Winter Trip on CZ

[GregL]

We thought it would be great to ride on the California Zephyr in the winter time. Which is better,departing Chicago or Emeryville, or another station in California? How is the transportation between Chi Ohare and Chi Union Station, or vice versa? What station in California would be closest to a major airport? Any comments would be very helpfull!

GregL

 

[Shortline]

We thought it would be great to ride on the California Zephyr in the winter time. Which is better,departing Chicago or Emeryville, or another station in California? How is the transportation between Chi O'hare and Chi Union Station, or vice versa? What station in California would be closest to a major airport? Any comments would be very helpfull!

GregL

haven't taken that train, but I can comment on Chicago-O'hare transportation. I occasionally fly into O'hare and take Amtrak when I have to go to Minot or Kalamazoo, and it's not too hard-The subway has an airport terminal on the lower level, just hop on the train, and ride to Clinton station on the Blue Line. Union Station is just 2 blocks South, just follow the signs leaving the subway, and you can't miss it. I think it's around $2 or so, and takes about 45 minutes. Not a bad ride either, a lot of it is above ground.

 

[Trogdor]

Connecting between Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Union Station is easy enough via the CTA Blue Line (though the two-block walk from Clinton station to Union Station isn't all that convenient if you have heavy luggage; no elevators or escalators to use from street level).

If you are taking the Zephyr, do not plan on a same-day flight regardless of which direction you travel. The Zephyr can run late, and it's not unheard of for the train to arrive 4-5 hours late. That puts you into Chicago (assuming eastbound travel) around 7-8 pm.

In California, there are transit connections to Sacramento Airport (bus), as well as Oakland (BART), San Francisco (BART) and San Jose (Caltrain/VTA LRT rail and connecting shuttle bus).

Again, though, I'd recommend an overnight stay in your Zephyr destination city before flying out, just to be on the safe side.

I don't think there's necessarily an advantage to traveling one direction or the other.

 

[Trogdor]

The subway has an airport terminal on the lower level, just hop on the train, and ride to Clinton station on the Blue Line. Union Station is just 2 blocks South, just follow the signs leaving the subway, and you can't miss it. I think it's around $2 or so, and takes about 45 minutes. Not a bad ride either, a lot of it is above ground.

Union Station is two blocks north, not south.

 

[darien-l]

I used to live near Denver, and have taken CZ a lot. Winter was always my favorite time to go, despite occasional snow-related delays. Here are a few photos I've taken to whet your appetite:

 

[Shortline]

The subway has an airport terminal on the lower level, just hop on the train, and ride to Clinton station on the Blue Line. Union Station is just 2 blocks South, just follow the signs leaving the subway, and you can't miss it. I think it's around $2 or so, and takes about 45 minutes. Not a bad ride either, a lot of it is above ground.

Union Station is two blocks north, not south.

Oops, you are correct. I just know where to go, and follow the signs, my bad!

 

[the_traveler]

As nobody has yet mentioned a direction, I personally would go westbound (CHI to California)!

The ride just west of Denver up the Front Range is considered by many (including me) as one of the most scenic train rides! It is miles from major roads, so unless you're a hiker you will not see these areas. Heading west, this is covered in the morning.

Heading east, it's late afternoon and may be in darkness!

The crossing of Donner Pass (also very scenic) is mid day both ways!

 

[pennyk]

I am on the eastbound CZ right now, and in my mind, it is winter. I have taken the CZ westbound already and I agree with Dave regarding the best direction. We are still in CA and have not seen any snow yet, but I expect to see lots. Dave, I hope I recognize it. :lol:

 

[Montanan]

I've ridden the train both east and westbound in January, and agree it's a great time to ride. The mountain scenery can be at its best in the wintertime, and the train is usually less crowded -- more pleasant to be aboard, and also cheaper!

Riding the train westbound is definitely the standard advice, and if I were riding it for the first time that's probably what I would do, too. But in some ways I actually prefer the eastbound journey. The climb up the Sierras from Sacramento is more memorable eastbound; you get to see Soldier Summit in daylight (an underrated part of the journey); and Gore Canyon is cooler to me eastbound, as well. The descent into Denver will of course be after dark, but there are a couple of spots on the way where you can see all the lights of the Front Range cities spread out before you, and it's utterly glorious.

More practical advice: you'll definitely want hotel stays at both ends of the journey ... making a same-day flight connection at the end of a cross-country Amtrak journey is really tempting fate. And unless you have mobility issues, I'd recommend booking space on the upper level of the train. The lower-level halls can get pretty chilly at station stops!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I used to live near Denver, and have taken CZ a lot. Winter was always my favorite time to go, despite occasional snow-related delays. Here are a few photos I've taken to whet your appetite

Nice photos, thanks!

The lower-level halls can get pretty chilly at station stops!

That's something that really annoys me no matter if it's cold or hot outside. The lower level doors seem to do a TERRIBLE job of keeping the hot/cold temperatures out. You can even feel the air just coming on in around the edges. Hopefully the next version of SuperDuperLiners will have doors that seal properly. There will be another version, right?

 

[boxcar479]

Wow great pictures. Boy am I kicking myself now!! I just cancelled a roundtrip FTW to Sea and back trip, for a trip to Orlando (for the sunshine) I used Hotwire for a hotel in Orl so I can't cancel :angry: Seeing those pictures remind of of a trip we took in 2010 at the end of March. Even that late in the year we had lots of snow, and had to stop outside of Truckee and wait for a couple of hours until they could get a snowplow to clear the tracks for us. I remember just sitting up in the mountains and watching the snow fall. Great mental picture imbedded in my mind. I think I'll fly to Orl :unsure: and save the points for a Zephyr trip in Feb or early March. Thanks for the pics.

 

[pennyk]

I am in the Rockies looking at snow covered mountains. I think winter is a great time to take the CZ, despite the short days. The scenery is spectacular!

 

[Rail Freak]

I am in the Rockies looking at snow covered mountains. I think winter is a great time to take the CZ, despite the short days. The scenery is spectacular!

Penny,

The Rail Fan Window, on the last sleeper car, gave me some of the most "Awesome" photos , a couple of weeks ago!!!!

Have Fun

RF

 

[pennyk]

I am in the Rockies looking at snow covered mountains. I think winter is a great time to take the CZ, despite the short days. The scenery is spectacular!

Penny,

The Rail Fan Window, on the last sleeper car, gave me some of the most "Awesome" photos , a couple of weeks ago!!!!

Have Fun

RF

Thanks. Getting ready to go thru THE tunnel now.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I am in the Rockies looking at snow covered mountains. I think winter is a great time to take the CZ, despite the short days. The scenery is spectacular!

Penny,

The Rail Fan Window, on the last sleeper car, gave me some of the most "Awesome" photos , a couple of weeks ago!!!!

Have Fun

RF

RF, were you on 5 or 6? When were you on? I was on 5(20) and a "neighbor" in my sleeping car told me they saw pics that someone took from the 'rail fan" window.

 

[sttsxm]

I love that train....though I think I've only taken it Eastbound..(though at one point last year I'd been on trains for so long-just trying to clear my head, but i digress-that i literally had no clue where i was or what train i was on....

That said....ANY train trip is better than no train trip (I suppose even on the EB with countless bustitutions..)

I agree to spend at least a day prior to your trip in your originating city...and to NOT plan on doing anything when you arrive at your final destination.

As for getting from O'Scare to CHI...once I cabbed it and another time grabbed a super-shuttle type thing. The CTA is great, but not luggage friendly....and not all stations have elevators...

enjoy!

 

[pennyk]

I am in the Rockies looking at snow covered mountains. I think winter is a great time to take the CZ, despite the short days. The scenery is spectacular!

Penny,

The Rail Fan Window, on the last sleeper car, gave me some of the most "Awesome" photos , a couple of weeks ago!!!!

Have Fun

RF

Thanks. Getting ready to go thru THE tunnel now.

After the tunnel, I was able to take a couple of great photos before it got too dark. Thanks for the suggestion. We arrived in Denver early and we are still here.

 

[GregL]

If we fly to San Fransisco, how hard is it to get to the Emeryville station? Does anyone have an idea about a good place to stay? It really doesn't matter to either of if we ride east or west on the train. Thanks for all the help so far!

GregL

 

[Montanan]

If we fly to San Fransisco, how hard is it to get to the Emeryville station? Does anyone have an idea about a good place to stay? It really doesn't matter to either of if we ride east or west on the train. Thanks for all the help so far!

GregL

You should definitely stay in San Francisco rather then in the Emeryville area ... much better ambience, hotel/dining choices, and public transit.

From SFO, it's easy to catch a BART train into the city, and there are lots of hotels within walking distance of the downtown BART stops. Then you can walk or catch mass transit over to the Amtrak station by the Ferry Building, and get the dedicated Amtrak bus over to Emeryville. It's very straightforward, but be sure to make sure your Amtrak ticket includes the San Francisco bus connection.

On the other side, I've taken CTA out to O'Hare a couple of times, and that also works well if you like to save a few dollars. If you have lots of luggage, though, you'll probably prefer booking a highway shuttle.

 

[PRR 60]

I agree with the stay in San Francisco suggestion. Staying in Emeryville is pretty much the hotel and nothing else, but staying in San Francisco is special. The restaurants, a ride on the cable cars or the F-line trolley, or just a walk on The Embarcadero make even a one-night stay memorable. The only problem with staying in San Francisco? The next morning you don't want to leave.

I like staying in the Financial District – lower Market Street. BART takes you right from SFO to Embarcadero in about a half hour for $8.10. The Amtrak Zephyr buses pick up at the Ferry Building Annex (one block south of the Ferry Building) and take you Emeryville the next morning.

If you want to stay in Emeryville, the transfer from SFO is a little more complex. Probably the best option is to take BART from SFO to MacArthur (for SFO service, this should be a direct Pittsburg/Bay Point train with no changes). Then, you can take a cab from MacArthur to your hotel. Another option from MacArthur BART is the Emery-Go-Round bus. The bus is free, runs every 10-30 minutes between roughly 6am and 10pm, weekdays only.

Emery-Go-Round