56 hours in First Class on Amtrak’s Most Beautiful Train Ride (The California Zephyr)
I took a 56-hour train ride across the United States! Yes, that’s around three days spent going from Chicago to San Francisco aboard Amtrak’s California Zephyr in first class! We did this trip in winter and I absolutely recommend it, the beautiful snowy views are totally worth it!
Table of Contents
Watch my YouTube video for a trip report:
A Tour of our First Class Private Room: the California Zephyr Roomette
One of the best and most cost-effective ways of traveling first class aboard the California Zephyr is to book a Roomette. This is a small room that has two very comfy seats that turn into two bunk beds at night.
During the day, the roomette is your own private living room
Arriving in the room, I was happily surprised: it was so much bigger than I expected! The seats were so wide that they fit the two of us at the same time, and we’re both pretty tall! They also recline and there are different controls on each side of your seats, such as the lighting or the temperature. You can also find a button there to call your dedicated train attendant, which was the absolute best, more on that in a bit!
My favorite thing is how private the room feels, you have a door that locks from the inside, as well as a little privacy curtain, so you really feel like you are in your own world. On the other side you have a massive window, which is perfect for watching the world go by and admire the views. This is the most beautiful train in the US after all, so that’s why we’re here!
At night, the Roomette turns into a bedroom
Every night, Clay, our train attendant (Amtrak, give this man a raise, we loved him!), transformed our room into a bedroom with two bunk beds complete with fresh sheets, a comforter, and as many pillows as you want. This was so nice and it felt almost like being in a capsule hotel.
We slept two nights on the California Zephyr, and we switched between bottom and top bunks. The top bunk is a bit harder to get into, but I found it still pretty convenient because there are steps leading there. By the way, these steps double up as storage space. Every inch of space has been optimized here, which makes the room feel more tidy and bigger!
How much luggage can you bring on the California Zephyr?
You get two free bags 59lbs (23kgs) on Amtrak, more info about this on their site. I recommend you organize your luggage well and put all the stuff you don’t need in a suitcase that will be stored in the luggage racks just outside your room and then bring all the stuff you need with you in your roomette.
The bathroom situation: how to shower on a train
The bathroom is located outside your roomette and is shared with other first-class passengers. You have separate rooms for a toilet and a shower. Our train attendant kept them spotless clean and the shower was always well-stocked with shampoo and fresh towels.
It was my first time showering on a moving train and I have to say that it is way easier than I thought. I really enjoyed showering and it felt super refreshing after a day spent looking at the views and eating.
The Amenities on the California Zephyr
Lounge access in Chicago’s Union Station
First-class passengers have access to the lounge in Chicago’s Union Station. This is a really nice place to wait for your train, with clean bathrooms, wifi and plenty of free coffee and snacks.
We stocked up on snacks before boarding the train, but this was not really necessary since we had all our food included in the price of our ticket.
The Dining Car: a restaurant on wheels
We were so excited to get to eat in the dining car, which feels like a diner on wheels, with white tablecloths and actual silverware. It was reserved for first-class passengers during our trip.
The menu looked absolutely amazing and felt diverse enough to not get bored during a three-day train. You can see updated menus for the California Zephyr dining car here.
Dinner
Starters:
A very cheesy green chili tamale
Lobster crab cake
Mains:
Steak with some grilled onions, served with some vegetables and a baked potato
Salmon and vegetables with a miso sauce dressing
Desert:
Flourless chocolate cake (that’s basically pure chocolate, yum!)
Philadelphia cheesecake
This was an unreal three-course meal, and I was so impressed with the food and the service. The drinks are included, and you can also choose to have a free glass of wine with your meal too.
Breakfast
The breakfast menu has very popular diner items such as omelets, French Toast, quesadillas and scrambled eggs with sides of bacon or sausages. The breakfast was really nice, and we enjoyed going to the dining car early to see the sunrise with a big cup of coffee!
Lunch
The lunch menu is made of simple choices such as sandwiches, burgers, salads or chili bowls. I really enjoyed the loaded baked potato with chili.
You also get unlimited coffee during the day at dedicated coffee stations located in the compartments.
Room-service and tipping
You can get anything on the menu delivered to your room by your train attendant. We did that on our last day as we felt like “staying in” to take in the views from our room!
Room service is still included in the price of your ticket, but you should tip your train attendant for the service.
It is also usually recommended to tip your train attendant around $5-15 per person and per night.
The observation car
Also called Sightseer lounge by Amtrak. It is a train car with comfortable seats facing massive floor-to-ceiling windows. It is a great place to see the views, but it can get pretty busy since it is open to everyone in the train.
We enjoyed checking it out and talking to other passengers, but we found that we preferred the undisturbed peace of our tiny room!
Wifi? No, thanks!
There is NO wifi on the California Zephyr. Absolutely none!
We had downloaded some movies in advance just in case, and we used our phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot as needed. Bobby was even able to make a work call in the middle of Nevada.
I do recommend clearing your schedule, as this is truly a once in a lifetime experience and the views are ever-changing and entertaining. If you’re taking this trip with a partner, you’ll have plenty of quality time and deep conversations.
California Zephyr’s on-time performance
Taking the California Zephyr train is not about getting to your destination on time, it is about the journey!
Amtrak's trains are rarely on time because of freight trains having the right of way. You can read more about this here.
Our train was around two hours late. We took some time to visit San Francisco after our journey, before flying back home. I really recommend you do that too, since if you fly out the same day, you might miss your flight.
Check out some activities to do in San Francisco here with GetYourGuide:
Our Three-Day Train adventure: the California Zephyr Route
The California Zephyr goes through seven states with 33 different stops. We started our trip Chicago, and ended it 3 days later on the other side of the country, in San Francisco. In the meantime, we enjoyed some breathtaking views, absolutely delicious meals and even went through a snowstorm.
Day One: Leaving the Midwest Behind
We departed right on time and soon made our first stop in the suburbs of Chicago. We then entered the plains of the Midwest, until we crossed the Mississippi River into our second state of Iowa. The views over the river were so impressive and made me excited for day 2 which is when the views are going to get seriously beautiful.
After a nice meal in the dining car, we then came back to our room, where the beds had been made by our train attendant, Clay. I fell asleep on the top bunk, somewhere in Nebraska.
Day 2: Crossing the Snowy Rocky Mountains
I woke up on day 2 as we were pulling up to Denver, just in time for breakfast. It was then time for a “Fresh Air Break”, a longer stop where you can actually get down from the train and explore the station briefly. It was snowing heavily in Denver, and we had around an hour to walk around and visit the station while they were preparing the train for the ride up the Rockies.
Going through the Rockies was truly one of the highlights of my trip (the second one happens on day 3!), the views were breathtaking and we were deep in a snowstorm so the atmosphere was very unique! You’ll have to watch my YouTube video (here) to get a feel for the experience!
Day 3: The California Zephyr is all of the US, in one train
On day 3 we crossed the state of Nevada for breakfast, which looked almost like a desert, with giant, empty landscapes with mountains in the background.
The views were so beautiful that we decided to order room service and eat in our room as we were arriving to California, with gorgeous forests and rivers. We arrived to San Francisco (Emeryville more precisely!) after sunset, around two hours late! We had booked a hotel 5 minutes away from the station and we were SO happy with our choice since by then we were ready to sleep in a real bed!
Thank you for reading this and see you soon in the next article :)