Best direction of travel for Amtrak’s scenic long-distance routes

If you’re planning a long-distance train trip on Amtrak, selecting which route to ride is just the first step. You’ll also need to decide if you’ll ride roundtrip or in one direction only. If one direction, you’ll need to decide in which direction of travel. Train schedules and sunset times might limit views of amazing scenery if you don’t plan carefully.

To simplify your trip decisions, learn about Amtrak’s most scenic long-distance routes below and the best direction of travel for each. For current train schedules and ticket prices, visit Amtrak.com.

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California Zephyr

Best Direction: West
Best Departure City: Denver

Westbound is the best direction of travel for the California Zephyr, the most scenic Amtrak route. You’ll have guaranteed daylight in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (pictured above) and the Sierra Nevada. We like starting this trip in Denver to quickly reach the best scenery. If flying, arrive the day before your train departure (and considering staying inside the train station at the Crawford Hotel). You’ll have the option to end your trip in Sacramento or Emeryville. Both are near airports and have connections to the scenic Coast Starlight Amtrak route.

Cardinal

New River in West Virginia Mountains — *Photo by daveynin/Flickr.com via Creative Commons*

Best Direction: East
Best Departure City: Chicago

If you want to travel through the beautiful New River Gorge on Amtrak, book tickets on the Cardinal. Eastbound is the best direction of travel to view the scenery during daylight hours, with Chicago and Indianapolis good starting points. After an evening departure and night on the train, you’ll wake up in the mountains. If you want to visit the New River Gorge National Park, book tickets to Charleston, WV and rent a car. With Turo, cars can be dropped off at the station or request a pickup with an Enterprise rental.

Coast Starlight

Best Direction: North
Best Departure City: L.A. or Van Nuys

Travel northbound on the Coast Starlight between May and July to maximize your views of the Cascade Mountains and Pacific Ocean. Midday you’ll travel along the coastline and early the next morning you’ll wake up to mountain views. For an easy connection to this train, fly into the Burbank Airport. The Van Nuys Amtrak Station is less than 20 minutes away – get a Lyft, Uber or taxi. Consider arriving a day or two before your trip to visit nearby Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign.

Empire Builder

Best Direction: East
Best Departure City: Portland or Seattle

Eastbound travel on the Empire Builder is by far the best direction of travel, especially in the summer. Depart from Portland to view the Columbia River Gorge or from Seattle to see Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains. After a night on the train, you’ll arrive in the Montana Rocky Mountains and have two hours of breathtaking scenery. You can end the trip at the East Glacier Park Station and stay a night or more at the historic Glacier Park Lodge before returning to the West Coast.

Southwest Chief

Best Direction: West (East also good)
Best Departure City: Kansas City

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief travels through the desert with similar scenery in both directions of travel. We slightly favor westbound trips as you’ll travel into the sunset in New Mexico (plus have guaranteed daylight as you travel through Raton Pass). Kansas City is a great place to start this trip as you can fly into the city’s airport and board the train later in the day.

If you start the trip in California, choose from multiple departure stations, including Los Angeles, Fullerton and San Bernardino. If you don’t want to travel all the way to Chicago or Kansas City, book your ticket to Albuquerque. You’ll see the desert on the way and can check out the top attractions there before flying out of the city’s airport.