Chicago to Emeryville

Itinerary

1. Chicago, IL
   Day 1 | Board in Chicago: Chicago Union Station

   Your journey begins at Chicago Union Station, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece with its soaring Great Hall. Settle into your private railcar and enjoy a welcome reception as the train departs the shores of Lake Michigan, bound for the Pacific.

2. Princeton, IL
   Day 1 | Central Illinois Heartland

   Rolling westward through central Illinois, the train passes through Princeton, a charming county seat surrounded by the Illinois River watershed. Lunch is served in the dining car as the afternoon light turns golden over the Illinois farmlands. The plains stretch wide in every direction as the train leaves Chicago's orbit behind.

   Lunch

3. Mississippi River Crossing
   Day 1 | Crossing the Mighty Mississippi

   One of the journey's most iconic moments: the train crosses the Mississippi River on a high bridge, offering sweeping views up and down the broad, barge-laden river. This is the great dividing line of the American interior. West of here, the landscape opens from wooded river valleys into the vast plains of the heartland.

4. Iowa Countryside
   Day 1 | The Rolling Hills of Iowa

   Unlike the flat stereotype of the Midwest, Iowa's western landscape rolls in gentle glaciated hills. The train winds through a patchwork of farms, small towns, and wooded river valleys. Dinner is served as you pass through some of the richest agricultural land on Earth. Settle into plush accommodations as the train presses west into the night.

   Sleep Onboard

   Dinner

5. Lincoln, NE
   Day 2 | Nebraska's Capital at Dawn

   Wake up to the rolling prairies of eastern Nebraska as the train pulls through Lincoln. The golden dome of the Nebraska State Capitol is visible on the horizon in the early morning light. Breakfast is served as you roll west through classic Midwest farm country, with vast fields of corn and soybeans stretching in every direction under an enormous sky.

   Breakfast

6. Hastings, NE
   Day 2 | Into the Great Plains

   The train continues its westward crossing of Nebraska's vast flatlands. Near Hastings it crosses the 100th meridian, the historic boundary between the humid East and the arid West. Watch as the landscape begins its subtle shift toward the high plains. Lunch is served as the endless prairie sky unfolds in every direction.

   Lunch

7. Denver, CO
   Day 2 | The Mile High City

   The Denver skyline comes into view against the dramatic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains as the train arrives at Union Station. Dinner is served as you take in the city before the train begins its climb into the Rockies. Settle into your sleeper as the train ascends the Front Range into the night.

   Sleep Onboard

   Dinner

8. Moffat Tunnel
   Day 3 | Crossing the Continental Divide

   In the early morning hours the train plunges into the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel beneath James Peak, crossing the Continental Divide at 9,239 feet. Waters east of here flow to the Gulf of Mexico; waters west flow to the Pacific. When you emerge from the tunnel, you are on the western slope of the Rockies, descending toward the Colorado River headwaters.

9. Granby, CO
   Day 3 | Rocky Mountain High Country

   The train descends into the broad valley at the headwaters of the Colorado River, surrounded by the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park to the east and the Arapaho National Forest to the west. Breakfast is served as you wind through mountain meadows at nearly 8,000 feet, the alpine scenery at its most vivid in summer wildflower season.

   Breakfast

10. Glenwood Canyon, CO
    Day 3 | The Colorado River Gorge

    Widely considered the most spectacular segment, Glenwood Canyon is a 12-mile slot carved by the Colorado River through 1,800-foot Precambrian granite walls. The train hugs the canyon floor, crossing the river multiple times on tight curves. Enjoy views of waterfalls, kayakers, and towering cliffs from your private oasis.

11. Grand Junction, CO
    Day 3 | Colorado River Country

    Grand Junction sits at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, flanked by the Book Cliffs to the north and the Colorado National Monument's red-rock towers to the south. Lunch is served as you follow the Colorado River west, the canyon walls gradually giving way to the redrock plateaus of eastern Utah.

    Lunch

12. Green River
    Day 3 | Canyon Country Afternoon

    The train crosses into the canyon country of eastern Utah, threading along the Green River as afternoon light plays across the sandstone mesas of the Colorado Plateau. The vast red-rock scenery is unlike anything on the eastern leg of the journey.

13. Salt Lake City, UT
    Day 3 | Gateway to the Wasatch

    As evening falls, the train skirts the southern edge of the Great Salt Lake, with its shimmering white salt flats catching the last of the sunset. Dinner is served as the train prepares to head west from Salt Lake City into the Nevada night. Settle into your sleeper as the Wasatch Range fades behind you.

    Sleep Onboard

    Dinner

14. Elko, NV
    Day 4 | Nevada High Desert at Dawn

    Wake in the heart of the Great Basin as the train rolls through Elko, a ranching and mining town surrounded by the Ruby Mountains. The vast Nevada sky brightens to shades of gold and violet as you press west. Breakfast is served as the train begins its long crossing of the high desert.

    Breakfast

15. Reno, NV
    Day 4 | The Biggest Little City

    The train arrives in Reno, Nevada, where the Truckee River runs through the heart of the city. The surrounding basin opens behind you onto the vast expanse of the Great Basin as the train turns its nose toward the Sierra Nevada, now looming to the west. Lunch is served as the ascent into the mountains begins.

    Lunch

16. Donner Pass
    Day 4 | Sierra Nevada Summit

    The train crests the Sierra Nevada near Donner Pass, threading through snow sheds and tunnels that pierce the granite ridgeline at over 7,000 feet. Catch sweeping views of Lake Tahoe's crystalline blue water visible to the south and pine-blanketed slopes plunging into the Truckee River canyon below, the high point of the journey before the descent to the Pacific.

17. Sacramento, CA
    Day 4 | The California Capital

    The train descends the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and arrives in California's capital city. Dinner is served as the Sacramento River delta and the broad Central Valley spread out around you, the Pacific Coast now tantalizingly close.

    Dinner

18. Emeryville, CA
    Day 4 | Arrive in Emeryville

    The train pulls into Emeryville station, just across the Bay from San Francisco, completing one of the most celebrated rail journeys in the world. From the shores of Lake Michigan to the Pacific shore, crossing the Great Plains, the Mississippi, the Rockies, the Great Basin, and the Sierra Nevada: nearly 2,500 miles of America at its most spectacular.