Riding the California Zephyr

Riding the California Zephyr made me fall in love with the US again. Like the country, it’s not perfect – in 2024, only 51% of California Zephyr trains arrived on time. But it’s ripe for adventure, gifting that sense of possibility and showing off a diverse cross-section of the nation, both in the landscapes and the passengers, that you won’t find anywhere else. 

The California Zephyr follows part of the route of the Transcontinental Railroad, the USA’s first cross-country span, which opened in 1869. The Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific came together in Utah, and the tracks were completed with a ceremonial Golden Spike. Today, Golden Spike National Historical Park, an hour’s drive outside Salt Lake City, commemorates the great occasion.

Though it clocks in at 2438 miles (3924km) and takes upwards of two days from start to finish, the California Zephyr is not a train to hop off and on, but instead a journey to see through to its conclusion. This is arguably Amtrak’s most scenic route, passing through major cities, two snow-capped mountain ranges (the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies), high-desert ghost towns and empty, lonely prairie. 

Start: Emeryville (San Francisco Bay), California/Union Station
Finish: Chicago, Illinois 
Distance: 2438 miles (3924km) 
Duration: 3 days
Ticket types: Coach and private rooms are available. 
How to book: On the Amtrak website

Departure

In the waiting hall at the train station in Sacramento, I gaze at a beautiful wall-spanning mural commemorating the city’s 1863 ground-breaking ceremony for the first Transcontinental Railroad. When the double-decker train arrives, I board, along with docents from the nearby California State Railroad Museum. 

After dropping my things in my private roomette, I explore the train, which feels like a wonderful combination of a bar on wheels, a rowdy classroom and a wildlife-spotting safari. A motley crew is lounging in the observation car that offers a handful of booth tables, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows and swivel seats facing outward.

Once the engine springs into action, so do they, narrating the scenery and history for the happily captive audience for several hours until we cross the state line from California into Nevada. 

Along the way, the train twists and turns through the canyons of the Sierra Nevada, at one point even passing under the lift cables of the Soda Springs Ski Resort. On the other side, the tracks closely follow Donner Pass Rd, named for the infamous group of 1840s pioneers whose wagons got snowed in, so they had to turn to cannibalism. 

The journey

After the docents depart in Reno, the stories continue – this time our own personal histories, swapped among passengers. 

Americans generally don’t shy away from spilling their lives to strangers, and I get to know the California Zephyr’s cast of characters: a 60-something man going to meet his daughter-in-law and grandson for the first time after resolving a long estrangement from his son; a well-traveled woman tired of making the drive from the coast to Chicago; a retired couple giddy about the beautiful blooms they saw at an orchid festival in San Francisco; a man who knows all about the healing power of magnetic bracelets and proclaims himself a prophet who is spreading the word. 

A large family of traditionally dressed Amish – women in bonnets and plain dresses and men with long, untrimmed beards and suspenders – are playing card games on the way home to Pennsylvania Dutch Country after the mother had a medical procedure in California. One woman is more interested in reading a book called The Art and Science of Grazing than talking. Two Japanese students who are not totally fluent in English probably wonder what kind of sitcom they have stumbled into. Where else in the world could this group of people have ever come into contact? 

By the end of the day, the train has crossed over another state line into Utah, and those gathered in the observation car watch the cotton-candy pink and orange sunset over the alien-like salt flats. After dark, I retreat to my roomette, one of Amtrak’s sleeper cabins, and call it a night. 

In the morning, I head to the dining car for breakfast. The tables seat four and, like a singles mixer, Amtrak puts random parties together, so I scoot across the vinyl seat to make room for one of the Japanese students as the middle-aged Amish couple squeezes in on the other side. We nod to each other in familiarity and then gasp in surprise as we spot a herd of antelope grazing just outside the train window. 

Our breakfasts arrive, and the Amish recount their sighting of wild horses the night before. I can’t resist spending another day in the observation car. A new conductor boarded overnight in Salt Lake City and, clearly perked up from his morning coffee, he calls out all the wildlife he’s seeing over the intercom as if we’re on a group safari. Oohs and ahhs rise from the growing crowd, passengers shouting out to the group as they spot more animals. 

As we roll toward the Rockies, the conductor carries on: "There’s Cisco, Utah – don’t blink. You’ll know when we pass it. It looks like it’s out of The Hills Have Eyes. Population: 1." The observation car starts playing a collective game of "I Spy," trying to figure out where the one person lives. The tracks meet the Colorado River, and they sync in parallel for hundreds of miles, overseen by bald eagles. Once we’re in the mountains, the train slows to a crawl, and some of the jagged canyon walls edge in so close that it feels like they are going to scrape the windows at any moment. 

On the other side of the Rocky Mountains lies their geographical opposite: the flat expanse of Midwestern prairie that accompanies us the rest of the way to Chicago. Riding the California Zephyr is a reminder that the journey is the reward, a maxim that’s too often not the case when traveling. The camaraderie makes it feel like you’re part of a bigger whole, an unforgettable moment in time perhaps never to be repeated – at least not until the next California Zephyr sets off on its 3-day cross-country journey to Chicago.

Things to know

• Private room prices can be pricey (upwards of $1400 for two passengers), but this rate includes all meals in the dining car, available only to those with private rooms. 

• Though Amtrak’s Coach seats are comfy, spending consecutive days attempting to sleep in them can be rough. 

• Budget travelers should consider the USA Rail Pass, which offers 10 journeys within 30 days for $499. 

• If you travel the whole California Zephyr route, that’s just one journey. The catch? You must ride in coach.

This is an extract from Lonely Planet's new book Epic Train Trips of the World, published in September 2025.