This is probably a lot to ask of anyone but I have a heck of a time deciphering the Amtrak website (am I the only one) and need some help. We would like to do a National park train trip to the following parks, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Sequoia National park. How do I do that and most of the travel be by train? We will be starting out and returning in Dallas Texas. Thanks in advance for any help.
National Parks
- Thread starter pradog
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Great plan! I'm envious!
Suggestions: ride the Texas Eagle #22 from Dallas to St. Louis ( overnight), catch the Missouri River Runner to Kansas City ( there are 2 Trains, a morning train #311 and evening train. #313) You have a chouce of spending the day in St Louis or evening in Kansas City!
You then catch the Southwest Chief, #3 from Kansas City @_1030pm to either Flagstaff or Williams Junction,Arizona. Its an overnight and day trip on the Chief, arrives Flagstaff @ 850pm, Williams Jct @ 930pm.
Flagstaff is a real town with hotels, airport,stores, rent cars etc. Williams Junction is a platform where a Van meets you and takes you to a Hotel @ the Grand Canyon. You can ride the Grand Canyon Railroad also but IRS a daytime activity and not really worth it! You do not want to do this in the Summer, it gets very crowded and Hot @ the Canyon then! Spring or Fall is the Best time, its actually cold with some snow in the Winter!
After the Canyon visit ( allow @ least 2 days/2 nights, it's worth it)you take the van from the hotel back to Williams Jct to catch the Chief to LAX ( arrives 933pm or if you've taken a rent car and stayed in Flagstaff @851pm.)
You'll arrive into LA ( Union Station/LAX)around 815am, then catch an Amtrak Bus to Bakersfield, change to a San Joaquin Train to Fresno
where you can pick up a Rent Car to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks!
After returning to Fresno you catch a San Joaquin Train to Merced where a Chartered Amtrak Bus will take you to Yosemite.
After your visit to Yosemite, catch a San Joaquin train to Emeryville,get a Rent car and spend the night. ( Emeryville is where the Bay Bridge goes across the Bay to San Francisco).
Drive up I-80 ( Freeway to Sacramento) to the cutoff for Napa Valley ! There are usually 2 Napa Valley Wine Trains a day, a Lunch and a Dinner run!Napa and Sonoma Valleys are very expensive, you might want to consider staying in Petaluma, Santa Rosa,Fairfield or Suisun City in a cheaper hotel/motel.
When you're visit in Napa is complete, drive back to Emeryville, catch the California Zephyr #6 @915am for Galesburg, Illinois ( two days and nights) where you'll catch an Am Van to Springfield Illinois to catch the Texas Eagle #21 for Dallas, an overnight trip arriving in Dallas about Noon the next day!
If you want to come home a different way you could catch the Coast Starlight#11 in Emeryville to LAX, then the Sunset Ltd./Texas Eagle #422 ( a two night/2 day trip) to Dallas which only runs 3 days a week!! The California Zephyr has lots better scenery than the Sunset/ Texas Eagle!
Sorry this is so long! There are lots of people here who xN help with the Park info and you can Google old threads here in AU that discuss these subjects!
Suggestions: ride the Texas Eagle #22 from Dallas to St. Louis ( overnight), catch the Missouri River Runner to Kansas City ( there are 2 Trains, a morning train #311 and evening train. #313) You have a chouce of spending the day in St Louis or evening in Kansas City!
You then catch the Southwest Chief, #3 from Kansas City @_1030pm to either Flagstaff or Williams Junction,Arizona. Its an overnight and day trip on the Chief, arrives Flagstaff @ 850pm, Williams Jct @ 930pm.
Flagstaff is a real town with hotels, airport,stores, rent cars etc. Williams Junction is a platform where a Van meets you and takes you to a Hotel @ the Grand Canyon. You can ride the Grand Canyon Railroad also but IRS a daytime activity and not really worth it! You do not want to do this in the Summer, it gets very crowded and Hot @ the Canyon then! Spring or Fall is the Best time, its actually cold with some snow in the Winter!
After the Canyon visit ( allow @ least 2 days/2 nights, it's worth it)you take the van from the hotel back to Williams Jct to catch the Chief to LAX ( arrives 933pm or if you've taken a rent car and stayed in Flagstaff @851pm.)
You'll arrive into LA ( Union Station/LAX)around 815am, then catch an Amtrak Bus to Bakersfield, change to a San Joaquin Train to Fresno
where you can pick up a Rent Car to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks!
After returning to Fresno you catch a San Joaquin Train to Merced where a Chartered Amtrak Bus will take you to Yosemite.
After your visit to Yosemite, catch a San Joaquin train to Emeryville,get a Rent car and spend the night. ( Emeryville is where the Bay Bridge goes across the Bay to San Francisco).
Drive up I-80 ( Freeway to Sacramento) to the cutoff for Napa Valley ! There are usually 2 Napa Valley Wine Trains a day, a Lunch and a Dinner run!Napa and Sonoma Valleys are very expensive, you might want to consider staying in Petaluma, Santa Rosa,Fairfield or Suisun City in a cheaper hotel/motel.
When you're visit in Napa is complete, drive back to Emeryville, catch the California Zephyr #6 @915am for Galesburg, Illinois ( two days and nights) where you'll catch an Am Van to Springfield Illinois to catch the Texas Eagle #21 for Dallas, an overnight trip arriving in Dallas about Noon the next day!
If you want to come home a different way you could catch the Coast Starlight#11 in Emeryville to LAX, then the Sunset Ltd./Texas Eagle #422 ( a two night/2 day trip) to Dallas which only runs 3 days a week!! The California Zephyr has lots better scenery than the Sunset/ Texas Eagle!
Sorry this is so long! There are lots of people here who xN help with the Park info and you can Google old threads here in AU that discuss these subjects!
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Only correction to Jim's route would be to rent the car in Fresno and see Sequoia/Kings Canyon and Yosemite via the south entrance. Return the car to FAT (taxi from airport to train station).
Take the San Joaquin from Fresno to Sacramento. Spend a night in Sacramento and then rent a car to go to the wine region. Return the car in SAC in time to catch the CZ leaving at 11:15AM
I agree with Jim about taking the CZ all the way to Galesburg.
Take the San Joaquin from Fresno to Sacramento. Spend a night in Sacramento and then rent a car to go to the wine region. Return the car in SAC in time to catch the CZ leaving at 11:15AM
I agree with Jim about taking the CZ all the way to Galesburg.
BCL
Engineer
The bus connection to Yosemite from Merced is provided by YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transit System). It's not a dedicated Amtrak bus. My understanding is that with an Amtrak connection there's typically a lower fare, and they typically give priority to Amtrak passengers if the bus is near full.
This explains it pretty well, although you can book the trip entirely through Amtrak.
http://www.calpartours.com/Yosemite%20Tours%20by%20Amtrak.htm
TVRM610
Conductor
a question to the OP.. are you wanting to rent a vehicle?
If not... Grand Canyon and Yosemite can both be done with no vehicle if you take the Grand Canyon Railway.. the Grand Canyon Railway is a very historic route (ex-Santa Fe) and the train, unlike many tourist railways, runs at good speeds (45 mph). It literally drops you off at the South Rim of the Canyon where there are lodges, and busses that take you around the different parts of the Canyon.
If you had the time and money, I would stay at the Grand Canyon hotel in Williams the night of your arrival, take the train to the Rim and stay in one of the lodges there are the rim for 1 or 2 nights (2 nights would be best to give you time to really explore the Park) then take the train back for your connection to the Chief.
Jim's routing from LAX is the quickest, but it requires a bus ride and transfer... you could take the Coast Starlight from LA to Sacramento, overnight in Sacramento (several nice hotels within walking distance, also walking distance to the Sacramento Railway Museum.. one of the best RR Museums in the country). Then take the San Joquin train from Sacramento south to Merced and catch the bus from there to Yosemite.
If not... Grand Canyon and Yosemite can both be done with no vehicle if you take the Grand Canyon Railway.. the Grand Canyon Railway is a very historic route (ex-Santa Fe) and the train, unlike many tourist railways, runs at good speeds (45 mph). It literally drops you off at the South Rim of the Canyon where there are lodges, and busses that take you around the different parts of the Canyon.
If you had the time and money, I would stay at the Grand Canyon hotel in Williams the night of your arrival, take the train to the Rim and stay in one of the lodges there are the rim for 1 or 2 nights (2 nights would be best to give you time to really explore the Park) then take the train back for your connection to the Chief.
Jim's routing from LAX is the quickest, but it requires a bus ride and transfer... you could take the Coast Starlight from LA to Sacramento, overnight in Sacramento (several nice hotels within walking distance, also walking distance to the Sacramento Railway Museum.. one of the best RR Museums in the country). Then take the San Joquin train from Sacramento south to Merced and catch the bus from there to Yosemite.
H
Henry Kisor
Guest
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah are just two hours by rented car from Grand Junction, Colorado, on the route of the California Zephyr. My wife and I did that one a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. Both eastbound and westbound Zephyrs call at Grand Junction at decent hours, too.
Everydaymatters
Engineer
My sister and her husband recently reserved a trip almost exactly like what you are looking for. There were both Amtrak and bus segments and included hotels. She said they got in on the last day that Amtrak Vacations was offering it. Maybe they have something similar now.
And you can do Yellowstone and Grand Tetons Nat Park from Salt Lake City on the CZ. A great trip last year.
I did this trip last year via Glacier Park and the EB rather than SLC. Great trip!
neroden
Engineer
The question of whether you plan to rent cars is rather important for giving you advice. Different strategy, depending.
greatcats
Engineer
Spoken like a true professional!
Thank you all so much for the great information, my head is spinning. We have been to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and the Utah parks which all are wonderful, did that by car 5 years ago, drove to Seattle and back. I have never been to California though and pictures I see of Yosemite are so nice. Went to the Grand Canyon many years ago, so want to go back and stay couple nights. Renting a car along the way is certainly possible but prefer it as little as possible, probably in California. I think we will plan this for 2 weeks in September. Thanks again for the help, so awesome.
Having gone to the Grand Canyon last summer and taken the Grand Canyon Railway, as far as I know, the van from Williams Junction takes you to the Grand Canyon Railway station in Williams, not to the Grand Canyon itself.
IMHO, the Grand Canyon Railway is well worth it and between it and the in-park shuttles, completely eliminates any need for a car. The GCR offers various packages including some that include lodging both at their hotel in Williams and at the park (the advertised packages only include the cheapest lodge at the park but upgrades are offered on request). If you can afford it, I strongly recommend one of their Luxury Class offerings - either the full-length dome or the parlor car - both of which include access to the rear observation platform on the parlor car (they have the added benefit of since there is only one of each - they go every day regardless of how big the load whereas the other classes add cars as needed to meet the booked load. When we did it last summer, both cars were well less than half full both directions).
Several years ago (this month) we did the Southwest Chief from LA to William's Junction followed by the Grand Canyon Railway to the South rim, spent a couple of nights in a Bright Angel cabin and returned the same route...100% train except for the GCRY shuttle from WMJ to Williams itself. We booked the open platform parlour car and I spent the entire trip out there. There was only one other couple in our car and on the way back, we had it to ourselves. In talking to the conductor, if one person books the car, it makes the trip. Would do it again!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/frensicpic/sets/72157629087045127/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/frensicpic/sets/72157629087045127/
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