West coast trip

[tomfuller]

If it fits within your time and budget, I would make a stop in West Glacier and see what I could of Glacier NP.

If you don't have to make a same day connection at the west end of the Empire Builder, you can choose either Seattle or Portland for a 20+ hour layover before getting on the Empire Builder.

You could even take an Amtrak Cascades to Eugene and hang out there until the CS arrives about 5:30PM.

Are you sure that neither of you wants to climb up to sleep in an upper bunk in 1 roomette? Check on the availability of the H room on any train you ride.

Whichever direction you ride on the California Zephyr, Glenwood Springs is a good choice for a layover.

 

[andersone]

If not intending to spend any time in San Francisco, I prefer changing to the Zephyr in Sacramento not Emeryville,, It's midnight at Sacramento (as opposed to 10 pm for Emeryville and I like the accommodations in Sacramento better. In addition the Zeph leaves at !! am from Sacramento which allows for a leisurely breakfast and a visit to the excellent train museum.

I would recommend a roomette on the Starlight to use the Pacific Parlor Car.... the connections between the Chief and the Starlight are guaranteed so no worries there.

If interested you could rent a car and spend several days in Yosemite, a wonderful way to break up a trip.

A stop in Glacier is nice however it is awkward because the rental agencies are either West or East. A trip requires passage on the Going to the Sun Road (limited calendar therefore ff you get off in East, visit Many Glacier then go to West, driving back along route 2 - with stop for dinner at the Isaac Walton then overnight at Sleeping Bear's Inn in East waiting for the the WB EB.

I am no longer able to crawl to the upper berth, so we just get two roomettes side by side, almost cheaper than a bedroom,,,,

ENJOY!

 

[I always rode the Southern]

Why I prefer option 1 is the different scenery you get to see. The desert, the spectacular ride along the coast between LA and the bay(imho superior to the northern part of the starlight scenery), and the mountains of the zephyr. We stopped over in San Fran without a car. Next time we do this route intend to stop over in Glenwood Springs. When we did the Empire Builder we took the starlight to Seattle for a 2 day stopover, but then took the cascades back to Portland and a stopover, so we could go via the Columbia River Gorge. We preferred Seattle for a stopover, for the ability to see more without a car.(this trip was in 2011 and it was cheaper to stay in Seattle than Portland then.)

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Don't the different routes have different menus to some degree?

Unfortunately, no. There are a few exceptions for trains that don't have real dining cars or abbreviated service / meals, and the PPC has its own menus. However, the "regular" dining car menu is now standard across all long distance trains.

 

[happy2meetu]

So, it looks like we are going to go from Cincinnati to Salt Lake City and then spend a couple nights in a hotel. We haven't decided if we will just come back after that or if we want to continue on. We have a total of 8 days to work with.

 

[greatcats]

I would definitely make a stopover or two. The food on the trains is not all that bad and may be fairly palatable, but the standardized menu gets boring after a few days.

 

[tomfuller]

Is the first night of your 2 in SLC the one where you get off the train after 11PM? I hate checking into a hotel about midnight.

I would stop in Glenwood Springs (or Grand Junction) for 24 hours and then SLC if that is as far as you want to go.

 

[chakk]

I agree that Glenwood Springs is the far better stopover point than Salt Lake City or Grand Junction. Several hotels close by, and the town has some interesting shops to visit. I especially enjoy the ice cream shoppe -- the Amtrak station agent can point out the two-block walk from the station to this place.