Coast Starlight Guide

See the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range with a trip on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight route. It’s one of the most scenic in the United States with long-distance travel between Los Angeles and Seattle. Beaches, wineries, hiking and fresh local food are some of the things you can enjoy at stops along the route.

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Things to Know

Trains use Superliner rail cars that have two levels.
Total trip time on the Coast Starlight is about 35 hours and you’ll spend one night on the train.
Trains have sleeping accommodations, a dining car and cafe (but no WiFi).
For the best mountain views, travel in the summer or southbound from Seattle.
For ocean views, sit on the left side of northbound trains and the right side of southbound trains.
You can get off and on the train for a night or more, but you’ll need to book each leg of the trip separately.

Schedule Highlights

Trains depart Seattle and Portland in the morning and arrive in L.A. the next day in the evening.
Trains depart L.A. in the morning and arrive in the evening the next day in Portland and Seattle.
Overnight, trains are in Northern California and part of Oregon.

View latest schedules and timetables on Amtrak.com.

Accommodations

Choose from the following sleeping accommodations on the Coast Starlight: Superliner roomettes, bedrooms, accessible bedrooms 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. Roomettes are on the upper and lower level of the train. Learn more about the upper vs lower level.

Cost

The cost of Amtrak tickets varies by type of ticket, distance traveled, time of year and how early you book your tickets. Coach seats are the most affordable, followed by business class seats, roomettes, family bedrooms and traditional bedrooms.

Here are estimated Coast Starlight prices if you travel the entire route as of 2022: