Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Depart Chicago
Northwest Explorer tour members will meet the Tour Director in the Metropolitan Lounge of Chicago’s Union Station by 1:00 p.m. At 1:30 p.m. you’ll prepare to board the famous California Zephyr. Departure is at 2:00 p.m. The Zephyr features the double-decker Superliner equipment. Relax in your comfortable private Roomette. Bedrooms are available at an additional cost. After settling in, you may want to go to the glass-walled Sightseer Lounge car. Coffee and water are available for sleeping car occupants in their car. All meals on the trains are included. Enjoy a full course dinner in the diner tonight.
Meal(s): D
Day 2: En Route
When you awaken this morning you may look out your window toward the West and thrill to the sight of the towering, majestic Colorado Rockies in the distance. Plan to get up early, have a piping hot breakfast in the dining car, and find a seat in the glass-walled lounge car for the spectacular scenery that will unfold before you the rest of the day. The Zephyr will pull out of Denver at 8:05 a.m. and begin its climb over the Front Range toward the Continental Divide. About an hour later we’ll encounter the famous 6.2-mile-long Moffat Tunnel and go under the Continental Divide. Throughout the day the train will wind around sharp mountain curves and through numerous tunnels. You’ll look down at roaring streams winding through valleys far below. The beautiful mountain vistas will continue until late afternoon.
Meal(s): B, L, & D
Day 3: En Route / Emeryville
Today the spectacular scenery continues as the Zephyr climbs over the high Sierra Nevada Mountains through the famous Donner Pass. From rugged terrain and pine trees to lush greenery and palm trees…this landscape contrast will occur in just three hours. Our arrival into Emeryville is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. There are several options for an “on-your-own” dinner nearby.
At 10:02 p.m., we’ll board the famous Coast Starlight. The heart of this famous train is the Pacific Parlour Car. Available only to sleeping car passengers, this double-decker “living room on rails” features three types of luxurious seating, a full bar, food serving area, and a movie theater. These unique cars harken back to a bygone era and are one of Amtrak’s most prized assets.
Meal(s):B & L
Day 4: Coast Starlight / Klamath Falls
This morning make sure you rise early to enjoy a full breakfast in the dining car or a Continental breakfast in the Pacific Parlour car. Our arrival in Klamath Falls is scheduled for 8:25 a.m.
From here we’ll travel to Grants Pass. Check out almost 400 unique shops including many antique shops, plenty of eateries for an “on-your-own” lunch and an abundance of apparel shops. Later this afternoon you’re in for a wonderful white water jet boat excursion. Discover Hellgate; navigate your way through some of the Rogue’s white water rapids. See why your boat has shallow draft, loads of power, and no propeller! Pushed by the hydro-jet drive’s water spray, you’ll jet over just inches of water. On the exciting trip back, we’ll stop for a meal on an open-air deck overlooking the majestic Rogue River.
Our home for this evening will be the Holiday Inn Express.
Meal(s): B & D
Day 5: Oregon Coastline
Today will be spent traveling by motorcoach along Oregon’s rugged Pacific coastline. It is one of the most beautiful, fascinating shorelines in North America. Some of the highlights of the day will include Haystack Rock, one of the world’s largest monoliths; sea lion and bird rookeries on the off-shore rocks; and possibly a small herd of deer roaming freely. We’ll stop in beautiful Coos Bay with a lunch stop in Florence, Oregon.
Late this afternoon we’ll arrive at Newport, Oregon, “The Dungeness Crab Capital of the World”. Our home for this evening will be the beautiful Hallmark Resort. This majestic hotel sits on bluffs directly overlooking the mighty Pacific Ocean.
This evening you can visit the quaint downtown area and scenic Yaquina Bay.
Meal(s): CB
Day 6: Newport / Portland
This morning we’ll strike out for beautiful Portland, also known as the Rose City! Our route will continue up Hwy. 101 to the quaint fairy tale seaside fishing village of Depoe Bay. Carved and shaped by powerful natural forces, Depoe Bay is the site of the world’s smallest navigable harbor. Waves run beneath lava beds creating spouting geysers up to 60 feet into the air! Sea caves line the scenic rocky shoreline. The 1975 movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, was partially filmed here.
We’ll continue on our way to Portland. An “on-your-own” lunch stop will be made. There will be a stop en route to view the Spruce Goose and other historic aircraft.
The “Portland Highlights Tour” is a guided three-hour excursion exploring the best that Portland has to offer. Our resident expert will unlock some of the best kept secrets of Bridge City. On the tour you will visit some of Portland’s most scenic historic districts. These include Old Town Chinatown, once the second largest Chinese-American community on the West Coast and now home to the Classical Chinese Garden; Nob Hill, one of the city’s most picturesque boutique shopping areas (sometimes called Portland’s “Rodeo Drive”); and the Pearl District, Portland’s hip new area for arts and entertainment.
Later this afternoon we will check into the Courtyard by Marriott City Center. Early this evening we will board “The Portland Spirit” for a wonderful dinner cruise with live entertainment.
Meal(s): D
Day 7: Mt. St. Helens /Mt. Rainier, Seattle
Our group will depart this morning for a full day of spectacular sightseeing which will end early this evening in Seattle. At mid-afternoon we’ll arrive at the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Visitors Center. A walk-in model of the volcano illustrates its composition. Pictorial and interpretive material and film highlight other features. A 1/8-mile trail leads to a viewing point overlooking Silver Lake and 34 miles east, Mt. St. Helens. Lunch is available “on-your-own”.
Towering 14,410 feet, Mt. Rainier is the greatest single attraction in the Pacific Northwest and is the tallest volcanic mountain in the lower 48 states. We’ll have a one-hour stopover at the Mt. Rainier Visitors Center in Paradise. Options there include nature exhibitions, audio-visual programs, and awesome views from the Visitor Center’s observation deck.
By early evening we’ll arrive in delightful Seattle. Our home for this evening is the Roosevelt Hotel.
Meal(s): B
Day 8: Seattle
We’ll set off this morning for a three-hour sightseeing tour of the Seattle area. It will include Chinatown, concrete floating bridges, Lake Washington, the arboretum, the University of Washington, plus sweeping views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. We will also visit the famous Seattle Space Needle, with incredible photo opportunities from the observation deck and Pike Place Market. The tour will end at the Seattle Amtrak station for a 4:40 p.m. departure on the Empire Builder.
We’ll board Amtrak’s Empire Builder, a double-decker, Superliner-equipped train. This famous train will carry us 2200 miles across seven northern states to Chicago. Relax in your comfortable, private Roomette sleeping accommodations. Bedrooms are available at an additional cost. All full course dining car meals are included.
Meal(s): D
Day 9: En Route
Enjoy a delicious dining car breakfast and then head for the Sightseer Lounge car. About 8:00 a.m., a dramatic panorama of snow-covered Rocky Mountain peaks will begin to rise above the horizon, becoming increasingly dynamic as we approach Glacier National Park. The scenery is striking as we wind past waterfalls, river gorges, and other sights. The rest of the day we’ll cross the remote flatlands of eastern Montana and western North Dakota.
Meal(s): B, L, & D
Day 10: En Route to Chicago
Breakfast and lunch are included on the train. We depart from Minneapolis-St. Paul at 7:50 a.m. and head south along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The train winds between the river bank and high bluffs. Later we pass through the picturesque Dells Country of Wisconsin. The Empire Builder is scheduled to arrive in Chicago’s Union Station late this afternoon. Many of our tour members will conclude their America by Rail vacation by transferring to Amtrak trains bound for home cities. Some will spendthe night in Chicago and return home by air tomorrow.
Meal(s): B & L