Best USA Scenic Train Trips

Amtrak California Zephyr

Route: Chicago – Denver – Reno – Sacramento – Emeryville (San Francisco)

Travel time: 52 hours

California Zephyr is one of the most beautiful train trips offered by Amtrak, through the heart of the Rockies, Utah’s red deserts, and further west through the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, and Gold Rush country, through lush green plains and 19th century architecture, including the Gold Rush country of the 1800s past mining and ghost towns and old stagecoach stations which grew into stops on the original railroad.

The Zephyr runs between Chicago and San Francisco, coursing through the plains of Nebraska to Denver, across the Rockies to Salt Lake City, through tunnels and canyons, and then through Reno and Sacramento into Emeryville/San Francisco.

The Zephyr also to the Rocky Mountain tunnels carry you across the Continental Divide, while aspens and evergreens dot the steep cliffs of Glenwood Canyon on the Colorado River.  There are a couple of dozen stops along the route, where you can explore further.

Connections in to San Francisco and Oakland stations via Thruway Bus Service at Emeryville, California.

Amtrak Coast Starlight

Route: Seattle – Portland – Los Angeles

Travel time: 36 hours

This gorgeous West Coast train journey is aboard a two-level Amtrak superliner, attracting more than 450,000 passengers a year.

It’s one of the most popular Amtrak routes, with stops along the route at beaches and wineries, and the lush waterfalls, lush forests and hiking trails of Puget Sound, with views you won’t get from any highway.

You can get off and get back on the train, but you’ll need to book each leg of the trip separately. Use the one-way or multi-city option when booking tickets.

If you upgrade from coach to a small private room with beds you’ll have upgraded dining and access to the Pacific Parlour Car with its dome windows and evening wine and cheese parties.

There are various overnight accommodations including roomettes and family bedrooms. Family bedrooms are unique in that there are windows on both sides of the train, while traditional and accessible bedrooms have bathrooms. Learn more about sleeping accommodations

Amtrak Empire Builder

Route: Chicago – St. Paul/Minneapolis – Spokane – Portland/Seattle

Travel time: 46 hours

Empire Builder follows portions of the Lewis & Clark Trail from America’s heartland to the Pacific Northwest.

You’ll cross the Mississippi River and venture into Montana’s Big Sky country and into Glacier National Park, where there are four stops which offer overnight lodging, in Whitefish, West Glacier, Essex and East Glacier Park.

From Spokane, you can  head south along the Columbia River Gorge to Portland,  or cut through the Cascade Mountains north to Seattle’s Puget Sound. Along the way, mountain passes are marked with lofty trestles and long tunnels, while rivers feature hydroelectric dams and salmon fish ladders.

Amtrak says there’s no WiFi along the route, so this is a true getaway.  If you don’t want to travel the entire route, major airports are in cities including Spokane, Whitefish, Minot, Minnesota, and Milwaukee.

For a virtual tour, check out Amtrak’s Empire Builder Overview podcast episode.

Amtrak Southwest Chief

Route: Chicago – Albuquerque – Los Angeles

Travel time: 40+ hours

The Southwest Chief follows that same route between Los Angeles and Chicago. Here you have to book a sleeping car and enjoy the thrilling curves and switchbacks that lead to some of America’s most iconic sights: the Santa Fe Trail, Sedona’s red cliffs, pueblos and missions, the Grand Canyon, and the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains.

Tucked among the grandeur of the American West you’ll find beauty in modest, everyday living, too. Watch farmers harvesting expansive wheat fields and dogs playing in back yards. From the window of a train it’s fascinating to see how different people live in different parts of the country.

Exit at the Flagstaff station for connections to the Grand Canyon.

The Amtrak Guide website has these tips about the Southwest Chief:

• No WiFi and limited cell phone coverage
• Delays are possible
• New Mexico and Colorado are the states with daytime views and the best scenery
• National park rangers typically provide on board narratives between May and September on parts of the route
• Overnight, trains are in Arizona and Kansas
• Motion sickness can happen on the longer Amtrak trips as the trains sway, so bring medicine just in case as well as a sweatshirt and/or a small blanket because trains can be cold,

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Route: Chama, N.M. – Osier, Colo. – Antonito, Colo.

Travel time: 6.5 hours

It is the longest (64 miles) and highest (10,015 feet) steam railroad in America, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, originally served southwest Colorado’s silver mining district.  It is a National Historic Landmark that travels.

The narrow-gauge heritage railroad operates on 64 miles of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United States. Owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico, the train crosses state borders 11 times, zigzagging along canyon walls with views 800 feet straight down, burrowing through two tunnels, and steaming over the 137-foot Cascade Trestle.

All trains steam along through deep forests of aspens and evergreens, across high plains filled with wildflowers, and through a rocky gorge of remarkable geologic formations. Deer, antelope, elk, fox, eagles and even bear are frequently spotted on this family friendly, off-the grid adventure.

Passengers can experience history from a parlor car, coach car or the open-air gondolas, which are especially popular in the fall when the aspens shimmer their golden glow. The train runs Memorial Day through October.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Route: Durango, Colo. – Silverton, Colo.

Travel time: 3.5 hours

It’s called narrow gauge because the rails are set two feet closer together than standard rail lines, to fit the tighter spaces on mountainsides.

The line was built in the 1880s, during the silver mining boom, but now transports only sightseers 45.2 miles between the two towns.

There are picture postcard views of the Animas River and the soaring green mountains of the San Juan National Forest.  My favorite part of this trip is a memorable switchback.

There’s also a FREE railroad museum in Durango that’s included in your ticket.

Choose one-way or round-trip.  More information here.

Grand Canyon Railway

Route: Williams, Ariz. – South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park – Williams, Ariz.

Travel time: 8.25 hours

The historic Grand Canyon Railway – which has been in service since 1901 – departs daily from Williams, Arizona to the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. The entire trip is awe-inspiring, including the actors in old-fashioned Western gear acting out an old-fashioned train robbery, like the ones you’ve seen in dozens of Hollywood movies.

Take your choice of vintage steam locomotives pulling open-air cars, on what’s called “Steam Saturdays”, or a modern engine and closed cars with panoramic and luxury seating.

You can do the round-trip in a single day, although that doesn’t leave much time for wandering around the incredible Grand Canyon. There also are packages to stay overnight at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and inside Grand Canyon National Park.

Thanks to the travel trade publication Travel and Tour World, which reported on National Train Day in May, and inspired me to write this round-up of best train rides in the USA.