Good to know. Thanks for the heads up! Maybe another year for that option?
we took Amtrak from Seattle to Glacier NP with our own room in 2017. We were going between these two locations and decided to go by train. We left Seattle around 4pm and arrived at Glacier around 8am the next morning.
The dining car/meal were quite inferior to Alaska RR. We did eat with another couple which I assume is not their current procedure post pandemic. We went to the observation room once but mostly stayed in our room. The bed was extremely uncomfortable, I don’t think we tried the shower. I’m glad we had the experience.
If I were to travel by train again, and I would like to, I think some routes through the rockies are supposed to be stunning, as well as the route down to New Orleans.
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You could, in principle, take the Capitol Limited/California Zephyr to Denver Union Station and then rent a car there. Drive to Estes Park, near the east entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.
One place we have stayed at there is the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park. The YMCA property is adjacent to the park entrance and you can actually hike into the park directly from the YMCA (avoiding the traffic at the main entrance gate). Once in the park, there are NPS bus shuttles that can take you to different trail heads. The YMCA also has horse tours that take you deep into the national park. In the summer, there are lots of elk on the property so that is pretty neat to see.
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My daughters and I are heading to Seattle in June to roam around the Cascades and the Olympic Peninsula. Plan on taking the Cascades railway trip while were are there. Great memories of taking Amtrak with my great-grandmother from Seattle to ND when I was a child. Been riding trains all over the world since.
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Going out west by train is a long journey. An alternative is to take the train to NYC, and then from there hop on the Adirondack that goes to Montreal. You could disembark in the Adirondack area of northern New York.
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Are the trains to Montreal even running right now? Are they running a shorter, domestic only route?
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The Adirondacks were my back yard growing up. The St Lawrence was my front yard. Canada between Toronto and Montreal (including north to Ottawa) was my stomping grounds.
I agree to recommendations for all of them(!), often recommending esp the 1000 Island Region of NY/Ont as an underlooked gem, but for us, we’d like somewhere new to explore.
I just got an email about Amtrak’s 2-for-1 ticket sale going on right now. Not all routes are part of the deal, but it may help you or someone else here. (I think the sale is only going on for the next week.)
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We are doing this the reverse direction in June -the California Zephyr. Postponed trip from last year. They had cut back the frequency but have recently moved it back to daily. So it certainly seems a go. Have had much feedback from people who’ve done it that this is an amazing trip (it goes through the Rockies). Not sure how feasible it is from the east coast without a flight somewhere.
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H and my BIL took our sons from DC to Chicago by train when the guys were in elementary school. They had a blast. They rented a car (BIL loves driving), but public transit gets you to all the museums, etc. IIRC, they flew Southwest home out of Midway.
He and I did cross-country after he finished grad school. Phila-Atl-New Orleans-LA, then switched to the Coastal Starlight from LA-Oakland, which is stunning. Took about a week, and we had a 48-hr enforced layover in New Orleans til the long haul westbound train left.
The overnight sleeper cars were much nicer once you get off the East Coast. When we did this trip, there were still restaurant cars with real china and good food. Was a great way to meet people. Took 19 hours to cross Texas!
I’d love to do the Canadian trip. We drove to Lake Louise and Banff thirty years ago and would love to return.
We do overnight trains when traveling overseas. Some European countries are cooperating in re-establishing overnight routes, which is great news. H has been watching YouTube videos of train trips all over the world during the pandemic. He travels frequently for work and has been missing it. Who knows where we’ll end up when we can travel again!
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This was our graduation gift to one of our kids. She wanted to take that train from CA back to the east coast. She loved it. Had her own private little sleeper space and sitting area. Cost included meals in the nice dining care for these reserved folks only, plus linen and turn down service. She enjoyed the scenery and the peaceful ride.
I honestly would suggest flying one way to @Creekland. I would not do the train, even a different route, both ways.
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Why? We’ve flown (and driven) across the country multiple times before. The train would be new scenery.
As an aside, my mom left us money to do a family trip together that we had hoped to do when med school lad graduated next month. An African safari was an open option this year. The kids decided they’d rather wait until the Trans-Siberian is open again to be able to go from Beijing to Moscow… even though with “resident” lad’s schedule that could be two years since it’s not open now due to Covid. That’s why we’ve “merely” rented cabins on the St Lawrence to enjoy for two weeks this year (a terrific Plan B for our tastes, though it’s certainly not new for us).
Enjoying trains might be in our DNA? We love the idea of a huge loop trip, and a loop beats out/back on the same line. Even with our long road journeys, we always make them loops.
At this point we’re actually wondering if trying to make a “stop” is worth it. RMNP is requiring reservations this year (and future years), plus it’s expected to be crowded due to 2020’s lack of travel. We’re thinking we’d rather drive there someday and camp within the park to see it. We usually camp inside of National Parks. That love is most likely in our DNA too. Our grown kids do the same.
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@Creekland, we definitely have similar travel vibes! 
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Check out the Rovos Rail’s Namibia Safari and Golden Eagle Danube Express.
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Just expressing my opinion. I would take the train one way…then find a destination there…spend some time…and then fly home.
If I was taking the train from Chicago to Oakland, I would then rent a car and drive to Napa or Sonoma, and spend time there. Drive back…and fly home.
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It’s definitely a different preference. We didn’t care to spend time in Napa/Sonoma when we were there.
Opposite end, but we found out we’re not Vegas lovers either, though Death Valley on the way there was awesome - and when we went to New Orleans we preferred exploring the bayous to the city.
It’s good that people are different with their likes or certain areas would be way too crowded. Different strokes, different folks and none are “wrong,” very similar to college choices!
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Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions. I expect we’ll have competition for the Trans-Siberian. We’ve had Namibia near the top of our list for a bit now, but hadn’t discovered the train option.
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My H is not as much of a traveler as I am, but he’s always dreamed of riding the Trans-Siberian to Lake Baikal. Maybe we’ll give that a closer look in a couple of years…
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Lake Baikal is a must stop for us. We like seeing a lot of nature’s unusual, so “deepest lake in the world” qualifies.
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Namibia is fabulous. I haven’t done rovos rail there but rovos rail as a rule is very highly regarded. By contrast, taking normal commuter trains in Southern Africa may not be really advisable for someone used to western trains, although it’s definitely better than some parts of the world.
If you’re going as far as Nam and have time I would always suggest trying to get some of Botswana in (Okavango delta and Chobe in particular) and if you still have time, Vic Falls in Zim.
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