Amtrak California Zephyr Train

As part of a larger National Parks Road Trip through 5 states in the Summer of 2013, we rode the Amtrak California Zephyr train from Denver, Colorado to Emeryville (near San Francisco), California.   The train originates in Chicago, but there are other spots to board along the way.  We were in Denver so that is where we got on.  The station is right in Denver & boarding was very easy.  We checked our larger bags (separated out whatever we needed for the journey in our smaller bags), and just waited in the waiting area until we were ready to board.  30 hours later we were in Emeryville, CA.  From there we boarded a bus for the short ride right into San Francisco (the bus ride is included with the train ticket). 

California Zephyr Family Bedroom

We had booked a Superliner Family Bedroom on one of the sleeper cars on the train, which was tiny but comfortable and big enough for the 4 of us.  Having never seen these types of rooms before, we were not sure what to expect.  It turned out that there were only 4 of these rooms on the whole train, so we were lucky to get one.  I booked about 8 months in advance (more on that below). According to Amtrak’s description, “The Family Bedroom spans the entire width of the car and has two picture windows. The sofa and two reclining seats convert to beds and the two upper berths fold down from above. Located on the lower level of Superliner sleeping cars, these bedrooms include two adult-sized berths and two child-sized berths.”  Berths are beds, in case you weren’t sure. The size of the room was tight 5’2″ by 9’5″, but Amtrak made decent use of the space.  The kids liked having the top bunks folded down, even during the day.  There was plenty of room under them for 2 adults to lounge around.  One of the best features was that there were windows on both sides, so we could see the scenery easily. These rooms do not have bathrooms (the smaller ones do), but there was a bathroom very close by, and our sleeper car was at the end of the train and kind of empty so there was never a problem using it.  If you are looking for luxury, turn around right now.  This is more along the lines of camping in a small motorhome than staying in a 5-star hotel (although the prices would make you think otherwise).  It is, however, an experience we will never forget & one we hope to repeat.

Next time I think we will get 2 of the smaller rooms with the bathrooms in them.  We are hoping to do one of the other long and scenic Amtrak routes at some point in the next couple of years.

California Zephyr Food

This was perhaps the most surprising part of all.  The food was actually really good and served in a lovely dining car with friendly services and great views.  Being that we were in the Superliner Family Bedroom (which is like first class), all of our meals were included.  Which was a great value for us because we got this for FREE (more on that below).  During set dining times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we would put our name in for a time we would like to eat & would be called when a table was ready for us.  There were lots of choices on the menu, even for a picky eater, and the food was good and more gourmet than I ever expected (things like mahi mahi and steak).  This is one of the menus for the train.  Alcoholic drinks are also available for purchase.  There was also a snack bar kind of area with foods for purchase.

Scenic Train Ride

This was one of the best parts of this whole train ride – the views.  The California Zephyr passes through the Rocky Mountains & the Sierra Nevadas.  Much of what can be seen from these rails can be seen in no other way.  Some of the time there were no roads or anything else obstructing the sheer wilderness other than our train passing through.  There are lounge cars and an Observation car with large floor to ceiling windows to view this gorgeous scenery.  We also had a good view from our room, especially of the people mooning us from all along the banks of the Colorado River (true story).

California Zephyr with Kids – What to bring?

We made sure to bring lots of entertainment for the kids, because this is a long ride (ours ended up being about 30 hours, which was a few hours longer than it was supposed to be because of delays).  We brought card games, books, art supplies, handheld video games like the Nintendo 3DS, small toys (mini Lalaloopsies and Pokemon cards) and the iPad.  We made sure we had all of our chargers too.  This was a great chance for us to read Harry Potter together, as we had more downtime than we ever have!  We also brought some snacks and maybe even some wine (not for the kids).  Obviously we had comfortable clothes and our toiletries as well.

How much does the Amtrak California Zephyr cost?

Nothing.  Not for us, anyway.  At the time of our booking, the price was over $1200 for the Superliner Family Room for 4 people.  Say what?  I realize that is also around the same amount as 4 plane tickets, but I’ve never had to purchase (with money) 4 plane tickets so I don’t really know.  Our cost in points was much less than the miles needed for 4 airplane tickets. How did we do it?  We used Amtrak Guest Rewards points.  25,000 to be exact.  We got these points in 2 ways…one was was from the Amtrak Shopping Portal (more about that here) and the other was from transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Amtrak Guest Rewards points.  We got those Chase UR points from the Shopping Portal and from the Sapphire Preferred credit card.   As of this writing, the bonus is 40,000 points on that credit card, so more than enough for a ride on this train!

California Zephyr Verdict

Thumbs up! If you are not too picky or germaphobic & don’t need extreme high-class luxury and you want to have an unforgettable family bonding experience, see some great scenery, and possibly get mooned along the way…this is the trip for you! If we can do it, you can do it too!