All aboard!
Exploring the USA with Amtrak
Fancy exploring the US by train, but not sure where to start? Here are three great Amtrak train journeys to get you moving.
But don’t limit yourself to these – with hundreds of Amtrak destinations across the US, there are countless ways to build your own
great rail adventure.
When it comes to getting tickets for your trip, there are a number of ways you can work it. A standard one-way ticket will get you
from A to B with no extended stop-offs. Want to take in a few places along the way? Try a multi-city ticket. And if you’re after true
hop-on-hop-off flexibility, a USA Rail Pass could be your best bet. It lets you travel to any Amtrak destination, and decide how long
you want to stay in each place as you go.
Can’t be bothered organizing it all yourself? Then get on board with Amtrak Vacations. This service takes care of everything, from
booking your train tickets and hotels to organizing your meals, tours and even your flights (if you can’t make the round trip by rail).
For more on ticketing and other Amtrak information, visit www.amtrak.com
This information was correct at the time of publishing, but be sure to check details before you travel.
TRIPS amtr ak all aboard amtr ak
1
Utah
Oakland
Nevada
1
Salinas
99
2
5
Las Vegas
101
All Aboard
Amtrak
Why Go Beaches, beaches, beaches.
That’s the theme for this trip down
California’s coast. Leave the driving
to Amtrak while you enjoy sandy vistas and chances to pause at numerous stops for everything from wine
tasting to iconic meals to a baseball
game.
Amtrak’s Coast Starlight begins its 1377-mile run far north in
Seattle but to start this trip you’ll hop aboard in q Oakland for
a 464-mile daylight run through the heart of California to San
Diego. The train skirts the San Francisco Bay and runs through
the middle of sprawling Silicon Valley. You can extend this trip
over many days by getting on and off the train at various stops,
the most interesting of which are detailed below.

As you near w Salinas, the tracks enter the Salinas Valley,
which fully lives up to its hackneyed moniker “America’s Salad
Bowl.” Lettuce, broccoli, celery, strawberries and much more
grow here in profusion. Try not to feel too guilty as you recline
in your seat and watch squads of people laboring amid the orderly rows of produce.
After 100 miles of agricultural splendor, the terrain gets brown
and hilly as you reach e Paso Robles. You’ll notice striations
across the landscape, which are the twisted vines of the region’s
vast vineyards. More than 180 wineries produce some excellent
zinfandels and syrahs. If you exit the Coast Starlight here you
can spend the night at the historic r Paso Robles Inn, and the
next morning tour wineries with the t Wine Wrangler before
reboarding the train.
The line then makes a dramatic looping descent to y San Luis
Obispo. The next 120 miles or so are among the most spectacular of any railroad in the world. Trains hug the Pacific Ocean,
passing countless isolated beaches – some deserted except for
the odd puffin and seal, others dotted with frolicking naked sunbathers (sit on the right side for views of the wildlife, fur-clad
and otherwise). A good portion of this segment lies within the
02
California
Paso Robles
3
San Luis Obispo
6
Arizona
5
15
40
Santa
Barbara
7
PACIFIC
OCEAN
9
10 13
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Oceanside
0
0
100 km
50 mi
14 16
San Juan Capistrano
San Diego
17 18
10
19 20
21 22
8
MEXICO
off-limits expanse of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Look for the
gantries used for launching spy satellites poking up amid the
rugged terrain.

A perfect place to break your journey, u Santa Barbara combines beautiful buildings, a top-notch beach and orange blossom–scented air in one beguiling package. Only three blocks
from the train station and near the beach, the i Villa Rosa
Inn has the city’s signature Spanish adobe architecture. Nearby
State St is one of the most beautiful main streets in the USA;
perfect for walking, it is lined with shops, cafés and fine restaurants such as locally beloved o Tupelo Junction.

There are frequent trains south from Santa Barbara all the way
to San Diego. The next important stop is 100 miles south in a
Los Angeles, and it’s a big one: s Los Angeles Union Station.
This 1939 Mission-style gem has commodious leather chairs in
its waiting area and is a popular location for films. Nearby d
Olvera St is a Mexican marketplace in the middle of LA’s oldest
neighborhood. Amid plenty of tourist tchotchkes are stalls selling quality arts and crafts and numerous restaurants as authentic as any in Mexico City. Or head just north to f Philippe the
Original, where the French-dipped sandwich debuted a century
ago. Photos show trains at Union Station through the decades.
The tracks to San Diego first head east through an endless
sprawl of factories and warehouses. After about 30 minutes the
route turns south through thickets of suburbs. Views open up at
g Anaheim, where the station sits right across the parking lot
from h Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the alliterative
Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim. Fortunately the team is more
deft on the field, and frequently sparks flamboyant displays of
fountains and fireworks with their home runs and victories.
Fewer than 3 miles from Anaheim (and linked to the station
by shuttle bus), j Disneyland is the stop on many a SoCal
itinerary.
One block from the station, Salinas’ National Steinbeck Center (www.steinbeck.
org) gives context to both the Salinas Valley and the John Steinbeck works set here, such as East of Eden. Spend the night in
Salinas or nearby Monterey before continuing on the train the
next day.
tIME
2 – 4 days
dISTANCE
600 miles
bEST TIME TO GO
Mar – Oct
sTART
Oakland, CA
eND
San Diego, CA
TRIPS amtr ak all aboard amtr ak
About the time you may be reaching subdivision fatigue, the
train pulls into k San Juan Capistrano, some 27 miles south
of Anaheim. This cute-as-a-button village exudes old California
for several blocks in all directions from the station. Amid the
quaint shops, cafés and attractions is the local star: l Mission
San Juan Capistrano, which dates from 1776. As you wander
the flower-bedecked grounds and breezeway-surrounded old
buildings, you’ll see why not only swallows flock here.
As it did up north, the rail line now heads straight for the coast
and follows the beaches most of the way to San Diego. Unlike the stretch north of Santa Barbara, these beaches are lined
with people sunning themselves between bouts of volleyball and
surfing. At the classic beach town of ; Oceanside you can
revel in surf culture at the 2009-relaunched 2) California Surf
Museum, just four blocks from the station.
Your Amtrak adventure hits the end of the line 130 miles south
of LA, in downtown 2! San Diego. The best way to start your
exploration of this town, which mixes sunshine, beaches, loads
of attractions and the navy, is on a tour of the vast bay. 2@
Hornblower Cruises depart the waterfront north of the historic
old train station. Bon Voyage!
Ryan Ver Berkmoes
Riding Amtrak
North of San Luis Obispo, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight service runs
only once a day. It has comfy coaches and a diner, and you can
splurge and enjoy wine tastings in the private Pacific Parlor Car.
South of SLO, most services are on frequent Pacific Surfliner
trains featuring double-deck coaches, big windows and snack
bars.
Full fare from Oakland to San Diego is $59-72; 21-day California
rail passes are adult/child $159/80. Reserve the Coast Starlight well
ahead (www.amtrakcalifornia.com).
TRIP INFORMATION
Getting There
Oakland is just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. Amtrak buses
link the train station with stops in San Francisco.
Do
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
The fun-filled home of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels at
Anaheim. %888-796-4256; http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com; 2000
Gene Autry Way, Anaheim; tickets adult $12-200, child from $5, under
2yr free; hApr-Sep; c
California Surf Museum
Boards galore and tributes to surf culture dating back almost 100 years.
%760-721-6876; www.surfmuseum.org; 312 Pier View Way, Oceanside; admission adult/student & senior/under 12yr $3/1/free; h10am4pm Fri-Wed, 10am-8pm Thu; c
Disneyland
Adults are often as entranced as the kids at the Magic Kingdom. %714781-4565; www.disneyland.com; Anaheim; adult/child from $72/62;
hhours vary; c
Hornblower Cruises
One- and two-hour tours of the famous San Diego harbor often include
Coronado Island; whale- and dolphin-watching cruises run December to
April. %888-467-6256; www.hornblower.com; 1066 N Harbor Dr, San
Diego; harbor cruise adult/senior/child 1hr $20/18/10, 2hr $25/23/12.50,
whale-/dolphin-watching cruises from $32; hhours vary; c
Mission San Juan Capistrano
This vast old Spanish Mission is famous for both the annual migration of
swallows (mid-March) and its evocative buildings and ruins. %949-234-
1300; www.missionsjc.com; 26801 Ortega Hwy, San Juan Capistrano;
adult/senior/child $9/8/5; h8:30am-5pm; c
Olvera St
Unearth Mexican treasures at this chaotic market in the midst of buildings
that are ancient by LA standards (1870s!). www.olvera
-street.com; Los Angeles; h10am-7pm; c
Eat & Drink
Philippe the Original
Everyone loves Philippe’s. Order a crusty roll filled with meat and hunker
down at communal tables on the sawdust-covered floor. %213-628-
3781; www.philippes.com; 1001 N Alameda St, Los Angeles; sandwiches
$3-7; h6am-10pm; c
Tupelo Junction
Local ingredients star in dishes with a Southern flair; enjoy ’em at the
sidewalk tables. %805-899-3100; www.tupelojunction.com; 1218
State St, Santa Barbara; mains $13-33; h8am-2pm daily & 5-9pm
Tue-Sat
Wine Wrangler
Let this enterprising tour company haul your besotted butt between
some of the area’s best wineries. %805-238-5700; www.thewinewrangler.com; Paso Robles; tours from $52; hhours vary
Sleep
Paso Robles Inn
Some of the 108 rooms have mineral hot-springs tubs or fireplaces; most
have garden views. %805-238-2660, 800-676-1713; www.pasoroblesinn.com; 1103 Spring St, Paso Robles; r $99-179
Villa Rosa Inn
An 18-room Spanish colonial inn wrapped around a courtyard swimming
pool and whirlpool. %805-966-0851; www.villarosainnsb.com; 15
Chapala St, Santa Barbara; r $129-210
Useful Websites
www.amtrakcalifornia.com
www.visitcalifornia.com
03
Link Your
Trip
www.lonelyplanet.com/
trip-planner
Wet & Wild West Coast
48 Hours in Los Angeles
48 Hours in San Francisco
TRIPS amtr ak southwest by tr ain
Capulin Volcano
National Monument
Colorado
Utah
Raton
Springer
Grand Canyon
Arizona
11
9
10
Southwest
by Train
WHY GO Stare out your window at
the plaintive desert of New Mexico
and Arizona, stroll downtown Santa
Fe and Flagstaff, bed down in historic hotels, and choo-choo up to the
canyon on a vintage train. In an age
of rising fuel costs and city sprawl,
riding the rails can be easy and economical.
Following the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in
1869, travelers rode steam trains to the Wild West. Stories of
Kit Carson, photographs by Edward Curtis and paintings by
Thomas Moran fueled the imagination, and Americans eagerly
voyaged across the country to see the mountains and the canyons. They were, after all, young America’s cathedrals, billed
as grander than the Swiss Alps and more stunning than the
Sistine Chapel. While today the interstates, fast-food joints and
ubiquitous chain motels give easy access to the West, they take
something away as well. This train trip brings back a little bit
of that something.

Begin with a few days exploring Santa Fe’s historic landmarks,
museums and galleries, most within walking distance of q La
Fonda. Built in 1922, the hotel was purchased by the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in 1925 and leased to Fred Harvey.
Nicknamed “the civilizer of the West,” Harvey had exclusive
rights to hotels and restaurants along the rail-line west of the
Mississippi, and his elegant “Harvey Hotels” played an integral
role in developing tourism in the Southwest. Today, La Fonda
drips Southwestern charm, Fred Harvey–style. For a less expensive option, try the w El Rey Inn, a short cab ride from
downtown Santa Fe.

The westbound e Amtrak departs Lamy, 20 minutes south
of Santa Fe and accessible via a prearranged Amtrak shuttle
from your hotel, daily at 2:24pm. One-and-a-half hours later,
the train arrives in Albuquerque, where vendors sell turquoise
jewelry and Navajo-style blankets from the platform and new
04
Las Vegas
2
Lamy
Williams
Flagstaff
4
25
SANTA FE
1
Gallup
8
Winslow
40
Grants
40
3
Albuquerque
285
Holbrook
77
New
Mexico
17
PHOENIX
0
0
200 km
100 mi
passengers board. You sit with a glass of wine as the train pulls
away from the city’s outskirts, and stare out at the massive redrock mesas and plateaus of Navajo country, your book lying
open and unread in your lap. The train rolls on, through the
flat desert plains of western Arizona, and, in about five hours,
up into the Ponderosa surrounds of r Flagstaff.
New Mexico R&R
Rest your rail-weary bones with a night at Los Poblanos Historical Inn, 6 miles and worlds away from the Amtrak station in
Albuquerque. This 1934 hacienda sits on 25 acres of gardens and
fields, and features lovely rooms, spectacular mountain views,
trails along the acequia and breakfasts provided by its organic
farm. Swim in the tiled courtyard pool or simply sit on the lawn,
watching the cotton from the cottonwood trees drift into the
wind.

Gather your bags and hop onto the platform. It’s colder here,
and even in the summer you will pull on your fleece before
heading to a room for the night. The streets of this welcoming college town are busy as you walk to the t Weatherford
Hotel. Rooms here, decorated with lace curtains, period antiques and claw-foot cast-iron tubs, take you back to the 1930s.
The wraparound 2nd-floor porch off the bar is a great place to
kick back with a cold beer after the train ride.
Wake up for tofu scrambles and coffee at y Macy’s European
Coffee House, a popular local hangout. Students tap away on
computers and parents sit with the crossword puzzle while kids
nurse giant mugs of hot chocolate and vegan apple turnovers.
If you’re feeling ambitious, rent a bike and pick up a bike-trail
map at u Absolute Bikes. Head west on Route 66 from the
Riding Amtrak from Colorado, consider jumping off for a day in Raton. While there’s not
much to recommend in this tiny town, rent a car and head to
Capulin Volcano National Monument (www.nps.gov/cavo). You
can drive to the rim of this beautiful cinder cone volcano, formed
60,000 years ago, and take in the 360-degree views; there are also
several short hikes.
shop and follow it for about 3 miles to S Woody Mountain Rd;
take a left and ride 4 miles through pines and meadows to the
tIME
5 days
dISTANCE
470 miles
bEST TIME TO GO
Sep – Jun
sTART
Santa Fe, NM
eND
Grand Canyon
South Rim, AZ
TRIPS amtr ak southwest by tr ain
i Arboretum at Flagstaff. Walk through and read about the
landscape you’ve been watching from the train window. Trails
wind around gardens with more than 2300 species of plants; it’s
a beautiful spot for a picnic.

Jump on the 8:57pm Amtrak or the 3.45pm Amtrak bus shuttle to Williams, a tiny tourist town 35 miles west of Flagstaff,
and sleep at o The Lodge, an updated Route 66 classic (or
stay in Flagstaff and take a shuttle or cab in the morning). The
a Grand Canyon Railway departs from Williams. Catch the
predeparture Wild West Show at 9:30am, with goofy cowboys
wearing spurs, silly banter and an Old West facade, before
boarding the vintage train for the 2½-hour ride to the canyon.
As the train slowly chugs north, out of town and down in elevation into the shrubbery of the desert, the mountains softly
arch in the distance, nothing but shaded silhouettes, and the
coolness of morning fades. The train lulls you along, passing landscape void of cars and buildings, and with few other
hints of the 21st century. Cowboy singers pass through the
train, plucking Johnny Cash, and someone walks down the
aisle with bottles of soda and water. Folks exchange stories and talk politics until the train pulls into the station at
s Grand Canyon National Park, a short walk from the canyon rim.
Americans resist the train, thinking that they need the flexibility
of a car, and perhaps feeling anchorless without it. But this trip
is easy, with no middle-of-the-night departures. No, you don’t
have the same freedom you have in your own car, but it offers
a different kind of freedom. You don’t have any choice but to
slow down and enjoy the ride.
Jennifer Denniston
05