Amtrak to the Beach

[Maverickstation]

From time to time discussions come about beaches that can be easily reached by Amtrak.

For a life long resident of the Northeast, and now Boston, the only beaches that matter to me are Ocean Beaches, but we can include fresh water beach as well.

One of the best Beaches that is served by Amtrak in season, is Old Orchard Beach Maine, on the Downeaster Route.
You know that you are reaching the "Beach" as locals call it, when you start to see the Ocean from the train.

We took a Round Trip using trains 691 and 696, and the crew worked their tails off as 691 was Sold Out, and many people boarded at NH stations bound for the "Beach", they stayed on top of which seats were vacated, and guided riders along. The first stop that had significant riders departing was't until Wells, Maine. Just over 60 people got off at Old Orchard Beach.

What other Amtrak stations have easy beach access like this ?

Ken

PS. We are talking Amtrak here, were lucky in Boston that our Commuter Rail serves a number of beaches either by walking, or via locally run shuttle busses.

 

[daybeers]

Wow, awesome to hear the Downeaster is selling out! I was so glad to hear they broke their recent ridership record.

 

[railiner]

What other Amtrak stations have easy beach access like this ?

The Pacific Surfliner literally runs on the California beach. Some stops that seem convenient include Solana Beach, Oceanside, and San Clemente.
I haven’t used them personally, but perhaps others here have?

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

Can I interest you in bus to the beach? Amtrak station Virginia Beach (VAB). It's a thirty minute ride from NFK, drops off three blocks from the shore.

 

[DavidSh]

On the east coast, Amtrak mostly runs inland, with the other exception being Connecticut. But the Connecticut beaches are on Long Island Sound, and not generally as good as Atlantic Ocean beaches. Bridgeport station is about a mile from a beach.

You could take a subway from New York Penn Station to the Coney Island beach, but that's slow, and possibly in the same category as the Boston commuter rail.

I think the south Florida Amtrak stations are a few miles away from the beach at the minimum.

 

[Willbridge]

Amtrak Cascades have access to Puget Sound beaches. I realize that some people have a fixed idea of what a beach is, but Puget Sound beaches can be fun to visit.

Amtrak Thruway accesses Oregon beaches and fishing ports from stations at PDX, ALY, EUG, and KFS.

Tillamook Head marks the south end of the Seaside, Oregon beach. A 2-hour ride from Portland Union Station, twice daily. One of the stops is at the hostel.

 

[blueman271]

On the east coast, Amtrak mostly runs inland, with the other exception being Connecticut. But the Connecticut beaches are on Long Island Sound, and not generally as good as Atlantic Ocean beaches. Bridgeport station is about a mile from a beach.

You could take a subway from New York Penn Station to the Coney Island beach, but that's slow, and possibly in the same category as the Boston commuter rail.

I think the south Florida Amtrak stations are a few miles away from the beach at the minimum.

All the South Florida Amtrak stations are on the mainland, across the Intracoastal from the beaches. In Miami the L bus route runs directly from the Amtrak station to Miami Beach. I am not sure about local transit connections at the other South Florida stations.

 

[pennyk]

All the South Florida Amtrak stations are on the mainland, across the Intracoastal from the beaches. In Miami the L bus route runs directly from the Amtrak station to Miami Beach. I am not sure about local transit connections at the other South Florida stations.

I have taken Amtrak to Deerfield Beach, FL and walked to a hotel and either taken the hotel shuttle or city bus to the beach.

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

There is Atlantic City NJ which used to have Amtrak service, now NJT from Philadelphia 30th St. Station, beach is walkable from the Atlantic City station according to my son who made the trip last year.

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

All the South Florida Amtrak stations are on the mainland, across the Intracoastal from the beaches. In Miami the L bus route runs directly from the Amtrak station to Miami Beach. I am not sure about local transit connections at the other South Florida stations.

Good to know about Miami! At Fort Lauderdale, the Brightline station has distinctly terrible transit. The Brightline station is adjacent to the transit center but a fence makes it a ten minute walk, and the transit center when I was there could not sell day passes or process credit cards. Quite the contrast to the well-heeled Brightline. Also no bikes or scooters. The Brightline shuttles only go to the airport. Guess I can't complain, it was the beach and I took the three mile walk there through the wonders of Las Olas, canals and such.

Don't know about Amtrak FTL. Amtrak is inland from Brightline in Florida. Amtrak Guide claims it's not a walkable area. It doesn't mention the local bus, 35 minutes to the beach minimum via a connection at the transit center, or 13 minutes by taxi.

 

[railiner]

I think the south Florida Amtrak stations are a few miles away from the beach at the minimum.

The Amtrak/Tri Rail West Palm Beach station is about a 42 minute walk to Palm Beach public beach. Or a short bus or cab ride. There are even some free rides offered by the city bus on scheduled or on demand service

 

[Maverickstation]

Wow, awesome to hear the Downeaster is selling out! I was so glad to hear they broke their recent ridership record.

Another great thing about the Downeaster Service is that the service is great. As part of their being the Contracted Operator of the service, Amtrak has to agree to service standards established by the Northern New England Rail Passenger Authority. They Cafe Car Attendant we had on our trip back to Boston (we had Business Class tickets for the trip-back home) should be cloned to replace as many other Cafe Attendant's as possible.

 

[anilou]

Grover Beach in CA has a station a block from the beach with restaurants and motels nearby. Surf liners stop there, not the Coast Starlight. Another beach stop is Lompoc Surf which has no businesses at all nearby, only restrooms.

 

[Trollopian]

Amtrak Cascades have access to Puget Sound beaches. I realize that some people have a fixed idea of what a beach is, but Puget Sound beaches can be fun to visit.

Amtrak Thruway accesses Oregon beaches and fishing ports from stations at PDX, ALY, EUG, and KFS.

Tillamook Head marks the south end of the Seaside, Oregon beach. A 2-hour ride from Portland Union Station, twice daily. One of the stops is at the hostel.
View attachment 33584

Very nice doomed sand castle, Willbridge (yours?) and contrast between the ephemeral and the eternal.

 

[thully]

While not ocean beaches, the Michigan Services have stops within walking distance of Lake Michigan beaches. The Wolverine and Blue Water stop in New Buffalo, MI, and the Pere Marquette in St. Joseph, MI - both an easy walk to Lake Michigan.

 

[daybeers]

The Brightline station is adjacent to the transit center but a fence makes it a ten minute walk, and the transit center when I was there could not sell day passes or process credit cards. Quite the contrast to the well-heeled Brightline. Also no bikes or scooters. The Brightline shuttles only go to the airport.

What?!? What's the deal with this fence and what's the definition of a transit center if it can't sell day passes or process cards?! And no bike racks?

 

[Willbridge]

Very nice doomed sand castle, Willbridge (yours?) and contrast between the ephemeral and the eternal.

I confess to having used child labor to build it.

 

[DavidSh]

What?!? What's the deal with this fence and what's the definition of a transit center if it can't sell day passes or process cards?! And no bike racks?

The fence, at least, is easy to explain. Looking at Google maps I see that the main Brightline station building is on the west side of 2nd Ave, with a bridge across the avenue and one of the tracks to the island platform. Then there are a platform track and a through track, and then the transit center on the west side of 1st Ave. There are fences to prevent people from walking across the tracks -- you have to walk south to the Broward Boulevard crossing, and back north to the transit center. It'd be nice if the bridge extended east to the transit center, but I can see the issues connecting a private company building with a county facility. I certainly wouldn't want to encourage people to walk across the tracks away from the gate-controlled crossing -- Brightline has enough of a problem with pedestrian strikes as it is.

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

They Cafe Car Attendant we had on our trip back to Boston (we had Business Class tickets for the trip-back home) should be cloned to replace as many other Cafe Attendant's as possible.

Note that the cafe car attendants on the Downeaster are not Amtrak employees but work for NexDine the contractor for the cafe service. All the ones I have encountered have been good. Also note that they get paid at a food service rate not the Amtrak Union rate so one should tip accordingly.

 

[user 6862]

Surf Station near Lompoc CA is literally on the beach. Beautifully remote and with one of the great warning signs of the world... a large poster of a Great White which are known to visit this area.

The station is served by the aptly named Pacific Surfliner.

 

[Bonser]

Note that the cafe car attendants on the Downeaster are not Amtrak employees but work for NexDine the contractor for the cafe service. All the ones I have encountered have been good. Also note that they get paid at a food service rate not the Amtrak Union rate so one should tip accordingly.

Good to know but I've never encountered a real problem with Amtrak attendants in the 50 plus yrs I've been riding Amtrak.

 

[railiner]

The fence, at least, is easy to explain. Looking at Google maps I see that the main Brightline station building is on the west side of 2nd Ave, with a bridge across the avenue and one of the tracks to the island platform. Then there are a platform track and a through track, and then the transit center on the west side of 1st Ave. There are fences to prevent people from walking across the tracks -- you have to walk south to the Broward Boulevard crossing, and back north to the transit center. It'd be nice if the bridge extended east to the transit center, but I can see the issues connecting a private company building with a county facility. I certainly wouldn't want to encourage people to walk across the tracks away from the gate-controlled crossing -- Brightline has enough of a problem with pedestrian strikes as it is.

There may be issues with a private building connecting to a government owned one, but it is done in plenty of places. In all cases, the private entity usually AFAIK, pays for that, as it is to benefit them, but also benefits the public. Especially when the private one is a "utility".

 

[mitako]

Santa Barbara, California. Both the Surfliner and the Coast Starlight stop at the station, which is an easy two block walk from the very nice pier--along with restaurants and shops, there's a small but interesting aquarium on it-- and the beach. Santa Barbara is a great town for a weekend stay.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

None of the Texas beaches are reachable by Amtrak. Closest option would be Galveston about 50 miles south of the Houston station. On the other hand Texas beach water has a weird chemical taste/smell to me so maybe it's not much of a loss.

 

[Asher]

Ventura is a sometimes forgotten city that is nice to stroll around and is close to ocean activity and food. Oceania dunes is close to an Amtrak station. Camping and riding and horses on the beach are activities for someone who likes adventure.