Departure suggestions Northern OH - BOS

[Linda T]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning a new trip before I even take my next one. :giggle: I'm going to plan it around the availability of a sleeper. But what I need to know is what station do you all recommend I depart from? I can leave from Toledo, Sandusky, Elyria, or Cleveland. It looks like none of them have a parking attendant, so have you ever had problems parking a car at any of them and leaving it for a week or so? Any idea what the cost is to park a car? Each station tells how many parking spaces it has, but it doesn't give cost to park. Are any of the stations any more out of city traffic than the others? I have a lot of family buried near the Cleveland station, but I'm petrified of traffic. Took Amtrak to Atlanta once -- NEVER again (we go to Anniston now) rush hour in ATL is the worst rush hour I've ever driven in!!! So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My husband wants to book our hotels soon. Thanks!

Editted to add. Also, anyone have experience with how fast the parking spaces fill up in TOL and CLE? I hate to plan to leave from a station and not be able to find a parking space!!!

 

[Lakeshore]

The Cleveland station has a large, free parking lot. The station is open at night, so there are always people around. During the day, they close the gate and the lot is fenced in. I have parked there twice with no problem. As far as traffic, you will be arriving after midnight to the station, so there is very minimal traffic. I have never gone to any of the other stations, but I feel Cleveland is relatively safe and easy to get into/out of.

 

[Linda T]

Thanks, CLE sounds like the way to go! I hate that it gets in at 3:30 so one doesn't get a full night's sleep and has a loooong drive back to the river.

 

[Railroad Bill]

The Cleveland station has a large, free parking lot. The station is open at night, so there are always people around. During the day, they close the gate and the lot is fenced in. I have parked there twice with no problem. As far as traffic, you will be arriving after midnight to the station, so there is very minimal traffic. I have never gone to any of the other stations, but I feel Cleveland is relatively safe and easy to get into/out of.

Ditto to everything Lakeshore has said. We leave from CLE on all of our trips and havent had any parking security problems. Staff at the station are very friendly and not a bad place to wait for the train.

Sandusky and Elyria do not have staffed stations and you will likely wait outside in the rain Parking there is suspect as well and not protected by gated security. Do not know much about Toledo, although it is a staffed station and there is parking available, but not that secure.

Have a great trip.

 

[Linda T]

Great! Thanks for the suggestions. If we take the Lake Shore we'll definately start in CLE. But my husband doesn't like the 3:30 am arrival time. We're now looking at taking the Cardinal to NYP, and then spending the night in NYC, touring a bit the next day and taking a later NER to BOS (yeah coach, don't want to waste AGR on a 4 hour trip with no meals or bed). Then return to NYP early, tour the rest of what we didn't see in NYC, spend the night again and return the next morning on the Card. It will be a change of scenery still as we've not traveled north of CVS, so that's exciting in and of itself. I'll have to do the LSL another time. :-(

I really do want to take her soooo bad, but I don't want to miss the Hudson River valley either, which I would if we were to take the LSL since it runs direct to Boston.