California Zephyr Train: Rider Guide (2024)

FAQs

What is the best month to take the California Zephyr? ›

September. The California Zephyr route has wonderful scenery all year long. However, September offers some unique perks, including less people on the train, golden Aspen trees in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and great weather for hiking and soaking in the hot springs in Glenwood Springs.

You can get off and on the train at any station, but you'll have to buy tickets for each segment, and in most cases, you will need to stay at least one night in the city where you get off the train. The California Zephyr uses Superliner rail cars that are two-levels tall.

You can move from side to side as the scenery changes. Best views are from Auburn to Reno, and well east of Green River through to Denver. As soon as you get into Ruby Canyon, west of Grand Junction you'll get good shots out of both sides. East of Glenwood Springs, the left side (E/B) is best.

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.

Travel during peak travel periods will usually see you paying more as there is more demand for tickets. For that reason, the best days to buy tickets are generally in the middle of the week between Tuesday and Thursday, the former considered the best of all by several sources.

Had high expectations for the Zephyr from San Francisco to Denver — kiddos had low expectations — and we all loved it. “Family bedroom” was very spacious, loved that it had windows on both sides of the train, sleeping arrangements were very comfortable.

The California Zephyr offers three departures per week, giving passengers options that best coincide with their travel plans. For their time onboard, guests may select from coach seating or upgrade to private sleeper accommodations.

Since the entire journey was 52 hours, we had to decide whether to travel by coach seats or the superliner roomette. The cost of tickets to travel by coach (for 2 people) was $516USD while the superliner roomette costs $645.

$10 - $20 per night per traveler is within reason. You would also tip your server in the dining car 10-20% of the value of the meal (meals are included in sleeping car ticket, but the price is printed on the menu).

The rail network in the USA is a shared system of privately run railroad companies, with emphasis on earning money. Shippers impose penalty's on late deliveries, yet passenger rail has no clout, since Amtrak pays a set fee per trainload carried. Thus, the Zephyr has to wait until the line ahead is clear.

Does California Zephyr include food? ›

As an exclusive, complimentary offering for customers traveling in First Class private rooms, traditional dining service is provided in the Dining Car on the Auto Train, California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle (between San Antonio ...

The CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR train (Chicago) has 35 stations departing from Emeryville and ending at Chicago Union Station.

There are two trains per day that run on the California Zephyr route from Chicago to San Francisco. The trains depart from Chicago Union Station at 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and arrive in San Francisco's Emeryville station at 11:45 AM and 9:45 PM the following day. The travel time is approximately 51 hours and 20 minutes.

We tend to visit California in the summer, but have now had a holiday to the state at many other times of the year. General advice is that the best time of the year to visit is in the spring during April and the fall in September or October, as it won't be as crowded but the weather will still be very pleasant.

Most long distance trains map to the national travel trends, so the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is about the slowest of the year. Second week of January through March is also slow.

I have made the run over Donner Pass many times in the winter, both in snowstorms and in sunshine, and while you miss some of the spectacular views in a snowstorm, seeing the snow falling just outside the window while you enjoy a hot drink is a lot of fun, too.

The roomette is about $522 for 2 people (think – transport and lodging for 1 night). The family bedroom is about $1287 and the Superliner Bedroom is $1519. You can read more about the rooms over here.