Where would you go by train?

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I would definitely check out some videos on the various options. At a minimum I would at least go with a Roomette. We stayed in SLC a couple days when we went on a ski trip to Park City. Nothing overly exciting in the city but we did go out to Antelope Island which was a bit of a drive. And of course In-n-Out Burger! :slight_smile:

I’ve never experienced them being overly late. Usually delays are during the winter months. The Empire Builder is interesting in how the train breaks into separate trains when one goes to Seattle and other to Portland. This usually happens seemlessly and most people won’t even notice until they wake up.

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We had a stop in SLC on our xc camping trip, we had a popup and we camped at the campground in the middle of the great salt lake which was awesome for it’s uniqueness. DH did not like the briny smell, but as a beach girl I loved it. Half of us took a dip and then washed off in the adjoining pay showers.

We went downtown and went to a museum which was having a Titanic special exhibit while we were there. I don’t remember the rest of the museum. We also toured the main LDS place open to the public, it was interesting even if this is not our religion. I think we also wandered around and checked out architecture. It was a good stop.

On our train trip referenced above, we got the bedroom over the roomette to have our own bathroom and the included meals. Since this is the only time I have slept on a train I can’t say how it compares, it was not comfortable and I can handle camping with a thin pad. But I’d do it again for a fun experience. I would personally opt for a bed over sleeping in a chair.

When we arrived at our destination after the train trip, we were being picked up and we did not have firm plans for the rest of the day. I was able to monitor the arrival times leading up to our date to see what would likely be a delay. There is a lot of info in the Amtrak forums. Based on the route, passenger trains often get deprioritized over container hauling trains.

I would book the hotel if arriving at midnight.

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I was referring to the specific fee for water!

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Our kid had the roomette. She loved the privacy, and having her own space. Lovely huge window and comfy seating for the daytime and a comfy bed for sleeping.

Back in the day, I took the Denver Zephyr from Chicago to Denver in just a regular coach seat. I have to say…it was horrible for three nights. It would have been OK for one.

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We visited SLC as part of a wedding week about 6 years ago. We really liked their stare capitol building which is very interesting and pretty. We also toured the public LDS buildings…the history of that area is very different than that of the east coast.

We then drove to Sun Valley Idaho…a bit of a drive but gorgeous! That’s where we did our hiking and such…but it’s also where the wedding was.

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One of the coolest unexpected things I did on a ski trip to Utah was drive to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. We saw many types of animals, including several buffalo/bison along with the stupid tourists trying to get too close to them.
Agree with the state capitol comment also. It was worth a visit.

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I have had a roomette, bedroom and family bedroom. We love the train! In the roomette that I go in from NC to FL has a toilet in the room. It’s a little awkward at night to get to, but is accessible. I think sometimes it’s on the hall along with the shower. During the day the seats face each other. I would get a room, if budget is not an issue!

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In 2014 H&I took the Zephyr from Chicago to Utah. SLOW ride through the corn fields until Denver. The ride from Denver west was beautiful and definitely not a view you can get on the Highway. The preference, as said above, for the tracks is commercial then passenger. I think we were around 3 hours late. D took the ride onto California and said it was beautiful.
Spending your time on the top level view is worth it. D spent all her time there and slept there in a chair in 2015. Not sure how covid has changed things.

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We are trying to keep this one inexpensive due to more expensive plans down the road.

This is what we’re contemplating TBH. We love good views - even cornfields - though we might be multi-tasking with cards or on computers during the cornfields.

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Seeing this post gives me ideas. My D lives in Seattle and we live near Chicago. We’ve driven (3 day trip) and flown into Seattle but going by train sounds interesting. Any good places to look for info and reviews?

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I started here:

https://www.amtrak.com/train-routes

We’re pretty convinced this is what we want to do at this point and will likely be making our reservations today. We’re just hashing out the details.

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I’ve stayed in a roomette with my daughter on two different trips…autotrain from DC to Florida and my East-to Chicago/Colorado trip. Loved it both times and felt comfortable (but I’ve done a lot of rough travel in my lifetime and I’ll concede that comfort is a relative term). I really enjoy sleeping to the rocking motion and sound of the train. One night I woke in the middle of the night and stayed up a couple of hours just transfixed by the night scene before me. I like how the train cuts through the countryside away from major roads much of the time.

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My dad used to love traveling by train. We took the train once 30+ years ago from Southern California to Colorado. I remembered loving the view car, and hating sleeping in my seat. After that trip my dad always got a sleeper car. I have taken the train from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. Gorgeous views of the coast.

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If you do decide to go to SLC on Amtrak, you can get off at the Intermodal Hub and travel to many places in SLC via the local light rail line (TRAX). The Red Line goes east to University of Utah, the Utah Natural History Museum, Red Butte Gardens & Arborteum, Utah Museum for the Arts, Fort Douglas Military History Museum and access to a bunch of hiking/mountain biking trails in the foothills of the Wasatch Range.

Park City–high up in the Wasatch and where all the ski resorts/Olympic Winter venues are located is about a 40 minute drive from downtown. (Longer if you take the scenic route via Emigration Canyon.)

Downtown, SLC has an interesting dining scene (including some really good food trucks), and in Temple Square, the SLC LDS Temple is pretty spectacular–though when I saw it it was during Christmas season and it was all lit up and decorated. You can tour inside the Temple, but be sure to check first since the Temple is undergoing renovations/repairs after the 2020 earthquake. I’m a library geek so I thought the SLC Public Library was an interesting spot to check out–it’s not like any library I’ve ever been to. It has a hair salon (really!), bookstore, flower shop, NPR broadcasting station, art gallery and sandwich shop.

The Great Salt Lake is a quick drive from SLC–maybe 20 mins. if you just want to see it and head toward West Jordan. Antelope Island is a longer haul–about 2.5 hours from downtown.

But I have to second (or third) the recommendation to visit Glenwood Springs. I’ve been there several times. Lovely area and the hot springs are fun.

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Ok, our trip is set in stone now (because if we cancel it’s a 25% fee).

We had to skip Salt Lake City due to the timing of the less expensive trains - perhaps crazy for some, but we wanted this to stay in a budget and still be “somewhere” on our actual Anniversary date. We also thought less expensive might correlate with less crowded. So… we’ll be staying in Emeryville, CA, in a bay front hotel room with a view of the bay - and taking the bus into San Francisco for a couple of days (cheaper than staying in SF).

We splurged on roomettes - right now there’s a Buy One Get One Free which didn’t halve the price, but brought it down nicely - esp since food is included with the rooms.

Once we’re “done” seeing SF (only our second visit to the city - spending 3 full days there) we’ll head north to ride the rails back home along the northern route.

We contemplated another stop, but stops add a bit to the cost, and as I said before, we’re saving for other expensive things coming up (travel and otherwise). We’re quite content with this. It splurges on the roomettes vs coach (thought about sticking with really cheap, but it is an anniversary trip so we thought we’d allow ourselves something extra).

Right now we’re really looking forward to it. Assuming we enjoy ourselves, I can see using the train to do a few meandering trips like this in the future (including SLC as a destination instead of merely a stop - we love Utah’s geology).

Train and hotel are booked. When August comes we just need to pack our backpacks, a carry on, and get our lad to drive us about an hour away to the nearest train station for an 11 day new adventure.

If we don’t care for it I still know how to make plane reservations or do road trips. :sunglasses:

Anyone wanting to add advice for Emeryville or SF, feel free.

Anyone else interested in train adventures - past or future - feel free to share too. I learn a bit from other people’s cool trips.

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I am from the SF area, but haven’t spent much time there in a LONG time. I remember riding bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito, and having lunch while looking across to the city. You can take the ferry back, and I think it stops at Angel Island. I remember Ghiradelli ice cream being fun. As an adult visitor I did Alcatraz, and it was “worth it.” At one point I had to go there often for work, and I spent a lot of time just walking around the city.

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We did an overnight in SLC. not a ton to do. The temple was cool but you can’t go in. Highly recommend Red iguana for dinner. Hole in the wall but amazing food. Long wait but it’s fun.

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We are Bay Area residents. Lots to do in 3 days. If you want to go to Muir Woods, reservations are now required, so bear that in mind when planning. I’m not sure what it might be like when you’re here but right now the touristy spots are mostly fairly uncrowded (we did a drive a couple of weeks ago and no problem getting parking at all the best GG bridge view spots, for example). Would recommend to take the ferry across from Jack London into SF at least once. The ferry/bike Sausalito/Angel island recommendation is a good one too.

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I remember spending a couple of days and not getting bored in SLC many years ago. Temple, natural history museum, salt lake, lots of walking. I found it quite fascinating, partly as I was in the company of a lapsed Mormon priest so it was an interesting angle. We’ll be spending about a day there on our way to do a Utah national parks trip next year.

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H loves the water, so if the ferries are operating, I’m sure we’ll be out on at least one!

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