Amtrak’s Most Scenic Train: The Coast Starlight

I’ve just arrived back in Los Angeles after making a round trip on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight … LA to Portland to Seattle and back to LA. I’ve ridden this train probably six or eight times and it never gets old.

The train departs daily from Los Angeles at 10:15 in the morning and gets to Seattle the following evening at 8:45. The southbound train leaves Seattle at 9:45 a.m. and gets to Los Angeles at 9:00 p.m. the next night. Intermediate stops include Portland, Eugene, Sacramento, Emeryville and Oakland in the Bay Area, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara among others. Go here for a look at the timetable.

Either direction is good, but personally, I think the northbound trip is better because you see a bit more of the spectacular scenery during daylight hours.

In particular, there is the absolutely fabulous view you get of Mount Shasta just about the time you wake up on Day Two. The train circles around that magnificent mountain for probably 30 minutes and trust me: you will not forget the experience.

Of course there’s also the experience of running right along the Pacific shores for the first part of the northbound trip and running through the wilderness along a forested ridge overlooking the Willamette Valley during the afternoon of the second day.

There is a special feature on the Coast Starlight that’s not found on any other of Amtrak’s trains: the Pacific Parlour Car. It’s available only to sleeping car passengers and features a nice lounge area in soft swiveling easy chairs, a casual seating area with small tables to set drinks on, and a more formal area where full-on meals are served. There is also a wine tasting in the Parlour Car each afternoon. The wines served come from wineries located along the trains route. A very cool idea, eh? Of course the train’s dining car is also available and offers a different menu.