If you want to take a train across the United States, it’s a long trip. From coast to coast, it takes between two and three days and several trains.
If you’re up for an adventure, you can also pick your start and end places from the list below, based on your tastes. Find Train is a tool on the Amtrak.com homepage that gives you more choices and the most up-to-date train schedules. The times below may change.
Choose one of the following places for the quickest and easiest trip:
- East Coast: New York City, Washington D.C., and Boston
- West Coast: Los Angeles, Emeryville (near San Francisco), Portland, and Seattle
New York City to Los Angeles
| Travel Time | 62 hours |
| Layover Time | 4.5 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Lake Shore Limited and Southwest Chief |
Description:
This cross-country trip is great if you don’t want to go through the Rocky Mountains but would rather go through the desert. After leaving New York City, you’ll go through the Hudson River Valley and then near the Great Lakes on your way to Chicago. After changing trains in Chicago, you’ll go through the Midwest and Great Plains on your way to the mountains in southern Colorado. The last part of the trip goes through the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
Major cities on this trip:
- New York City
- Cleveland
- Chicago
- Kansas City
- Topeka
- Albuquerque
- Flagstaff
- Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Washington D.C.
| Travel Time | 64 hours |
| Layover Time | 4 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Southwest Chief and Capitol Limited |
Description:
This trip across the country begins and ends with two lovely Amtrak stops. You’ll see the desert in Arizona, the mountains in Colorado, the farms in the Midwest, and the Allegheny Mountains. Flagstaff is a stop on the way, and if you want to go to the Grand Canyon, you have to get off here. But the Los Angeles-bound trains stop in Flagstaff in the middle of the night.
Major cities on this trip:
- Los Angeles
- Flagstaff
- Albuquerque
- Topeka
- Kansas City
- Chicago
- Pittsburgh
- Washington D.C.
Portland or Seattle to Washington D.C.
| Travel Time | 65 hours |
| Layover Time | 2 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Empire Builder and Capitol Limited |
Description:
As you drive through the Columbia River Gorge, the section of the Pacific Northwest between Spokane and Portland is one of the most beautiful. If you leave Seattle, you will instead see Puget Sound. There are also beautiful woods in the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains in Montana, and the Great Plains. You’ll get to Chicago after going through the Upper Midwest. There isn’t much time to wait there, so if the Empire Builder is running late, you might miss the link to the Capitol Limited train. The last part of the trip goes through the Alleghany Mountains and along one of the longest train corridors in the United States.
Major cities on this route:
- Washington D.C.
- Pittsburgh
- Chicago
- Milwaukee
- St. Paul-Minneapolis
- Spokane
- Portland or Seattle
Boston to Los Angeles
| Travel Time | 65.5 hours (from Back Bay) |
| Layover Time | 4.5 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Lake Shore Limited and Southwest Chief |
Major Stops:
- Albany
- Buffalo
- Cleveland
- Chicago
- Kansas City
- Topeka
- Albuquerque
- Flagstaff
- Los Angeles
Boston to Seattle or Portland
| Travel Time | 68.5 Hours |
| Layover Time | 5 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Lake Shore Limited and Empire Builder routes |
Description:
Trains go from New York to Ohio to Chicago near the Great Lakes. If you get to Chicago on time, you’ll have a few hours to look around before getting on the Empire Builder for a trip through the Upper Midwest, Great Plains, Montana Rocky Mountains, and woods of the Pacific Northwest. You’ll see Puget Sound if you choose Seattle as your end location. If you go to Portland instead, you’ll go through the Columbia River Gorge.
Seattle or Portland to New York City
| Travel Time | 66 hours (Chicago) |
| Layover Time | Almost 5 hours |
| Routes | Empire Builder and Lake Shore Limited |
Description:
The Empire Builder trains go through the woods of the Pacific Northwest on their way to the Rocky Mountains in Montana. If you leave Seattle, you’ll see Puget Sound. If you leave from Portland, you can enjoy the views in the Columbia River Gorge. After leaving the mountains, it is a long trip across the Great Plains and the Midwest. To get to New York City, you’ll change trains in Chicago and ride near the Great Lakes and along the Hudson River.
Major cities on this route:
- Portland and Seattle
- Spokane
- Whitefish
- St. Paul-Minneapolis
- Milwaukee
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Buffulo
- Albany
- New York City
New York City to Portland or Seattle
| Travel Time | 66 hours |
| Layover Time | Almost 5 hours |
| Routes | Lake Shore Limited and Empire Builder |
Description:
After leaving New York City, you’ll drive through the Hudson River Valley to Upstate New York and towns near the Great Lakes. You’ll have some time to see the sights in Chicago before getting on the Empire Builder. This train goes through the Upper Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains in Montana, which are close to Glacier National Park. The journey ends in the Pacific Northwest woods. If you go to Seattle, you’ll be able to see Puget Sound. Or, you could take the Columbia River Gorge to get to Portland.
Major cities on this trip:
- New York City
- Albany
- Buffalo
- Cleveland
- Chicago
- Milwaukee
- St. Paul-Minneapolis
- Spokane
- Portland
Washington D.C. to San Francisco
| Travel Time | 70 hours (plus 30 minutes to reach San Francisco from train station) |
| Layover Time | 5 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Capitol Limited and California Zephyr |
Description:
On this trip, you’ll go through several mountain areas, such as the Allegheny Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. The view is beautiful. There are also farmlands and the Great Plains to see. Emeryville, California, is the last stop for trains. If your final stop is San Francisco, an Amtrak bus service will take you into the city. You can also take a cab or share a ride in Emeryville.
Major cities on this trip:
- Washington D.C.
- Pittsburgh
- Chicago
- Omaha
- Denver
- Salt Lake City
- Reno
- Sacramento
- San Francisco (via Emeryville)
Boston to San Francisco
| Travel Time | 74.5 (plus an additional 30 minutes to reach San Francisco from the train station) |
| Layover Time | 4 hours (Chicago) |
| Routes | Lake Shore Limited and California Zephyr |
Description:
From Boston, trains go near the Great Lakes to get to Chicago. You’ll switch to the California Zephyr and travel across the Great Plains. Then, you’ll have an amazing trip through the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Emeryville is the last stop for the train. You can keep going to San Francisco by taking a bus service, a taxi, or public transportation.
New York City to San Francisco
| Travel Time | 72 hours (3 days, plus 30 minutes to travel from the train station to San Francisco) |
| Layover Time | Almost 4 hours |
| Routes | Lake Shore Limited and California Zephyr |
Major cities on this trip:
- New York City
- Cleveland
- Chicago
- Omaha
- Denver
- Salt Lake City
- Reno
- Sacramento
- San Francisco (via Emeryville)
San Francisco to New York City
| Travel Time | 72 hours (plus 30 minute commute from San Francisco to the train station) |
| Layover Time | 6.5 hours |
| Routes | California Zephyr and Lake Shore Limited |
Description:
On this beautiful trip from San Francisco, you can see the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. Trains leave from Emeryville, and from there to Denver, the view is beautiful. You’ll have a long stop in Chicago, giving you time to see the sights before heading east. The Lake Shore Limited is the fastest way to get to New York City, but if you want to see the New River Gorge in West Virginia, you can also take the Cardinal train. The Cardinal will add about four hours to the whole trip, but the stop in Chicago is only for three hours.