Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Station, (2024). (Photo taken by the author)
The California Zephyr – Chicago to Emeryville, California
The train leaves from Chicago, On our trip, we picked this train up in Galesburg, Illinois. As I mentioned before in the Southwest Chief post (Part 1), we spent most of the day at this station, and walked to their downtown, which was right there. All you get is a quick stop, and maybe a smoke-break.
Omaha, Nebraska is a 16-minute smoke-break, though it is almost bed time. I did get out, when we visited, but I suggest you don’t leave the area.
Lincoln, Nebraska is a 10-minute stop, but it is after midnight, so chances of knowing it is happening, are slim.
Denver, Colorado comes along around 8AM, so it is a refueling stop, that takes about 50 minutes. The car attendant can tell you how long you can be away. You can visit Historic Denver Union Station, if you like.
Fraser-Winter Park, Colorado is in the rocky mountains. Lots of interesting homes in the town, that you can see from the station. You only get 5-minutes, so stay by your car.
Glenwood Springs, Colorado is on the west side of the rocky mountains. It is a 7-minute smoke break, so get out and look at the station area.
Grand Junction, Colorado is a 13-minute break, and where many people get off to head to National parks. Some people get out and go to the store on the platform, for an ice cream or drink.
Salt Lake City, Utah is around 11PM stop, so it is not announced. It is a 25-minute stop, so if you are up, you can probably check it out.
Reno, Nevada is around 8 AM in the morning, so you can get out of the car for this 11-minute smoke-break. Unfortunately, the station is in a trench, so you can’t see much of anything.
The final stop, is in California. No getting out until Emeryville, which is near Berkeley, and Oakland California. Public transportation can get you to Downtown San Francisco, easily. Enjoy.
