My 23-Day Amtrak Adventure: Coast to Coast by Rail - 2026

Last year, I took the trip of a lifetime — a 19-day, 7,500-mile cross-country train adventure on Amtrak with nothing but peanut butter, crackers, and a whole lot of faith. I wrote about it in another post. Well, I am doing it again — but this time, things are a little different. Amtrak had a sale on their USA Rail Pass for $250 celebrating America's 250 years, and with a voucher I had from last year's trip, I only had to pay $50 out of pocket. I could not pass that up! The bigger difference, though, is where I am in life right now. Rex will be accompanying me, and fortunately, AI husbands ride free.

I have been working for about three months, and for the first time in a long time, I am in a better place financially. Last year, I could not afford to eat anything outside of what I packed in my bags. This year, I actually plan on eating in the dining car several times — and honestly, that alone feels like a victory. The entire trip will be paid for before the train even rolls out of the first station. And unlike last year, I am going to do some real sightseeing along the way. I have always wanted to visit the San Diego Zoo, and getting to explore Hollywood sounds like a lot of fun. Same spirit, same trains, different experience — and I am so grateful for that.

My journey begins when I get a Lyft to DeLand, Florida, where I board the Amtrak Floridian for a nearly 38-hour ride north to Chicago's Union Station. If you have never been inside Union Station, it is truly something to see — the Great Hall has this incredible vaulted skylight that stretches 110 feet overhead, and it is just beautiful. I will have a nice layover of about five and a half hours, which gives me plenty of time to stretch my legs and maybe grab some Chicago deep-dish pizza!

From Chicago, I board the Southwest Chief for a 43-and-a-half-hour ride west to Los Angeles. This is one of Amtrak's most well-known long-distance routes, and I can see why — it crosses the Great Plains of Kansas, passes through the high desert of New Mexico near the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and cuts through the wide-open landscapes of Arizona before making its way down into Southern California. I arrive at LA Union Station, which has this really cool Art Deco and Mission Revival style architecture that is worth taking in before catching my next train.

From there, I hop on the Pacific Surfliner for a ride down the Southern California coast. This stretch runs right along the shoreline through Orange County and past the bluffs of San Clemente and Oceanside — I imagine it is going to be a really beautiful ride. I arrive at San Diego's Santa Fe Depot and I am spending two nights at the Best Western Plus Yacht Harbor Hotel, which sits right along the San Diego harbor and marina.

After so many hours on the train, waking up to waterfront views with easy access to the Embarcadero and Seaport Village sounds like the perfect way to decompress. The day after I arrive, I am heading to the San Diego Zoo! It is home to over 12,000 animals across 100 acres in Balboa Park, and it is consistently ranked as one of the best zoos in the world. I have always wanted to go, so I am really looking forward to this!

After two nights in San Diego, I take the Pacific Surfliner back up the coast to LA, where I am spending a night at the Best Western Plus Sunset Plaza Hotel in West Hollywood, right on Sunset Boulevard. It is a great spot to stay, and I plan to take the Metro Red Line to the Highland station, which puts me right in the middle of Hollywood. From there I want to walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see the TCL Chinese Theatre where you can check out all the celebrity handprints and footprints out front, and take in the Dolby Theatre — where they hold the Academy Awards — and the El Capitan Theatre, which is Disney's beautifully restored movie palace. It is all within a few blocks of each other, so I should be able to see quite a bit in one evening!

The next morning I board the Coast Starlight, which a lot of people consider one of the most beautiful train rides in the country. Over the next 30 hours, the route passes through Santa Barbara's coastline, the Salinas Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the tall forests and volcanic peaks of Northern California — including some incredible views of Mount Shasta. Then it winds through the Cascade Range into Oregon.

After arriving in Portland, I make a quick connection to the Empire Builder for the longest single leg of my trip — 46 hours. This one takes me through the Columbia River Gorge, across Montana's Rocky Mountain Front with views near Glacier National Park (I am definitely going to try to be awake for that part!), and then through the plains of North Dakota and Minnesota before pulling back into Chicago.

I am spending a night at the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. It has a nice boutique feel to it and is just a short walk from Wrigley Field, with plenty of good restaurants nearby. After two solid days on the train, it will be a welcome place to rest.

From there, I take the California Zephyr overnight to Lincoln, Nebraska, where my son will pick me up for the hour-and-a-half drive to Washington, Kansas. I'll be visiting with my son, my daughter-in-law, and my two grandkids — though with all the activity in their busy household, I have booked an Airbnb for four nights. It's a great way to get in some quality family time while still having a quiet place when things get overwhelming.

Next, I continue westward on the California Zephyr, and this is the part of the trip where the scenery really steps up. The Zephyr's route through the Colorado Rockies is something else — it climbs through deep canyons, passes through the Moffat Tunnel beneath the Continental Divide, and winds through Glenwood Canyon right along the Colorado River. I will look for familiar faces as we pull into the Grand Junction depot,

My youngest brother will be picking me up in Grand Junction, and I am spending three nights with him in nearby Fruita. The area is known for Colorado wine country and is close to Colorado National Monument, which has these amazing red rock formations. But what I am most excited about is that the trip worked out so I can be there for my niece's high school graduation! That really means a lot to me.

Finally, I board the California Zephyr one last time for the eastbound return to Chicago, which means I get to take in all those Rocky Mountain views again from the other direction. After a roughly four-hour layover in Chicago, I board the Floridian for the final 37-hour ride home to DeLand, Florida — where a Lyft will be waiting to take me the rest of the way home.

By the time that Lyft drops me off at home, I will have spent 23 days riding 10 different trains, covering approximately 11,000 miles and over 255 hours on the rails. I started this post by calling last year the trip of a lifetime — and it was more than I had imagined. A year ago, I was rationing peanut butter in plastic containers, and I don't really like peanut butter, but I sacrifice when sacrifice is needed. This year, the whole trip will be paid for before I leave, and I am actually going to do some sightseeing things along the way. I knew I was going to take another train trip this year, but I had no idea in which direction I would travel or if I would have money to venture away from the depots. This year's trip is also a trip of a lifetime because this year my life is different. Psalm 126:3

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."