Emeryville, California layover question

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Trucker72 said:
If you go that way it is way less than 2 miles.
Click to expand...
The distance I mentioned was .2 miles. That's the total walk including the bridge itself.

As for Uber / Lyft / Taxi - they all have pros and cons. Ever since I was 18 I've travelled quite a bit solo using public transportation. I prefer Uber for many reasons. I'm going to guess that any taxis waiting at Emeryville will refuse such a short distance.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
The distance I mentioned was .2 miles. That's the total walk including the bridge itself.

As for Uber / Lyft / Taxi - they all have pros and cons. Ever since I was 18 I've travelled quite a bit solo using public transportation. I prefer Uber for many reasons. I'm going to guess that any taxis waiting at Emeryville will refuse such a short distance.
Click to expand...
The actual driving distance between Amtrak Station and the Hyatt House would be about 0.6 miles since it will have to cross the railroad by the Powell Street overpass. But the comment about refusing such a short ride still holds.
 
MccfamschoolMom said:
"Friendly stegosaurus" here. I've never yet used Uber or Lyft, and don't know how, so a real taxi or public transportation would be more familiar options for me.
Click to expand...
I sympathize as I also have never used Uber/Lyft although I did get as far as loading the apps on my phone.
 
jis said:
The actual driving distance between Amtrak Station and the Hyatt House would be about 0.6 miles since it will have to cross the railroad by the Powell Street overpass. But the comment about refusing such a short ride still holds.
Click to expand...
Haha... I've now confused everyone! The walking distance to the front door of the hotel using the pedestrian bridge is about .2 miles - with the possibility of needing to use stairs on one or either end of the bridge. That's the distance I was referring to.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
Haha... I've now confused everyone! The walking distance to the front door of the hotel using the pedestrian bridge is about .2 miles - with the possibility of needing to use stairs on one or either end of the bridge. That's the distance I was referring to.
Click to expand...
I know. That is why I clarified what the distance would be for the cab ride.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
The distance I mentioned was .2 miles. That's the total walk including the bridge itself.

As for Uber / Lyft / Taxi - they all have pros and cons. Ever since I was 18 I've travelled quite a bit solo using public transportation. I prefer Uber for many reasons. I'm going to guess that any taxis waiting at Emeryville will refuse such a short distance.
Click to expand...
I missed the point before the 2. 74 year old eyes. :)
 
OldCond said:
Thanks everyone. I'll probably use an Uber or Lyft. This is kind of a bucket list trip for me as I've never seen the Pacific Ocean, hence the trip on the Coast Starlight from LA to Emeryville. I worked forty years for the railroad, all in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Click to expand...
Have a great trip! I would walk it, but understand the concern. I can also be a risk taker when it comes to that kind of thing, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
 
Bob Dylan said:
If you do want to stay in Sacramento, the Vagabond Inn, an old style Motel, is across from the Amtrak Station and is next to the California Rail Museum( one of the Best in the Country) and Old Sacramento.
Click to expand...
Davis isn't a bad option to stay overnight, but I recommend The Exchange in Sacramento if you can push the budget a bit more or if it isn't much more expensive than any other place. They seem to understand late trains better than a number of hotels I've been in. If you stay there, ask for a room that doesn't face the interstate.
 
I'd take the bridge. The distance is probably even shorter, given the east stair and elevator is right at the platform. The west side is the parking lot for the Public Market which is a fairly popular local destination that should be busy well into the evening. Once you are there you are practically at the hotel.

There is a lot of crime in Oakland but significantly less in that part of Emeryville, I'd say most of the crime in Emeryville more around shoplifting and theft given it's a big retail mecca for the East Bay.

There is the free Emery-Go-Round shuttles that will take you to almost all corners of the city including BART at MacArthur. Bay Street is a retail/dining/entertainment development just south of the hotel. There are also restaurants like the flagship Trader Vics at the Emeryville Marina (easy Uber at night, and Emery-Go-Round day and evening).

Emeryville is kind of a weird city from an urban form. It's an old industrial city that was redeveloped in the 80s and 90s as a retail center for the region with conventional car centric shopping center designs of the era. It's not particularly walkable despite things being very close to each other, everything is kind of an island divided by big streets, the freeway, the rail line.
 
Those Emery-Go-Round shuttles remind me of the free KC Trolley the hubby and I made use of when we rode the Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner to Kansas City last year. Having free, safe transportation from the Amtrak station allowed us to consider a wider range of hotels, at more affordable prices than whichever one was closest to the station.
ETA: And I just discovered that Fort Worth, TX, the endpoint of the hubby's and my Texas Eagle trip next month, has its own free "Molly the Trolley"! That will open up a lot more options for dining/shopping in downtown Fort Worth during our visit there.
 
Last edited:
I had one occasion about 12 years to confront the question of whether to walk to that hotel across that big parking lot or take a cab. I had gotten off the northbound Coast Starlight and had a connection to the California Zephyr leaving the next morning.

So, it was after sundown when I decided to walk and take the elevator. As I approached the elevator the door opened and three rather scary-looking (to me, at least) young guys that were together got off and said something kind of snide to me. It would have been difficult to convince me they weren't street gang members.

That's the only time I was in Emeryille overnight so I don't know if that was a rare isolated incident or a common occurrence. But if I were asked I would recommend not taking the walk to the hotel.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top