.