amtrak california zephyr travel tips

Train Travel Guide

The Ultimate California Zephyr Guide

by TTG | Feb 26, 2022 | Amtrak , California Zephyr , Overnight Trains | 0 comments

Many say the Califronia Zephyr is North America’s most scenic train.

On its two night and three day journey the Zephyr passes through mountain ranges and deserts. It crosses the Mississippi, snakes alongside the Colorado through the Rockies and traverses the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in California.

Such accolades have the California Zephyr in great company with other North American train journeys. High on the list would be Amtrak’s Empire Builder , Via Rail’s Canadian and Jasper to Prince Rupert trains and of course the luxurious Rocky Mountaineer .  

California Zephyr at a Glance

• The California Zephyr is an overnight Amtrak train from Chicago to San Francisco
• The journey takes approximately 52 hours , or two nights and three days
• The train crosses California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois
• Key city stops are Chicago, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco
• The train is scheduled to operate daily in each direction and travels overnight
• Coach and sleeper accommodations are available
• Prices on this train vary according to demand
• A traditional dining car is available for sleeper passengers, with three meals a day included
• A sightseer lounge car is available as a shared space to meet fellow passengers, read a book or watch the world go by
• A cafe is available in the sightseer lounge for all passengers to purchase food and drinks
• Checked baggage is available at some, but not all stations
• There is baggage storage onboard
• There is no WiFi on this train
• The train travels through remote areas where phone reception isn’t available

California Zephyr Route Highlights

A trip on the Zephyr covers 2400 miles or 3900km, about twice the distance from Florida to New York City.

With its breathtaking year round scenery you can be sure the 52-hour, two night and three day end-to-end adventure between San Francisco and Chicago is a journey you won’t regret taking. 

It’s an impressive journey that passes through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. Along the way there are some 33 scheduled stops, including Omaha, Denver, Winter Park, Salt Lake City, Reno and Sacremento , the Californian capital.  

This train however, is best known for its journey through the Rocky Mountains on day two.

Rocky Mountains on Day two

Most of the Zephyr’s well-deserved reputation comes from the time traversing the rails in Colorado between Denver and Grand Junction on day two. This section is always during daylight hours, regardless of which direction you travel.

Westbound : When heading west, the train climbs into the Rocky Mountains after leaving Denver. The most scenic views will be to the left hand side in the direction of travel. Following the climb is the Moffat tunnel, where the Zephyr crosses the Continental Divide through the 6.2 mile (10km) tunnel that was opened in 1927. From here, it’s time to settle in near a window. For the rest of the day natures best remains on display as the Zephyr follows the Colorado River through to Grand Junction.

Eastbound: On the eastbound journey the day happens in reverse. Here, the main scenery starts just after Grand Junction in the morning and the most scenic views will be to the right in the direction of travel. The train follows the Colorado River for the day, descending into Denver from the mountains in the evening. The descent into Denver makes for a great finale to an epic day of sightseeing, and is ideally timed for a hotel check-in if you choose to break the trip here.

Other Highlights

While the mountain scenery is a clear winner there’s other point of interest to keep an eye out for.

Along the way the Zephyr crosses the Mississippi River at Burlington on the state border of Illinois and Iowa, traverses through through Ruby Canyon in Colorado and passes by Utah’s impressive Book Cliffs! Also not to be missed is California’s Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

In short, with this variety of scenery you’ll never be without an amazing view out the window.

Which direction should I travel on the California Zephyr?

Seasoned rail travelers recommend this trip in either direction. That said, there is a slight preference for the westbound trip.

This is because during the deep winter months on the eastbound trip the descent from the Rocky Mountains into Denver often occurs after sunset. The train is scheduled to arrive into Denver at 6:30pm. By most accounts though, even when this happens the approaching city lights on the descent are impressive too. 

Which direction for stopovers?

If you are looking to take a journey on the Zephyr with stopovers along the way, the direction matters. After all, you don’t want to be stepping off the train at 3am!

Westbound: this service is well timed for breaking the trip at stops in Illinois, Iowa, Colorado and California. It’s not well placed for stops in Nebraska and parts of Nevada, where it passes through in the early hours of the morning.  

Eastbound: this service is ideal for stop-overs at destinations in California, Nevada, Colorado and Iowa . It’s not well timed for stops at Utah.

See also: California Zephyr Schedule See Also: California Zephyr Stopovers

California Zephyr Train 5 – Westbound (departs Chicago)

Westbound – day one.

The westbound Zephyr leaves daily from Chicago’s downtown Union Station at 2pm.

The Chicago Union Station building is best summed up on the stations website: a grand building worthy of the city’s status as a national railroad hub . Allow a little time to admire the impressive architecture as they don’t build stations like this anymore. A point that Emeryville at the other end of the line goes some way to proving. 

Sleeper car passengers can avail themselves of the Metropolitan Lounge where light refreshments, comfortable seating and showers are available. Coach passengers can buy a lounge pass for $35 (February 2022 pricing).

For lunch nearby before departure consider Vapiano Riverside Chicago . Alternatively, throughout the station there are many fast food style dining options. For those onboard snacks a Walgreens and CVS can be found nearby.

After departure the train makes nine stops between Chicago and Omaha, where it’s scheduled to arrive at 11pm. Passing through Nebraska overnight the Zephyr crosses into Colorado early in the early morning hours with an intended arrival in Denver at 7am. 

Westbound: Day Two

That famous Zephyr scenery starts after Denver, making this a popular boarding point. 

Seasoned travelers recommend getting a seat in the sightseer car prior to arrival in Denver for the best views as the day starts. If the train is busy, staff may ask folks to limit time in the sightseer lounge to give everyone an opportunity to take in the immersive views the extra-large windows offer. 

After a day of epic scenery in Colorado the train passes into Utah in the evening where the last stop of day two is Salt Lake City, at around 11pm. Even though 11pm is late, if you’re looking for a stopover at Salt Lake the westbound service is best. It’s preferable to the 3am arrival on the eastbound service!

Westbound: Day Three

On the morning of day three the Zephyr aims to arrive at Reno around half-eight and continues on to the Californian capital of Sacramento for an arrival of just after two in the afternoon.

For the finale, the Zephyr travels alongside the waters of San Francisco bay, ending the journey at Emeryville, Oakland with a intended arrival of around 4pm.

Amtrak offers a guaranteed coach connection to Salesforce Plaza in the heart of San Francisco – be sure to book your destination as San Francisco rather than Emeryville to include the connection on your ticket. 

California Zephyr Train 6 – Eastbound (departs Emeryville)

Eastbound: day one.

The Eastbound Zephyr departs just after 9am daily from Oakland’s Emeryville station.

Emeryville station is just across the Bay Bridge from down-town San Francisco. Amtrak offers a connecting coach service that links Emeryville with Salesforce Plaza in the heart of San Francisco for a nominal fee. For this guaranteed connection select San Francisco as your departure destination when booking. 

Emeryville station is a modern although no-frills affair. There is no lounge for sleeper passengers nor food and beverage options within the station aside from vending machines. While there are places to eat nearby, it’s best to have breakfast and stock up on those on train snacks before arriving.  

On day one the Zephyr is scheduled to pass through Sacramento at around 11am. It’s then onto Reno at 4pm before crossing the remainder of Nevada in the evening and Utah overnight.

Eastbound: Day Two

On day two, the day with the Zephyr’s famous scenery, the train is scheduled for its first stop in Colorado at Grand Junction just after ten before. Be sure to head to the sightseer lounge early in the day, although keep in mind Amtrak staff may ask passengers to limit time in the lounge car if the train is busy. Day two ends in Denver, around half-six in the evening.

Eastbound: Day Three

On day three for the early risers the train passes through Omaha, Nebraska just after 5am.

Beyond Omaha, the service is well timed for all stops in Iowa and Illinois before the scheduled arrival into Chicago around 3pm. Perfect timing for a hotel check-in!

California Zephyr Ticket Types and Prices

As of February 2022 we checked the booking engine for various dates up to 12 months ahead. The following prices are a guide :

Sleeper Roomette

Sleeper bedroom suite, sleeper family / accessible bedroom.

Similar to airlines, Amtrak uses variable pricing which means prices fluctuate according to a range of factors. Outside of a sale, the prices above are unlikely to go lower than the minimum we found. Be aware they could certainly go higher than the upper range we found, especially as the train fills up.

This train is very popular in the summer months, making it likely to be more expensive at that time of year. Consider a winter trip on the Zephyr, the scenery is just as spectacular. In fact, many would argue a trip in the fall or winter are the ideal times for travelling on the Zephyr.

Travel Tip: If you book a roomette it’s not possible to guarantee which side of the train this is on. Economy cars are always joined to the train with the seats facing the direction of travel, although sleeper cars can be attached either way. If you’re traveling as a group of two and want the best scenery consider booking two roomettes – upstairs and across the corridor from each other. To get the room assignments locked in you’ll need to book over the phone rather than online. 

To book travel on the California Zephyr start at amtrak.com

California Zephyr Onboard Service

The California Zephyr uses two-level Amtrak Superliner cars. A typical Zephyr train has sleeper cars, coach cars, a dining car and sightseer lounge car.

Sightseer Lounge: The sightseer lounge car is a key space on the train. Upstairs there are large windows where the seating faces outward. It’s a relaxed atmosphere to meet other travellers over a coffee, read a book or listen to a podcast as the world passes by. Downstairs in the sightseer car you’ll find a cafe with light meals and refreshments for purchase accompanied by a seating area.

Sleeper Service: Sleeper tickets have the highest level of onboard service. Sleeper tickets include main meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining car. The first alcoholic beverage at dinner is included. Additional alcoholic beverages in the dining car, or items purchased from the café between meals must be purchased separately.

Each sleeper car has an attendant who completes an evening turn down service to convert the room to night mode, and the reverse in the morning. Sleeper cars guests also have access to showers, with towels and soap supplied onboard. These showers are shared in the case of roomettes and family/accessible bedrooms. The Sleeper bedroom suites have an in-room shower.

Coach Service: Amtrak coach class is known for its generous leg room and recline. Unfortunately, beyond this, there are few additional inclusions for coach passengers. Coach passengers don’t have access to showers or the dining car. In coach meals can only be purchased from the cafe or at stations along the way. Normally, coach passengers would have access to the dining car on a paid basis. This access is currently suspended due to COVID-19 related service adjustments. 

California Zephyr FAQ’s

The California Zephyr takes approximately 52 hours from end to end. The journey is two nights and three days.

Daily (everyday) in each direction.

Either direction will provide the same amazing scenery at key parts of the trip. Seasoned travellers often have a slight preference for the Westbound trip departing Chicago.

The views to the south are considered the best on main day of scenery (day 2) in Colorado. When booking a sleeper cabin the side you’ll be facing cannot be guaranteed.

Illinois : Chicago, Naperville, Princeton, Galesburg Iowa : Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola (Des Moines), Creston Nebraska : Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings, Holdrege, McCook Colorado : Fort Morgan, Denver, Fraser-Winter Park, Granby, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction Utah : Green River, Helper, Provo, Salt Lake City Nevada : Elki, Winnemucca, Reno California : Truckee, Colfax, Roseville, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, Richmond, Emeryville

Checked baggage may be available depending on which station you board at and where you disembark. If checked bags aren’t available there are luggage storage spaces available on board at the ends of each car to store bags.

The train has several “smoke stops” along the way where you can step off the train for short periods. These are announced onboard and subject to variations depending on circumstances on the day. Don’t venture too far – the train will leave without you! If you want to break up a trip you need to book a ticket for each segment – just like an airline.

California Zephyr Bottom Line

The California Zephyr is a 52-hour, 2 night and 3 day train journey across America offering spectacular and varied scenery. It’s a journey seasoned rail travelers highly recommend in either direction in any season, passing through many iconic mid-west cities.

Like many of the world’s great train journeys if you ever get the opportunity, take this train more than once. Each season brings a dramatic change in scenery that will make it feel like a new adventure each time.

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Amtrak California Zephyr Review: Is this 52 hour train ride worth it?

The Amtrak California Zephyr train ride is on the bucket list for many of us!  It is a 52 hour ride from Emeryville, California to Chicago, Illinois.  It is often called the most beautiful train trip in the US. The route has stops in Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Omaha (along with 30+ other stops).  This route is one of the most diverse in the US, particularly the views of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains.

Read on for my raw honest observations, tips and warnings! I will let you know if the California Zephyr is worth it!

The scenery is the number one reason to make this journey!  It was truly wonderous going across America’s vast open spaces and seeing of all variety of landscapes.  Each landscape type beautiful in its own way. Simply amazing seeing places I would never otherwise see, and thinking of all the people who worked digging through mountains and in all sorts of dangerous conditions to lay those train tracks!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was staring out the window at the scenery, listening to Simon and Garfunkel! Somehow their music (especially their song “America”) just seemed to match the changing scenery perfectly!

There is a sightseer lounge on the train which offers spectacular scenery! It fills up quickly though so sometimes it was hard to find a seat.

Please note that my pictures below don’t accurately represent how beautiful the sights were! Also I missed getting pictures of many more incredible sights!

Accommodations

I stayed in a “Roomette”. As a solo traveller this seemed the best option to be able to have privacy and my own bed. At about $1200 this was more affordable than the next step up, a bedroom at about $2000. Coach seats are around $350. When you book a Roomette or bedroom it includes all of your meals, by the way. Coach does not.

My roomette during the day on the left, and the right shows the chairs folded down to a bed. If you have 2 people in the roomette there is a top bunk they can pull down. Maybe for one night 2 very close people would be ok in a roomette.  But any longer would be a trial I think!

• The chairs and bed were pretty comfortable. Dimensions of the roomette is 3’6′ X 6’6. Length of the bed worked fine for me at 5’7″, but might be cramped for someone taller.
• Windows are very large, perfect for seeing the amazing sights!
• The sleeper cars each have their own attendant. Ours was excellent! Very friendly, happy to help with any questions or needs. There is a call button in the room whenever you need her. She made up the bed and put it back to chairs each evening/ morning. She also had a little coffee bar set up and you could help yourself at any time.

• There is a place to hang a couple of items. This came in more handy than I’d expected. The storage space is very limited. You’ll do lots of planning of what to keep out of your suitcase, then how to Tetris-style arrange what you have out.  Also, the main storage is on the 2 steps for the upper bunk.  If someone was actually using the upper bunk and needed those steps there’s nearly zero storage. (You can check your larger luggage or there is a shelving area near the bathrooms where larger luggage can go. I had my small carry on in my roomette with me).
• There is a small built in garbage can!
• There are curtains on the door and windows of the roomette for privacy, and you can lock the door from the inside. You cannot lock it from the outside though, so you need to bring valuables with you when you leave, hide them and/ or trust your fellow train people! I did all three at various points.
• Bathrooms are tiny!  I think smaller than airplane bathrooms.  They are kept pretty clean by the car’s attendant.  One negative was the water pressure coming out of the sink faucet.. it was like trying to wash your hands with a power washer!  No matter how lightly I tried to press the lever for the faucet, water bounced off my hands and the sink, onto the mirror, counter, floor and me!
• Showers have just enough room to do what you need to do:  A small “dressing area” with a bench and hooks, and the shower with a plastic curtain.  Small individual bars of soap, shampoo and conditioner are provided, as are wash clothes and towels.  Water pressure was OK and plenty hot!

*Late breaking news! In the last hour of my trip the bathrooms in my car stopped working for some reason and we had to use the bathrooms in the sleeper car next door. I was shocked to see that that car had much more modern bathroom and shower fixtures and they were bigger! The car I was in was 631, so you can try to avoid that one! 😀

• My roomette was too hot!  Be sure to bring a small fan!! I had read this suggestion before my trip, but figured it would probably be ok. IT WASN’T! I had to sleep with my door open, I was so hot at night.
• Roomettes have only one electric outlet.  Be sure to bring a powerstrip so you can plug in more than one thing. I did this, but my outlet was finicky. I never quite figured out the right position to wiggle the plug into. I’d get a charge connecting and try not to jostle anything.
• Speaking of jostling… trying to sleep with all of the noise and movement was very difficult! I don’t think of myself as a particularly sensitive sleeper. I thought the train sounds and slight rocking would be fine. Unfortunately it was much noisier and rockier than I’d imagined. For noise, there is the train horn which sometimes goes off constantly depending on where we were, I guess. Also, when we’d go past another train, it was so sudden and so loud it scared me to death! I think the shaking, violent jolts and shuddering were what made sleep near impossible for me though. Think of the worst airplane turbulence you’ve been through, plus the worst earthquake you’ve experienced and you will start to get my drift! I’m only sort of kidding! I was on the lower level (room 11), and I’ve since read that the upper level rooms are quieter, so there’s another tip for you when booking!
• Don’t expect “newness”.  Bring cleaning wipes for your table and surfaces.  Though I think the crew does a great job, it did make me feel better to know I’d disinfected everything ( and I’m not usually particularly concerned about stuff like that).
• The roomette has lots of nooks and crannies to lose things in!  Be careful with small items.  There are many cracks where a phone or earbud can slip down, and it will take tearing the whole roomette apart to find the lost item!  My earbuds, in their case, fell down behind the seat after my bed was turned down.  I tried, but there was no way to get them (or even try to look for them) without disassembling the entire bed/chairs.  It took the room attendant and I quite a while the next morning trying to take the chair apart to find them.

The food was pretty good!  I’d say a few notches above pretty good airplane food! Dinner included a starter, main course, dessert and beverage.

You can have any meal delivered to your room if you don’t want to go to the dining car. You just tell your car attendant.

You are seated when you enter the dining room, and are placed with other diners to fill up each table to 4 people.  It was fun getting to know some people on the train to have someone to say hi to and chit chat with when you’d run into them during the trip. I met some very nice people.

The Cafe Car host makes you sit with other passengers! One breakfast I came up quite bleary eyed and catatonic after a bad night of little sleep. I asked the host if I coud sit on my own because I was really tired and would be terrible company.  He said (in front of all) “No, we can’t accommodate separate seating!”  The dining room was about 1/4 occupied.  There were many open tables. Annoying and embarrassing! 

I ended up having quite a few meals in my room. As I said, I did enjoy meeting some other folks on the train, but going through the same getting to know each other chit chat with different people 3x a day was just too much for me.

It didn’t occur to me before booking this trip, but the Amtrak California Zephyr runs the gamut as far as altitude goes! Sea level to over 9,000ft and back down within 2 days. I definitely felt it, getting a little headachy. So prepare yourself for that.

Though the train stops over 30 times you cannot get off the train for most of them. There are maybe 10 stops where you can get off for 5 to 10 minutes for fresh air (or to smoke!)

At Reno we had a 10 minute stop and my brother challenged me to gamble during the stop! So I ran into the station, up 3 flights of stairs to the station lobby trying to find a slot machine. There isn’t one. When I turned to run back to board the train I was faced with the hoards of people (and all their luggage) who had disembarked in Reno, coming up those 3 flights of stairs! I had to fight my way through them back to the train. Luckily I made it in time! So there’s something for you to try! It gets your heart rate up. I challenge you! 😀

The other exciting stop on the trip was in Grand Junction Colorado. The conductor announced that we could get off the train for 15 minutes and there was a little shop at the train station which donates its proceeds back to Amtrak. A bunch of us excitedly flooded out to the shop! It turned out to just sell what they have in the onboard snack shop…drinks, snacks, some sundries. I bought a cookie just because it was exciting to buy something from someplace else!

As you walk between cars you can open the doors with your hand OR foot! It took me a little bit to realize this and it made life much easier to use my foot!

List of stuff to bring

• Cash to tip the dining car servers and your room attendant
• Snacks (I brought Kind Bars)
• Disinfectant wipes for your roomette/seat surfaces
• Motion sickness pills (I ended up taking them to help me sleep)
• Coffee mug (only small paper cups are available on board)
• Sweats/clothes to sleep in since you need to go out “in public” to use the bathroom
• Flip flops for the shower
• Power strip so you can plug in more than one thing at a time
• Small electric fan

California Zephyr Route Map

I am really glad that I went on the California Zephyr! The chance to see that sort of scenery was just amazing. If I was to do it over again, I would certainly bring a small fan to make sure that I didn’t get too hot while trying to sleep. I would also bring some sort of a sleep aid medication or just Benadryl to help me fall asleep easier. Please let me know what you thought of the California Zephyr or let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for reading!

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16 Comments

Love your review. So helpful. Traveling soon. Will post how it went to you after.

Thank you! I hope you have a great trip and look forward to hearing how it went 🙂

Great review! I just read another Pin about 37 train rides in US., which stated that the Cal Zephyr does not have WiFi.

Thank you! It’s true that the train itself does not have WiFi, but you can catch it on and off as you travel. I would not try to stream a movie, but overall I didn’t have trouble texting or using the internet.

Thanks for the great review. I just finished a fantastic trip on the CZ from Emeryville to Chicago. Your description of the roomette experience mirrored mine, and prepared me for the minor inconveniences which were easily resolved. Your suggestions for items to bring were on point. I’m going to follow your blog for future adventures.

Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to leave a comment! You made my day knowing I was able to help out!

I just completed a trip on the CZ from Emeryville to Chicago. It was a fantastic experience! Your review was extremely helpful and accurate. I too was a single traveler in a roomette, and every suggestion you made to prep for the trip was on point. Thanks for taking the time to publish this guide.

I love your review! My husband and I only rode the Zephyr from Denver to Glenwood Springs, so we didn’t get a chance to experience the sleeper portion. Good that you noted that dining is only included with sleeper accommodations. There is a small cafe available.

Great description. Thank you. There is a lot of value in getting a real persons pov!

Hi. Thanks for your commentary. I have taken the CZ from Chicago to Emeryville, stayed overnight at the hotel across the Emeryville track, and then gotten right back on the same train with the same crew and come home. I’ve done that 7 times. It’s a wonderful trip. Some of the irritations you speak of are resolved in other cars I think. The train attendant can do some things with the temperature. Again, thanks. I enjoyed the pictures and can’t wait to do the trip again next year. (It’s my traincation. I do it every year now.)

Being seated with other passengers in the dining car is a time-honored tradition. It’s a great way to meet other passengers. One has to accept this.

Love your descriptive commentary. This trip is on “my list” also.

Tremendous. Wonderful. U very much cteated a sensation of the you are there experience. Cant wait to take a train trip. Thanks a mil!!!

Sounds fun! I have driven across country round trip solo twice i wanna di this the stay in Chicago and explore drive a rental to Pittsburgh see my daughter have her drive me to Arlington VA to see her sister my oldest then fly home. Thats a trip!!!!

Fascinating and well written review! I hate being too hot and trying to sleep! I wonder if one was to upgrade rooms if there would be AC?! Great pictures! You provide a nice easy to read review. Keep em coming!

Wonderful and helpful review of your train ride. Such a pleasure to read and view the photos.

California Zephyr Best Time of Year and Side of Train

The Amtrak California Zephyr is a once in a lifetime experience, so riding it at the best time of year and being on the best side of the train are critical. We’ve taken this train trip in all seasons and the best time of year to be on the California Zephyr is the fall. The best side of the California Zephyr to be on is the south side of the train. If you are heading west that is the left side in the direction of travel and if you are heading east it is the right side in the direction of travel.

• 1 Best Months to Ride the California Zephyr
• 2 California Zephyr In The Fall
• 3 California Zephyr in Winter
• 4 California Zephyr in Spring
• 5 California Zephyr in Summer
• 6.1 California Zephyr in Sleeper Cars
• 6.2 California Zephyr in Coach
• 7 California Zephyr Scenery

Best Months to Ride the California Zephyr

California zephyr in the fall.

The prettiest time to ride the California Zephyr is from mid September to late September when the fall colors are beautiful in the gorges of Colorado.

The Colorado section of the trip is the highlight, so plan your trip around the weather in that area only. Most years the fall colors peak between mid September and early October in Colorado.

If you wait too long into the fall, such as late October and early November, you’ll miss the fall colors and be too early for the best snow scenery as well. November is the worst month to ride the California Zephyr as you’ll be dealing with colder temperatures and probably not have the best scenery.

California Zephyr in Winter

Riding the California Zephyr in winter is a delight. You’ll see snow covered mountains and gorges that will amaze you. Make sure you’ve given enough time for a decent snow fall before your trip. The early winter months of November and December are not ideal as there isn’t enough snow on the ground. February is the best winter month to ride the California Zephyr due to the heavy amounts of snow falling in the area. March is also good.

The views in winter are simply wonderful. It is an incredible feeling to see the snow capped Rocky Mountains outside your windows as you ride through Colorado.

California Zephyr in Spring

In Spring the snow melts and gives way to green vistas again. As with other seasons you want to be careful to not be on board between seasons, when the snow is gone, but the new growth has not happened yet. Spring is not our favorite time to be on the California Zephyr, but May is a good choice due to lower crowds if you need to visit in this time frame.

California Zephyr in Summer

The worst season to ride the California Zephyr is the summer. You’ll be riding with more passengers and miss out on both fall colors and snow. The positive aspect of this time frame is that you’ll have more light in the day and should have good weather. This is our least favorite time to ride the train.

California Zephyr Best Side Of The Train

The views are best from the south side of the California Zephyr . You’ll see the absolute best views and gorges during the Colorado section if you are on the south side of the train during this section.

If you are facing the north side you’ll also see great views, but not the most stunning parts of the canyon. As you get into California, and near the Donner Pass area, the views are better to the north.

The best thing you can do is get to the observation car before the canyon section of the trip and you’ll be able to see out both sides. During summer months we have seen trains limit the amount of time passengers can spend in the observation car due to crowding. This is less of a problem during the winter.

If you are wanting to take photographs of the canyons from the train, follow these Amtrak train photography tips .

California Zephyr in Sleeper Cars

If you are riding in a sleeper car, you cannot guarantee which side of the train you’ll be on. The cars are often put on in different orders and directions so on some trips a car may be facing the opposite direction. When you board, check which side you are on and make a plan to get to observation car, or dining car to see what you want to see.

You’ll have traditional dining on the California Zephyr, which is a long meal. You can ask your dining car attendant to be on a specific side of the train and enjoy the views from whichever side you want. Eat your meal slow and soak up the views as this is one of the best train experiences you can have anywhere in the world.

California Zephyr in Coach

If you are in Coach Class you’ll likely have more options for getting the seat you want. Sometimes you’ll be assigned a seat ahead of time and other times it will be open seating, where you can pick a seat when you board and then that is your seat for the entire trip. If that is the case just pick a seat on the side you want and you’ll be all set. If you end up on the wrong side of the train, just ask a conductor if you can switch sides to your preferred side, and they will usually accommodate you.

California Zephyr Scenery

If you’d like to see the actual scenery you’ll be seeing on the trip, we made a ride along video during a late September trip of just the views from the train.

The California Zephyr is the prettiest rail route in the United States so it is important to get your timing right on this vacation. With some planning ahead of time you should be able to see the best sights at the right time of year and from the best side of the train.

Robert Marmion

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Amtrak Review: Riding Amtrak’s California Zephyr

Overnight trains? We love them! We’ve ridden a lot of them in Europe and Asia, but we’ve never tried an overnight train in the states. This is surprising, because they’ve saved us the cost of a hotel, the stress of airports, and they’re typically far more comfortable than flying.

Check out our video on our train trip on the California Zephyr!

When we wanted a weekend away, we decided it was time to see how US rail travel on Amtrak compares to what we’ve experienced internationally . We booked a night on Amtrak’s California Zephyr from Salt Lake City, Utah (our home base) to Emeryville, California (right outside of San Francisco). This journey would be about 730 miles.

Booking on Amtrak.com

Amtrak has a great website and booking tickets is simple. If you’ve ever booked a flight online, this process is pretty much the same. Stick in your dates, your departing city and destination, pick your seats and that’s pretty much it.

Booking through Amtrak’s website took about fifteen minutes. They also have a pretty well built mobile app you can use.

Amtrak Cost

Our total cost was $338 for two one-way tickets in a Superliner Roomette. We opted not to get Amtrak’s trip insurance (reflected in the price difference between the two images above: $34). We also booked a one way flight from Oakland to get back to SLC fairly last minute. The price for the last-minute flight home was close to the cost of our one-way train tickets.

Travel Time

The total travel time on the train was stated at 14 hours with a scheduled departure time of 11:30 PM. We figured we would be able to sleep through the vast nothingness of Nevada and wake up before making our way through the Sierra Nevada mountains, where we’d be glued to the windows. As our train didn’t experience significant delays AFTER it picked us up (continue reading for more info on those delays), our journey took close to the estimated time.

Amtrak Rooms and Seating

Amtrak offers four different seating options on their overnight trains. Viewliner options can only be found on East Coast trains.

• Coach: Spacious seats that recline a bit more than typical airline seats. You’ll have to purchase meals on the train, or pack a picnic.

• Superliner Trains (our train): 3 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 6 inches. Two seats that face each other next to a single window. The two seats fold down to make the lower bed while another bed folds down from the ceiling for the top bunk. Several shared bathrooms in each car.
• Viewliner Trains (trains to and from NYC): 3 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 8 inches. In-room toilet, two windows, and two seats that face each other. One folds down into a bed while another folds down from the ceiling to make a bunk.
• Superliner Trains: 6 feet 6 inches by 7 feet 6 inches. In-room toilet, sink, shower, and reclining chair. One window. The lower sofa converts into a bed while a 2nd bed folds down from the ceiling.
• Viewliner Trains (trains to and from NYC): 6 feet 8 inches by 7 feet one inch. Two windows. The lower sofa converts into a bed while a 2nd bed folds down from the ceiling.
• Superliner Family Bedroom: Meals included – 5 feet 2 inches by 9 feet 5 inches. Two windows on either side of the room. Two adult beds, two child beds. No in-room toilet.
• Viewliner Bedroom Suite (trains to and from NYC): Meals included – This is just two Viewliner bedrooms with an adjoining door.

Departure and Boarding

On the days running up to departure, we kept an eye on the handy Amtrak app and saw that the train was consistently late. Our departure day was no different. Twelve hours prior to our scheduled time to leave, the app showed our train was over two hours late.

We had no idea how accurate the reported times were, so we got to the Salt Lake City Amtrak station- which is essentially just a relocatable building- at midnight. At this point, the Amtrak app was saying our train was three hours late. When we arrived there were already quite a few people waiting around, and we joined them.

It was a warm July night, so sitting on a bench outside wasn’t a big deal. We can’t imagine what a three hour delay might be like in the early morning hours of January here in Salt Lake City. There’s no way everyone waiting for our train would have fit inside the tiny Amtrak “station” building.

As a side note, the Salt Lake City station is pretty dinky and the bathrooms were a bit dirty and barely lit. However, it appears that many stations in other cities are much nicer.

At about 2:30 AM people began lining up. Amtrak workers were checking tickets and providing passengers with pieces of paper showing which room/seat they’d be in.

Finally, just before 3:00 AM, the California Zephyr rolled into the station. Employees held all of the boarding passengers back while other passengers disembarked. We were reminded that it was “quiet time” on the train and we should try to get to our seats quickly and quietly. We made it on board by 3:15 AM and the train departed about 10 minutes later.

Our Superliner Roomette was 50% turned down when we got on. The bottom bed was made up, but the top bed was not pulled down. This was an easy process to do ourselves by simply pulling the top bunk down. There’s a safety net for the top bed that we originally laughed at, but it actually saved Amy from falling out in the wee hours of the morning when the train swayed hard around a turn.

Once tucked into our bunk, we looked forward to sleeping through much of the morning while the train rocked along the desolate Nevada countryside. Amtrak had something else in store as “quiet time” was apparently over at 7 AM when breakfast was to be served in the dining car, no matter what time you boarded the train.

We were in for a big surprise when the dining car hostess began making announcements through the entire train. There was no way to mute them in your room. Everyone needed to know that breakfast was being served, the dining car was now full, that you should come get your name on the waiting list, names of people whose table was now ready, the dining car was not full, the dining car was full again… These announcements happened consistently, 1-2 minutes apart, for the first several daylight hours. That was the end of our sleep.

What’s Breakfast Like?

After getting our wits about us and watching miles of sagebrush go by the window, we made our way to the dining car about 30 minutes before the end of breakfast. We knew this because they were counting it down over the PA system constantly. We were seated with a quiet girl who didn’t seem to be up for conversation, but she was pleasant enough.

I had a breakfast quesadilla, which was basically scrambled eggs and onions in between two fried tortillas, with some salsa verde on top. It was good, not great, but still better than most economy class airline food.

Amy had a more traditional breakfast of a veggie omelette, potatoes, and a croissant. Her meal was better than mine.

After breakfast we went back to our room. Our room attendant had put away the beds and we plopped down on the two chairs for some more window watching. There was no wifi on this train, which was fine. We were able to work offline, mess around with a new camera, and just enjoy the train ambling along. While our train did not offer wifi, there are quite a few that do .

We were able to get off the train for a few minutes in Winnemucca and Reno, Nevada. It was nice to be able to get some fresh air and stretch our legs. Amtrak passengers must be heavy smokers, because each station was announced as either “enough time to smoke” or “not enough time to smoke.”

After Reno, we grabbed some snacks to take back to our room from the well-stocked lounge car and were excited to kick back and watch as we made our way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

We headed back to the dining car for lunch just as we were passing Donner Lake, just north of Lake Tahoe in California. Lunch was much better than breakfast. I opted for a cheeseburger and Amy had a veggie burger. Both of these meals were great, and we were seated with a nice mother-son pair who had great stories of riding Amtrak extensively around the country.

The Final Stretch

We spent the last few hours of the train ride relaxing in our room and the viewing car. The final hour and half ran along the east side of San Pablo Bay, with the sun glinting just above it. A stunning view to close out the train ride. We arrived into Emeryville at about 7:20 PM, three hours after we were scheduled.

We then made caught the (free!) Emery Go-Round Bus to the Bart station to make our way into San Francisco.

Final Thoughts on Our Amtrak Journey

It was a train and, in our opinion, trains are awesome! Trains are a completely different experience to flying or driving. We enjoy spending the time without being in a hurry to get to our destination, enjoying the scenery, eating decent food, and meeting interesting people.

Amtrak’s rail offering is different than those that we’ve had in Europe and Asia and obviously more targeted for those that just enjoy traveling by rail. We understand that Amtrak is used quite a bit for commuters on the East Coast, but that isn’t really a great option for West Coast destinations.

This was not the longest train journey we have been on in terms of distance, but it was the longest in terms of time. A flight to San Francisco or Oakland would have been about an hour and a half and if we were pressed for time, we would have opted to fly. Since time wasn’t an issue, taking the train was definitely a positive experience and we would absolutely travel on Amtrak again.

The staff onboard were extremely kind and we really enjoyed the guy working the lounge car. He was full of personality and very welcoming.

Amtrak Complaints

Our number one complaint is not fully the fault of Amtrak. Being delayed three hours when your scheduled departure time is 11:30 PM is not ideal. Spending the early morning hours in the Salt Lake City Amtrak station isn’t luxurious by any stretch of the word and we can’t imagine what the experience would be like in the middle of winter or if there was a storm. However, the delays are not completely the fault of Amtrak, as they share the rails with freight companies and if a coal train breaks down on the tracks, Amtrak must wait. They also travel a long distance and if there’s bad weather anywhere along the journey, they’ll get behind schedule.

Our second complaint is mostly dependent on the above delay. What is with all of the announcements?! The voice blasting through the speakers at 7 AM wouldn’t have been so bad had we been on the train and gotten to sleep around midnight. Having only had about three and a half hours of sleep before they started up was frustrating. A simple switch to turn off the PA system in sleepers would be a nice touch- perhaps a way for Amtrak to only announce very critical information for those who wish to sleep, and keep the dining and lounge car announcements out of the room?

Additionally, Amtrak needs to get the staff some personal radios or something. The PA was not only for announcements, but also used for staff to ask and answer questions between themselves that had nothing to do with the passengers.

Amtrak Q&A

How much was the train ticket? We had a Superliner Roomette, from Salt Lake City, UT to Emeryville CA and paid $338 for two people. This also included meals. Occasionally Amtrak will offer a great sale, so if you’re thinking of taking the trip, keep your eyes open. They also offer a Rail Pass . These are typically cheaper than booking a straight ticket and will let you ride for a specific number of days on any train (though you will still need to make reservations for each train).

How was the food? Breakfast was ok, arguably better than what you would find on an airplane. Lunch was much better. See the Breakfast and Lunch sections above.

Is there Wifi? The California Zephyr does not have wifi. Other Amtrak trains do have wifi, here is a list of those trains .

How were the beds? The beds are narrow, with the bottom bed on our train being 2’ 4” wide and the top bunk was just two feet wide. The cushion on both of them were fine. They obviously aren’t luxury mattresses, but I’ve slept in motels with worse beds. We are tall people and didn’t have any problems with the length.

Why do people take a sleeper train with Amtrak and not just fly? We understand why you would take the train in Europe as opposed to flying, as they are efficient and can save you paying for a hotel room when you’re traveling between cities.

To answer the question of why someone would take Amtrak in the US instead of flying is exactly why we took this journey. If you’ve been on a train and enjoyed it, if you think you’d like riding a train, or when your trip is as much about the journey as the destination, Amtrak is a great option. You’ll see parts of the country you’d never have the opportunity to see otherwise.

We met several people on this train and I asked them all, “why Amtrak?” Many of them just love trains and a surprising amount of people had booked Amtrak Rail Passes for a month or longer to travel from coast to coast and back, just to see the United States.

Have you ridden Amtrak? Have more questions for us? Leave a comment below!

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This 2,438-mile Train Trip From California to Chicago Offers Views of the Rockies and Sierra Mountains Like You've Never Seen Before

The 51-hour California Zephyr train journey also stops in Salt Lake City, Denver, and Omaha.

With a reputation for being one of the most beautiful train routes in North America, Amtrak’s California Zephyr travels daily between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area on a 51-hour, 20-minute trip traversing 2,437 miles.

"The California Zephyr passes through two mountain ranges that are gorgeous ," Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari told Travel + Leisur e, referring to the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas. "In some places, you can see views that can't be seen from the road because a lot of the railroad tracks were there well before cars were invented and roads were paved."

Passengers can take any portion of the route during its daily journeys through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California, which include stops in major cities like Chicago, Omaha, Denver , Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, and Reno, as well as Naperville, Lincoln, Fraser, Glenwood Springs, Davis, and Truckee. Although the Bay Area stop is on the East Bay in Emeryville, connections to both Oakland and San Francisco are available on the Thruway bus service.

Courtesy of Amtrak

Throughout the journey, there are plenty of stunning viewpoints. "Climbing out of Denver, you can look down from the train and be above the Mile High City as you first make your way through a whole series of tunnels that bring you up to a place called Fraser and Winter Park," Magliari said. "The train continues on winding its way through the mountain. You pass through Salt Lake City in darkness, but pop out in time to be through Reno when you're in the Sierras."

During this stretch, he said the charm comes in riding on the hand-built railroad between Reno and Sacramento, which is "part of the original transcontinental railroad route built during the Civil War to unite the country." That’s not the only historical aspect of the route — the name California Zephyr also dates back to the train that ran from 1949 to 1970 , before Amtrak even began.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Amtrak Train 5 leaves Chicago’s Union Station at 2 p.m. each day and pulls into Emeryville at 4:10 p.m. two days later, while Train 6 departs Emeryville daily at 9:10 a.m. and arrives in Chicago at 2:50 p.m. two days later. Both have lunch and dinner service the first day, three meals the middle day, and breakfast and lunch the third. 

Travelers can choose from a variety of accommodations aboard the train, from coach seats to bedroom suites. Five types of Superliner rooms are available across two levels, starting with the Roomette , measuring between six-foot-six to six-foot-eight in length and three-foot-six wide. It has two seats by day that are transformed into an upper and lower bed at night, with access to a shared restroom and shower in the car. 

Those craving more space and a private bathroom can upgrade to the Bedroom with twice as much space, at seven-foot-one to seven-foot-six long by six-foot-six to six-foot-eight wide. Sleeping two adults, this space has a sofa and separate chair that turn into an upper and lower bed at night, as well as an in-room sink, restroom, and shower.

Families can even go twice as big with the Bedroom Suite , which can sleep up to four adults. This is basically two Bedrooms attached, offering two of everything in the standard size. There’s also a Family Room , designed for two adults and two children, with seating for four during the day and two upper beds and two lower beds at night, plus a private restroom and shower. Passengers with disabilities can book the Accessible Bedroom , which can sleep two adults in an upper and lower bed. These accommodations have accessible features in the private restroom, as well as more space, with rooms as long as nine-foot-five and wide as six-foot-nine. 

Across all the Superliner rooms, the beds have newly upgraded bedding, pillows, towels, and linens, and customers also have a dedicated first-class attendant, lounge access, and priority boarding. 

For those who prefer more standard seating, Amtrak’s coach class is available, with reclining seats that have tray tables, reading lights, and electric outlets — and with two-by-two seating, there are no middle seats. 

Those staying in private rooms also get all meals included in the dining room, with seasonal menus featuring a variety of entrees, like omelets and quesadillas for breakfast and burgers and salads for lunch. The three-course dinners, which include wine, come with appetizers like caprese skewers and coconut shrimp, entrees like flat-iron steak and Atlantic salmon, and dessert like chocolate toffee mousse and lemon cake. Depending on availability, coach passengers may also be able to purchase dining car access once on board. Guests can choose to have the meals in their rooms, too.

All passengers have access to the cafe , which offers food a la carte, from breakfast items to burgers, tamales, and hot dogs throughout the day.

The California Zephyr also offers checked baggage service and trainside checked bicycles , and allows small cats and dogs on board (check for restrictions). 

No matter what portion of the route you take, the California Zephyr offers a way to experience America's landscape like no other, especially through some of the nation’s greatest mountain ranges, making it a glorious experience. Magliari said, "The difference between the California Zephyr and some of the other Western routes is simply more miles in the mountains."

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Trip Report: Amtrak California Zephyr (Part 1)

by M&C · June 28, 2018

One thing that’s been on our bucket list for a while is a cross-country train trip, so when the long Memorial Day weekend approached and we had no plans, we knew we had to go for it. After researching Amtrak’s various long distance routes, we decided on the California Zephyr, taking us from Chicago to San Francisco (technically Emeryville, CA). Why this route? We liked this one because it would go through some beautiful areas around the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, plus it would give us a chance to explore the Bay Area together at the end of the trip. The journey was scheduled to take 53 hours and 10 minutes. When we started telling people that we’d be on a train for over 50 hours, we were met with a lot of quizzical, “why would you want to do that?!” looks. It’s okay – we know long distance train travel isn’t for everyone. But for those who are intrigued, read on!

Booking Our Tickets

Now that you know why we picked the California Zephyr, let’s talk about all of the ticket options. Amtrak offers several different seating options on the California Zephyr, covering a range of prices and comfort levels. At the very lowest cost, the basic option is an economy seat on the upper or lower deck. These are the typical no-frills seats you’d find on a train, though these seem to have a little more legroom. The next tier of pricing covers the premium seating options, including the Superliner Roomette (a small private compartment ideal for one or two passengers, featuring two reclining seats that convert to two adult beds at night), the Family Bedroom (a larger private compartment with a sofa and two seats, featuring two adult beds and two child beds), and the Superliner Bedroom (a larger private compartment with a sofa and two seats, featuring two adult beds, and a private bathroom with sink, toilet and shower).

When we started seriously looking at the ticket options, we pretty quickly decided to book one of the private sleeping compartments. The price difference between an economy seat and a private compartment is pretty big but totally worth it to us – we’re terrible sleepers on airplanes (i.e. sleep on planes? what’s that?) so the ability to lay flat and possibly get a few hours of rest at night was appealing. If we’re being honest, the daily shower and the meals also held a lot of allure. Since the overall price included a unique mode of transportation across the country, lodging and meals, we thought it was worth it.

Here’s an example of the  different price options ranging from reserved coach seat (the lowest price overall) to Superliner Roomette (the lowest price sleeping car option):

Boarding in Chicago

Chicago has been our end destination on several shorter train trips and this time it would serve as our departure point, a nice change of pace. Our plan was to arrive at Union Station around 1:00pm for a scheduled 2:00pm train departure. One additional perk of the sleeping car reservation was having access to the Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago’s Union Station. This is an area where passengers can relax and enjoy comfortable lounge seating while waiting for the train. We showed our tickets to the attendant at the front desk (these tickets were emailed to us as a PDF right after we initially booked the reservation – they could be printed off or shown electronically). She asked if we had any luggage we wanted to check. Checking luggage was an option offered to passengers, though similar to checking bags on an airplane, once the bag is checked, there’s no access to it until arriving at the final destination. For this trip we opted for carry on bags only due to space limitations in the room.

Anyway, back to the Metropolitan Lounge. As we walked past the front desk area, we were welcomed into a clean, bright and modern lounge, with plenty of chairs and couches to use while we waited.

The lounge had free Wi-Fi as well as complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. There was a decent spread.

Before we knew it the passengers waiting in the lounge were invited to board the train. At this point things got a little frantic because several different trains were being called to pre-board at the same time. We lost the main caravan of people heading toward the California Zephyr but managed to find the correct platform with the right train. The economy/coach cars were located at the very end of the train with the sleeping cars up toward the front. There wasn’t much (okay, any) signage so it was a little confusing to figure out which car we were supposed to board. After asking one of the Amtrak employees on the platform who just pointed down the platform to the right, we realized that each car had a number near the front door and that helped us locate the correct car. We were in the very first car after the baggage car and both engines.

By this point we were quite giddy. Yes, we’re really dorky like that. We boarded the sleeping car and stored our carry on bags in an open area on the lower level. Note that this was not a secured and/or locked area, it was more of a “use at your own risk” type area. We kept all of our valuables with us, so anyone stealing our bags would have been pretty disappointed. Luckily we had no issues. Here’s an example of a luggage storage area:

Getting Ready to Leave

At this point we also met our sleeping car attendant, Terrence. He was friendly and approachable and when we mentioned this was our first experience in an Amtrak sleeping car, he seemed genuinely excited for us. He ran through his whole spiel regarding what to expect including how the meals worked and how to get in touch with him throughout the trip.

Soon enough we heard the train whistle and we pulled out of the station on time which was a minor marvel. There’s a bit of a backstory here. Two days before we were scheduled to leave on the Zephyr, there was a multi-car freight train derailment in Aurora, IL, on the very same tracks that Amtrak uses. Everyone was okay but the train tracks sustained some pretty bad damage. The derailment ripped up a bunch of tracks and caused several westward outbound trains to be rerouted after sitting idle, waiting in limbo for hours. There wasn’t much information available to us via Amtrak and we really weren’t sure if our train would leave on time (or at all). The train scheduled to leave the day before us seemed to leave late and then also showed significant delays. Needless to say, we were a bit uncertain as to whether or not we’d actually be heading out on our scheduled day/time, but we did, hence the minor marvel.

Once we started moving, we heard the very first train-wide announcement welcoming us, talking about the route and the stops, and explaining how dinner reservations would be taken that night. Throughout the journey there were regular announcements regarding all kinds of things and we would poke our heads out into the hallway to hear them. After all of the excitement and anticipation, we were finally onboard watching the western Chicago suburbs fly by. We dug out the California Zephyr time schedule PDF we printed off listing the upcoming train stations and started checking them off.

The Superliner Roomette

As we headed up the narrow staircase, we located our room, 024. First impression? It was small. Like really small. But our excitement carried us through. We investigated all of the little nooks and crannies, pressing buttons, adjusting air vents, opening and closing curtains, and deciding where to put our stuff. We packed very light in order to keep the basic necessities inside of the sleeping compartment and ended up hanging both of our bags from the hooks behind each seat.

We didn’t know it at the time but this turned out to be an excellent location. The room was located adjacent to a toilet/shower that almost seemed like our private bathroom since other passengers used it very little. Across from us was another Superliner Roomette that went unused the whole trip, allowing us to pop in for some pictures when the scenic views were on that side of the train.

The room is basically a small rectangle with two reclining seats facing each other. With two people, one person will always be riding backwards. From a motion sickness perspective, this didn’t bother us as much as we thought it might.  This is the view looking down and into the room. To give a bit of perspective, the yellow line is where the hallway starts.

Standing in the hallway and looking to the left.

Standing in the hallway and looking to the right.

The seats slide down at night to fold into one bed. There are small levers to press on to slide the seats down and together.

There’s a thin mattress with sheets hidden up on the top bunk. When the beds are being made for the evening, this is taken down from the top bunk and laid on top of the blue upholstery on the seats.

The other bed folds down from the ceiling area. The upper bunk area was pretty tight; some people refer to this as a coffin to describe how confining it feels. It also has a seat-belt type restraint that locks into the ceiling, almost like a safety net, to provide an extra layer of protection against falling out of the bed. The beds weren’t too bad actually but we didn’t sleep very well the first night. All of the movement does take some getting used to. We also discovered that we both slept better with our feet pointing toward the front of the train. Not sure if that’s a thing or not but it seems worth mentioning. We slept a lot better on the second night… maybe we were just exhausted? Who knows.

One of the seats has a carpeted area that serves as the main step to get up into the upper bunk. During the day we stored things there like snacks and water. It’s good to keep this area free of clutter at night in case the person on the top bunk needs to get down.

Underneath this area is a small trash can. There were new bags available at the bottom of the bin so we ended up emptying this ourselves during the trip.

Between the two seats is a center console that can fold out to create a small table.

There are two sides/flaps that can be locked into place for extra table space.

Here are the instructions for the various room configurations.

Above each seat is a reading light but only one seat has an electrical outlet (bring a small power strip), handy for charging electronic devices. There was a dial to control the temperature however we didn’t notice a difference no matter which way it was turned, so maybe it was more for looks than anything. Overall we thought the temperature in the room was very comfortable.

Next to one seat was a hook with two hangers. We traveled during the summer and didn’t have really have any clothes or coats requiring hangers but this would be handy in the winter to store coats.

The roomette included pillows, blankets and sheets, towels, hand towels and washcloths for two. There were also two bottles of water provided initially.  If we needed anything extra, including more bottle of water, we were able to contact our room attendant.

The door has dark blue curtains with long velcro strips opening where the door locks. At times during the trip we kept the main door open for air circulation but closed the velcro curtains for a little extra privacy. We also closed these at night to block out the hallway lights. Note that the room door locks from the inside but does not lock from the outside, so it might be a good idea to keep valuables on your person if you’re concerned about that sort of thing.

The Communal Bathroom

Here are some photos of the bathroom closest to our room. If you’ve ever used the bathroom on a plane, you’ve basically seen the bathroom on a train. The area is compact and designed with maximum efficiency in mind.

Hand soap and toilet tissue was available. It seemed like someone brought Dial hand soap from home and left it in this bathroom for the trip but we thought the Amtrak stuff worked and smelled fine.

This particular bathroom did have a shower stall to the right. Speaking of, the shower was definitely nice to freshen up, but man, is it hard to shower on a moving train! You never know when you might lose your balance and bump into the wall which is all part of the adventure really. On the second day one of us wisened up and took a shower while the train was stopped at a station which helped immensely… file that tip away if you so choose.

The lower level of our car had a number of extra restrooms. These had toilets and sinks only, no showers. We didn’t need to use these a lot since the upstairs bathroom was usually open.

Observation Car

This area of the train was one that we most looked forward to seeing. It’s an entire car with huge windows giving passengers extended views of all those beautiful scenic areas. Part of the car was filled with booths, like a restaurant, where we saw people using laptops, playing cards, and spreading out board games. The other part of the car had seats and benches, which were able to pivot a bit. If you’re hoping to spend some time in here during the day, plan to arrive early to stake out a good spot. This car was generally very busy during the morning and afternoon but it quieted down and was darn near deserted by dinnertime.

Lots of opportunities to take photos along the way

Meals/Dining

For passengers on the California Zephyr, there are a couple different food options including sit-down meals in the dining car and purchasing food items a la carte in the cafe car. Let’s talk about each of these options.

Option #1: Fancy Dining Car Meals

For passengers in the sleeping cars (including Superliner Roomettes, Superliner Bedrooms and Family Bedrooms), tickets include three meals a day in the dining car: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Beverages such as water, juice and soda are included; alcoholic beverages are extra.

We’ll say this – the formal meals really segment the day in a good way. It can be daunting to think of being on a moving train all day nonstop, but each meal provides a bit of structure and something to look forward to while traveling, breaking up the day into small, manageable segments. We find this to be true of meal services on long haul flights as well.

Our train had one dining car. The dining car had tables down both sides of the train and each table could accommodate four people.

There was no chance of getting a table for two – each table was filled with four people. This minimized the wait time for other passengers but it also meant dining with strangers for the duration of the trip. To be very clear: unless you are traveling as a group of four people, you will be eating with people you do not know for at least 45 minutes. The concept can be a little intimidating but once the conversation starts flowing it can be pretty fun.

We had a good experience meeting and dining with fellow train passengers. During our first dinner on the trip, we ended up being in the dining room for almost 2 hours! We ate with a young couple from Berlin, Germany, and it was interesting to hear about their travel plans within the States and also hear their take on the current state of the US and the world. Later in the trip we also met some friendly folks from Colorado and Texas. If all else fails and there’s a lull in the conversation, you can always look out the huge windows and admire the beautiful countryside! The windows in the dining car are almost as good as the ones in the observation car (more on this later).

On the first day of our trip shortly after we left Chicago, the lead dining car attendant, James, came by our room and asked what time we wanted to eat dinner. Sleeping car passengers were offered first dibs on dining reservations and then if there were seats open, economy/coach passengers were able to reserve a dining time and pay out of pocket for the meal. We had our pick of options: 5:15pm, 6:00pm, 7:15pm or 7:45pm. We opted for 7:15pm thinking it would be a safe bet right in the middle, not too early and not too late. James gave us a little slip of paper with a “2 @ 7:15pm” indicating our confirmed reservation time.

The dining staff made train-wide announcements keeping all passengers informed about when to head to the dining car. Once we heard the announcement for the 7:15pm seating, we walked down and waited at the entrance for one of the dining car attendants to seat us. Given the tight quarters, the dining staff members asked passengers to avoid standing and waiting in the middle of the aisle. These folks have quite an efficient operation going. It was very impressive to see three Amtrak employees seating passengers, taking food orders, getting beverages, and doing so many different things all at once.

These were our dinner options:

We ordered the Land and Sea, a flat iron steak paired with a premium crab, shrimp and scallop cake, with mashed potatoes and green beans. This was surprisingly good. We don’t eat steak a lot, so it was definitely a treat.

The Griddle Seared Norwegian Salmon with wild rice pilaf and green beans, also good

With each lunch and dinner meal, passengers can order one dessert item. Terrance told us that Amtrak used to serve Haagen-Dazs ice cream cups. To our great dismay, these were not available during our trip. Oh the injustice!

These were our dessert options:

The Amtrak Signature Dessert, a southern pecan tart with whipped cream

The Chocolate Raspberry Tart with whipped cream

Note that the menu does not change over the course of the trip so if you’re not crazy about the options, you’re pretty limited. We thought the dinner menu had a lot of variety but less so with the lunch menu.

Here are the breakfast options:

We ordered the Three Egg Omelet with green pepper and onion (one or both of these could be left out when ordering) with cheese, served with roasted potatoes and a flaky croissant.

We also tried the Cheese Quesadillas, Eggs and Tomatillo Sauce with a flaky croissant.

A couple of lunch options:

Lunches and dinners come with an optional side salad. We got these with every meal to add a small dose of greenery. They weren’t overly fancy but they fit the bill as far as house salads go.

The Natural Angus Burger on a brioche roll with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, and kettle chips

The Black Bean and Corn Veggie Burger, also served on a brioche roll with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, and kettle chips. This was really good if you’re into vegetarian options. Chips were tasty as well.

Overall the dining car food was good – much better than airplane food for sure. The downside? The prices were expensive. Since meals are included in the ticket price for sleeping car passengers, this wasn’t an issue for us, but it’s unlikely we would have paid $39.00 out of pocket for the “Land and Sea” dinner if it wasn’t already included.

Option #2: Snack Car Lounge Car Option

Conveniently, the lower level of the observation car housed the café car where various snacks were available for purchase. There were hot options like soft pretzels, hot dogs, and noodles as well as cold options like chips and candy bars. The car also serves a variety of beverages including soft drinks, coffee, and beer. We visited this area a few times – once to scope out the snack options, and then another time simply to use the tables as overflow seating when the top observation car was full.

Some of the options available for purchase

Seating area in the cafe car. Passengers can eat snacks here or take them back to their seats/rooms.

Looking at the seating area from the cafe car counter. It’s not huge but we generally found open seats when we were in this area.

It’s a rare trip where we don’t pack any snacks to have just in case. This trip was no exception. We’re pretty glad we did because it turns out having an endless amount of time on your hands translates to grazing a little more than usual. The snack car is an option though prices are certainly inflated versus what you would pay for the same snacks if you weren’t on the train. Also, the Amtrak employees staffing the dining room and snack car don’t work 24 hours per day, so there are times on the train where there are no food options unless you’ve brought your own. Packing some small, portable snacks helped us save money and were pretty convenient to have at arms length when hunger hit. There were two stops in Colorado, Denver and Grand Junction, with stores very close by to pick up snacks and beverages as well.

The train ride was a travel experience that really surprised both of us, in a good way. We brought a number of things to work on and do in our down time (because what were we going to do for over 50 hours?!) including books, magazines, and laptops, and we laugh about that now because we never once opened any of them on the train – we were glued to the windows, watching all of the beautiful scenery for most of the 50+ hour journey. We were able to see so much of the country traveling this way. We hope sharing about our experience encourages more people to consider a long distance train trip within the US. If you’re on the fence, just go for it! And if you need some photos for extra inspiration, go ahead and check out the second part of our trip report to see some of the breathtaking scenery along the way.

Tags: Amtrak California Zephyr Superliner Roomette

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Videos & Photos Photos Photo Galleries California Zephyr: Amtrak’s legendary passenger train

California Zephyr: Amtrak’s legendary passenger train

| Last updated on November 12, 2021

This train’s scenic Chicago-California route runs through two mountain ranges

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California Zephyr introduction

The line used by today’s California Zephyr includes the last direct North American transcontinental rail link to be built. It wasn’t completed until 1934, when the Denver & Rio Grande Western finished a 40-mile section east of Glenwood Springs, Colo. The “Dotsero cutoff” connected tracks through the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel, completed six years earlier, with the railroad’s original Denver-Salt Lake City route. The combination eliminated 175 circuitous miles through Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and the Royal Gorge of the Colorado River.

In 1939, Rio Grande teamed up with Western Pacific and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to launch the Chicago-San Francisco Exposition Flyer, named for the Golden Gate Exposition of that year. It took almost a day longer to make the trip than the City of San Francisco streamliner, operated on a two-night, one-day schedule by the Union Pacific and its partners.

The faster City missed both Denver and Salt Lake City on the route of the first transcontinental railroad. It also passed through California’s mountains in darkness because it was originally timed for business travel when rail was the only viable option. Following World War II, the Burlington recognized the popularity of dome cars and other stainless-steel equipment built by the Budd Co., the carbuilder that created the railroad’s first Zephyr trainset the same year the Dotsero cutoff was completed. Seeing a chance to create a scenery-friendly schedule, the three railroads commissioned Budd to build six sets of sleeping, coach, dining, and lounge cars that became the distinctive California Zephyr , which replaced the Exposition Flyer in 1949.

Amtrak takeover

By 1970, heavy federal investment in the Interstate Highway System and aviation technology had strained many railroads’ ability to privately fund passenger trains. The Zephyr made its last run in March of that year when the Western Pacific dropped out of the partnership. The Burlington chose to stay in the game, however, by providing a “California Service” connection from its Chicago-Omaha, Neb., day train to the Rio Grande’s renamed, but now triweekly, Rio Grande Zephyr . The train connected at Ogden, Utah, with the City of San Francisco, which by then offered daytime views of the mountains west of Reno, Nev., but no through cars were exchanged at Ogden.

This is the route Amtrak sought to duplicate when it took over U.S. intercity passenger service on May 1, 1971, but the Rio Grande decided it didn’t want to run a daily train, so it declined to join Amtrak and its Zephyr continued to run between Denver and Ogden. Amtrak was forced to choose Union Pacific’s Overland Route; it named the train the San Francisco Zephyr . The arrangement lasted until the Rio Grande agreed to join Amtrak in April 1983; that’s when the California Zephyr name reappeared, ironically, at the same time its legacy domes and observation car made their last runs.

California Zephyr travel tips

Today’s train offers spacious coach seating and private roomettes, bedrooms, and family rooms; sleeper passengers’ meals are included in the price of the fare and are served in the dining car. Train reservations can be made by calling the 800-872-7245 or at www.amtrak.com.

All travelers are welcome in the Sightseer Lounge , which also has a snack bar on the lower level. The glass-topped, big-windowed car doesn’t permit forward views or the intimacy with the outside landscape that the original Zephyr ’s dome cars provided, but it offers a spacious onboard environment with both comfortable lounge chairs and booths.

Every seat in the lounge is usually taken when the train climbs out of or descends into Denver and is usually busy between the Mile High City and Glenwood Springs, Colo., as it snakes through dozens of tunnels and a series of Colorado River canyons.

Scenic highlights continue farther west as the train passes the red rocks of Ruby Canyon and over Soldier Summit east of Provo, Utah. Highlights between Reno, Nev., and Sacramento, Calif., on the transcontinental railroad’s route, include Donner Lake and a brief stop at Truckee, Calif., bypassed on the California Zephyr ’s original Western Pacific tracks through the Feather River Canyon.

The train offers opportunities for passengers to stretch their legs on the three-day, two-night journey. Most of the 33 intermediate stops are brief, but travelers can usually get some fresh air on station platforms at Ottumwa, Iowa; Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska; Denver, Glenwood Springs, and Grand Junction in Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Reno, Nev.; and Sacramento, Calif.

The Amtrak app can provide accurate train status, but there is no onboard Wi-Fi and cellphone service is spotty. Amtrak no longer provides printed or downloadable timetables. The Rail Passengers Association offers one on its website; the latest version shows the train running only three days a week , but it has been operating daily on this schedule since June 2021.

Similarly, Amtrak hasn’t supplied a route guide in recent years, but a map showing principal points of interest along the way is available from a guide produced in 2004 .

Demand to ride the California Zephyr is high all year, Sellouts in both sleeping cars and coaches in Colorado and Illinois are frequent, so it’s best to make reservations as far in advance as possible.

4 thoughts on “ California Zephyr: Amtrak’s legendary passenger train ”

“This train’s scenic Chicago-California route runs through two mountain ranges“

It runs through 3 mountain ranges, does it not? Rocky, Wasatch & Sierra Nevada?

“Amtrak no longer provides printed or downloadable timetables.” Also noted that Amtrak no longer provides route maps or guides.

Admittedly printed costs money. But not including relevant planning information on their website makes it sound as though Amtrak doesn’t want more than commuter business.

Minor correction: the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River not the Colorado River. Also the California Zephyr in the 1950’s was only 7 hours longer the the Union Pacific City of San Francisco.

I have ridden the California Zephyr three time: twice from Denver to Emeryville and once from Emeryville to Denver. The best trip was in the winter. The snow scenes were spectacular.

Having ridden over most of Amtrak’s system, this is the best of Amtrak’s long-distance routes. But it is costly. In 2020 the Zephyr had an operating loss of $75.2 million and an average operating subsidy per passenger of $303.84. In 2019 the operating loss was $56.6 million with an average operating subsidy per passenger of $137.78.

As is true for most of Amtrak’s long-distance trains, passengers on the Zephyr should build lots of wiggle room into their arrival and departure planning. The on time percentages at the end points for the train were 54.2% in 2020 and 44.4% in 2019.

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The World Through a Lens

Sharing Stories, and a View, Aboard the California Zephyr

A photographer traveled across America on one of Amtrak’s long-distance train routes. Here’s what she saw.

Glenwood Canyon in western Colorado, as seen from the observation car. Credit...

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Photographs and Text by Marta Giaccone

• July 18, 2022

I woke up around 5 a.m. to a low but incessant rumbling. Faint hints of daylight had appeared over my fellow passengers’ heads, most of which were still bent in rest. Some people yawned; others stared intently out the window at the valley. I had been aboard the train for about 40 hours, and there was still a long way to go before our scheduled arrival in the San Francisco Bay area.

Riding westbound, I walked to the back of the train to see the rising sun reflected on the tracks. We were passing through Nevada. A few minutes later we stopped in the city of Winnemucca, Nev., right in front of the Martin Hotel, which, at the end of the 19th century, catered to the Basque immigrants who’d moved there to work as shepherds.

Amtrak’s California Zephyr, considered by many rail enthusiasts to be among the most scenic long-distance train routes in the United States, operates between Chicago and Emeryville, Calif., near Oakland. The entire route takes some 52 hours and includes 33 stops. In 2018, while traveling through the United States on a three-month photography project, I completed a majority of the trip, departing from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on a sweltering mid-August day.

I boarded the train at 5:59 p.m. in the golden light of a perfectly clear day, glancing outward at the first of a long series of soy and corn fields, and small-town backyards that are so often overlooked.

At 10:55 p.m. the 12 silver carriages of the Zephyr slowed and stopped in Omaha. Connie, another passenger, got on and sat next to me. At 72, she had short gray hair, a sun-kissed face and kind eyes. It was too late to start a conversation, so we both just tried to get some sleep. (Neither of us fully succeeded.)

In the early morning, while the yellow hills of Nebraska and Colorado rolled all around us, Connie told me she’d been visiting her daughter in Omaha and would be getting off that afternoon at Glenwood Springs, Colo., to meet her husband.

Eventually I started wandering through the cars, shyly but restlessly, wanting to meet and talk to everyone. It felt like the first day of summer camp. Small groups of people were mingling here and there, exchanging a few words. Others preferred to keep to themselves in their roomettes , or sat alone in their coach seats reading or napping.

The present-day California Zephyr began service in 1983, though an earlier iteration of the train — sharing the same name, but operated privately on a slightly different route — ran between 1949 and 1970.

In the 1970s, long-distance passenger trains like the Zephyr were unreliable and unprofitable and couldn’t compete with airplanes or the booming interstate highway system. But in the early ’80s, the reality reversed: Air travel worsened (fares skyrocketed, carriers abandoned marginal routes, competition intensified), and some Americans turned again to their network of trains. Short-distance train travel was often cheaper and more convenient, and the routes, conveniently, began and ended in city centers. In 1979, Amtrak added new Superliners — bi-level intercity railroad passenger cars — on its Western routes, and some people rediscovered a long-lost commodity.

As Henry Kisor describes in “Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America,” published in 1994: “The Zephyr represented a new conception of rail travel: the train as tourist cruise ship through a sea of scenery, not merely as a means of transportation from city to city.”

And the train’s schedule, as Mr. Kisor points out, encouraged passengers to sleep while the less exciting scenery rolled by — the Great Plains, and the arid landscapes of Utah and Nevada — and enjoy dramatic alpine views during daylight hours.

I spent most of my first full day in the observation car, also known as the Sightseer Lounge (and previously called the Vista Dome). The car’s floor-to-ceiling windows offered the best possible views across the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado River Valley, the Continental Divide, the Sierra Nevada and the green forests of Northern California. The soft blue chairs grant riders a bit of privacy, but the tables for four are where most of the socializing happens. Sitting across from Connie, I made friends with nearly everyone around us.

For a majority of people I met, traveling on the California Zephyr wasn’t about getting somewhere. Instead the trip was a reward — a slow and much-anticipated few days carved out of a busy lifestyle.

I met Joe, 33, and Mo, 38, a newlywed couple from England who had crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II, gotten married and then boarded the California Zephyr in Chicago, planning to ride all the way to Emeryville. This was their honeymoon.

Then there were John, 33, and Emma, 27, two Amish parents from Pennsylvania who were headed to Grand Junction, Colo., for a specialist doctor’s appointment. Emma was crocheting a beautiful centerpiece on what was her very first train ride.

Rose, 18, Jenna, 23, two cousins donning neck pillows, were traveling home to San Francisco.

At the very end of the train, by the back window, I met Robert, 40, and his 2-year-old daughter, Madeline, who was napping in his arms. They were on a birthday trip, along with Madeline’s mother and grandmother. They had hopped on in Denver and would detrain at the end of the line.

Sitting next to Connie and me were Tyler, 10, and his grandfather, Bruce, 66. They had boarded the train in Iowa. Their plan: to tour Arches National Park and the Grand Canyon. They decided to both wear flashy T-shirts so as not to lose sight of each other.

Seated behind me was a group of florally clad Mennonites from Michigan. They were on their way to Glenwood Springs, and were talking animatedly about something they had spotted outside the window.

Aside from the observation car, the train’s other social hub is the dining car. I missed breakfast the first morning, so, on my second full day, I headed straight there. An attendant was busy setting the tables. The car’s booths sit four people, and all the meals are communal — meaning that, if you aren’t part of a group of four, then you’ll likely be seated with other passengers.

Fifty years ago, having a meal in the dining car was an elegant affair — think linen tablecloths, fine china, silverware. The waiters would dress in white jackets and blue bow ties, with long white aprons and towels over their arms. Now, they wear light blue shirts, red ties and blue aprons. The china and silverware are still there, but, based on old photographs I’ve seen, they look cheaper. There’s no linen in sight; it’s been replaced by large sheets of white paper.

Whenever I’m on a long-distance bus trip — I’ve traveled extensively around the United States on the Greyhound network — I get the feeling that passengers are there not because they choose to be but rather because they have to be, because the bus is either the only available or the cheapest option. (This was always true for me, anyway.)

When traveling by train, though, the atmosphere is completely different. There was a sense of community aboard the California Zephyr. After all, there aren’t many places where Mennonites, a Japanese student, smiley newlyweds, parents with their kids and grandkids in tow and retirees are all bundled together for such a long period of time, sharing their life stories.

And that, as Henry Kisor wrote, is part of the appeal for long-distance train passengers — “the joy of encountering humankind in its endless variety.”

Marta Giaccone is a photographer based in Tallinn, Estonia. You can follow her work on Instagram .

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook . And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places list for 2022 .

An earlier version of three picture captions with this essay misstated the locations shown. The lead image shows Glenwood Canyon, not Byers Canyon; the trackside scenery is in Arvada, Colo., not Nebraska; and the railroad crossing is in Fort Morgan, Colo., not Iowa.

How we handle corrections

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Southern France:  The Canal du Midi traverses the Occitanie region and gives cyclists of all skill levels  access to parts of France that are rich in lore .

Port Antonio, Jamaica:  The D.J. and music producer Diplo recommends spots in a city he loves  on Jamaica’s northeast coast. A dance party makes the cut.

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Related: Empire Builder: What Makes This Amtrak Route One Of The Most Scenic In The U.S.

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• Mobile operating systems: The Amtrak app is compatible with Android, Windows, and iPhone.

Participate In The Amtrak Guest Rewards Program

A terrific method to get free class upgrades, hotel and rental car savings, and access to travel bargains is through Amtrak's free rewards program. Getting started with the program is free and just takes a few minutes.

Even if travelers do not book a trip frequently, it is a good idea to join up for Amtrak Guest Rewards since any points they earn are valid for two years as long as there is activity on their account.

Know Amtrak Baggage Limits

Before travelers get to the train station to book a ticket and board, it is crucial to be aware of how much luggage they may carry. In this manner, they steer clear of snags and unanticipated costs. There are baggage allowances of two personal items and two carry-on bags per Amtrak traveler.

Each traveler is also permitted to carry up to 4 checked baggage with them . The first two items are free with the purchase of admission. However, any extra bag after that will cost extra fees.

• Amtrak Baggage Cost: $20 per additional bag

Choose An Amtrak Sleeper Bedroom Or Roomette For The Most Comfortable Experience

Although there are several booking options, as mentioned earlier, the most comfortable way to travel on long-distance trains is to reserve an Amtrak Roomette or Bedroom (and there are differences between the two) .

Travelers should know that all dining car meals, free bottles of water, hot showers, soft drinks with ice, and hot coffee are all included in their reservations. A special sleeping car attendant will also be assigned to them.

Travelers should make sure to tip the sleeping car attendant.