52 Hours Aboard the California Zephyr, the Longest Train Ride in the US

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This story is part of Iconic Train Journeys, a spotlight on the world's most legendary railway adventures, from luxury trains that evoke old-world glamor to historic routes that have rebuilt nations and itineraries that reveal the hidden depths of our favorite destinations.

Nobody understands the magic of Amtrak's California Zephyr train quite like Brad Swartzwelter, better known to passengers as Conductor Brad.

During Swartzwelter's 30-year career as a conductor, he estimates he's completed more than 90 trips annually, logging about 500 miles on each trip—in total, he has traveled 1.4 million miles on America's rails.

But he came to love the train far before he started working for Amtrak, while growing up in Boulder, Colorado. “My father would go fishing along the Colorado River, and the California Zephyr would go by every day,” he says. “It seemed like the most magical thing in the world to see this massive, beautiful, gleaming steel string of train cars glide through the Rockies, right next to the gleaming water of the Colorado.”

Running between Chicago and Emeryville, California, the Zephyr is the longest continuous train ride in the United States, in operation since 1949. The route covers just over 2,400 miles in about 52 hours, traversing the American West through the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas.

Swartzwelter plans to retire in October, but the train will continue on, ushering in the next generation of travelers to rediscover the joys of rail transport, just as I did last summer. It was my journey west of Chicago, and I was quickly reminded of the country’s sheer vastness, a perspective often lost when flying overhead. From the train window, enchanting views of fields, rivers, gorges, mountains, and tunnels unfolded before me.

There were unexpected views too, like the occasional mooning from a passerby, but my most unforgettable encounters were the people on the train itself. Despite traveling solo, I never really felt alone. I befriended fellow travelers, like a 20-something man with his guitar in tow moving from small-town Illinois to California to become a teacher. I chatted with artists seeking inspiration from the surrounding landscapes, and met Amish families vacationing with their children.

While long-haul train travel in the US is scenic, it’s not always the most comfortable (though I did sleep surprisingly well in coach), or efficient, of journeys: I watched nesting passengers build elaborate coffee setups with electric kettles and stuff air mattresses into their seats. But, despite its shortcomings, hundreds of thousands of riders have found themselves drawn to the Zephyr for the slow, meandering journey that is crossing America by train.

There are a few ways to tackle the train's lengthy route. You can ride all 52 hours in one fell swoop and spend two nights on board (in either a sleeping car or a regular coach seat). Or you can break up the journey, as I did, and stop in different cities along the route. This means you will have to purchase a ticket for each segment of your journey.

Here's how I planned an 11-day trip aboard the California Zephyr with pit stops in Omaha, Denver, and Reno, and all the people I met along the way.

Day 1: Chicago to Omaha

The journey from Chicago to Omaha is what I consider the warm-up hours. You’re still getting to know your seatmate, you’ve made a trip or two to the café car, and so far it’s mostly been fields and flatlands as far as the eye can see.

The train pulls into Omaha at about 11 p.m. after departing at 2 p.m. from Chicago. In total, I ended up spending about three days in the city, and came to fall in love with its charm—from the summer Jazz in the Park series to the diverse food scene. Coneflower Creamery, a local ice-cream store, had lines going out the door, but the homemade Rhubarb Pistachio seasonal flavor was worth the wait. Other highlights included retro-themed Hollywood candy and the Tannenbaum Christmas Shop. If you fancy having your feet in two states at once, take a walk over the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, half of which belongs to Iowa.

The Zephyr departs Omaha just before midnight. I was lucky enough to find two coach seats to myself and was surprisingly able to sleep through the night with just a neck pillow and a blanket. For passengers seeking greater comfort, sleeper cars are also available.

Day 4: Omaha to Denver

Once the train reaches Colorado, the views multiply tenfold. Waking up to the colors of the sunrise, you can feel the excitement reverberating through the Zephyr. On the way to Denver, I sat next to Mary Frembgen, a visual artist who was involved in Denver’s music scene in the late ’70s to early ’80s.

“One of the things I really loved as a painter—this is so weird—but every time we enter a new city, in the tunnels, there's so much interesting graffiti,” she tells me. “And what struck me is, what's really cool [is that] nobody else gets to see this beautiful graffiti, except for people riding the train.”

The Zephyr pulls into Denver at 8 a.m., giving you plenty of time to use the day as you will. I spent four days in the city, though I strongly considered rearranging my trip to spend more time in Rocky Mountains National Park. I stopped by Estes Park, a small town that serves as its base camp, and toured the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's The Shining.

Within the city limits, I followed Frembgen’s recommendation and paid a visit to Wax Trax, a record store that has been in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood since 1975. I also stopped by Blush and Blu, one of the last 33 remaining lesbian bars in the country, and Mutiny Information Cafe, a secondhand bookstore. Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs is well worth the visit too, and depending on the day, you may be able to get your hands on an ostrich hot dog, or wild boar, or rattlesnake and rabbit too.

Saying goodbye to Denver was difficult, but the views upon leaving all but made up for it. “The first 50 miles of the Zephyr, west of Denver, are perhaps the most spectacular bit of engineering and railroading that I know of in the world,” Swartzwelter tells me.

Soon after departing, the train passes through the 6.2-mile-long Moffat Tunnel, plunging passengers into darkness for an anxiety-inducing 10 minutes. Here the train reaches 9,270 feet, the highest point on the Amtrak route. As we emerged from the other end, you could hear passengers sigh in relief, especially those who have read Swartzwelter’s novel, The Last Zephyr, in which the volcanic Yellowstone Caldera explodes—causing death and destruction across the West—while the Zephyr is in the tunnel, leaving its passengers among the few survivors in apocalyptic conditions.

Thankfully, western Colorado is very much intact when we emerge, and we soon reach the 12.5 mile-stretch that runs through Glenwood Canyon. With the Colorado river gushing on one side and cliffs as tall as 1,300 feet on the other, it’s one of the most scenic portions of the entire trip.

Many passengers ask Swartzwelter which side of the train they should sit on for the best views—and he argues that you can’t go wrong either way: “When leaving west out of Denver, you want to be on the right-hand side of the train so you can see Coors Field and the BNSF yard. And then you want to be on the left so you can see Pikes Peak. Then, as you get into the big 10 curves at milepost 17, you want to be on the right so you can see where the elk herd usually migrates. As you get along South Boulder Creek, you want to be on the right-hand side, but at Coal Creek Canyon, you want to be on the left side. You’re starting to get the picture,” he says, laughing.

Day 8: Denver to Reno

The train pulls into Reno, Nevada, at about 9 a.m. the next day. Some of the route’s best views are visible during the stretch between Denver and Reno—so much so that the train staff may boot you out of the observation car if you stay too long in order to give everyone a fair chance.

It was a week before Burning Man, and my seatmate happened to be part of the organizing team at the festival, which made for interesting stories. But for me the main draw of visiting Reno was visiting Lake Tahoe, under an hour’s drive away. I stayed in the area for two days and spent an entire day at Tahoe hiking the East Shore Trail, driving around the lake (counterclockwise), and then getting brunch at Tunnel Creek Cafe at the mouth of the hiking trail. In Reno I explored the Nevada Museum of Art, took pictures with the Reno Arch, and spent time at feminist bookstore and cat adoption center The Radical Cat.

Day 11: Reno to Emeryville

Then it was time to board the train again for the last eight-hour leg of the journey. As we pulled into Emeryville, I reflected on all the different people I met along the way, including Emily Fueka, a fellow passenger I ran into at three different legs of the journey.

Fueka, who had helped me figure out how to track the trains on the Amtrak app, and even shielded me from an unruly passenger who was eventually removed from the train, agreed that train travel helps foster a sense of community and friendship, even if fleeting.

“That was probably one of my favorite parts—talking to the people on the train,” she says. “It was people from all walks of life…people who felt like this was a more economic option, people who felt like they wanted the sense of adventure…. We would chat, you would just hear their life stories. It made me really happy.”

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler

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