Our Experience on the Amtrak Coast Starlight

The Amtrak Coast Starlight is a 36 hour train ride from Los Angeles, California to Seattle, Washington. It is considered one of the most beautiful train rides in the United States! When I heard about this trip, I knew that I wanted to experience it. This is a full breakdown of our trip on the Amtrak Coast Starlight!

I’ll break down our experience, what we liked and what we didn’t like. This a full breakdown of our experience! You can always learn more about what the Amtrak Coast Starlight is or my tips on what to know before you take your trip.

Our Trip On The Amtrak Coast Starlight

We took our trip on the Amtrak Coastal Starlight in April, 2024. Since we live in Arizona, we decided to make it a long weekend trip. We booked a flight to Los Angeles on a Thursday evening, grabbed dinner in LA and stayed the night in downtown close to Union Station which is where the train departs.

Our train was scheduled at 9:51 so before we went to the train station, we stopped by Target to grab snacks and other travel essentials. We got to Union Station around 9:00 am and checked into our train. When you check in, this is where you should ask to sit on the left side. This way, you can get the best views of the scenery on your trip!

At Union Station, they have a few places where you can grab coffee or some food before you leave. We grabbed some Starbucks coffee and Wetzel’s Pretzel bites for breakfast that we ate on the train. They also had a Subway and Trimana which is a fresh food market for food on the go. You can bring food on the train with you which is a great option for saving money on the trip. 

Coach Seating

We bought seats in coach which were very comfortable. The seats are larger and much more comfortable than seats on an airplane. And the space between the seats was very spacious with plenty of room to use the drop down tray and recline the seats without impeding on the space of the travelers behind you.

You also have plenty of space above you for any luggage you have. We felt completely safe leaving our stuff there wherever we went to the observation car or to the bathroom. It’s not the most beautiful interior but it was definitely better than either of us were expecting!

The Bathrooms On The Coast Starlight

The bathrooms in coach were not as bad as I expected . They were similar to an airplane bathroom but slightly bigger. I wouldn’t say it was an amazing experience but I didn’t dread going if that helps. They did get cleaned while we were on the trip. The team on board does a great job of keeping things tidy and pleasant for travelers. 

The Coast

Our Trip On The Amtrak Coast Starlight started in LA which meant that we started with the beaches along the coast. Our train left on time which was great! There were not a lot of passengers that boarded with us, probably about 30 people. Everyone was very nice and many were either going to north California or were there for the long haul to Seattle like us!

It took us about 2 hours to get through LA and surrounding cities until we finally reached the first sights of the beach. The first beach sighting was right outside of Oxnard! We stayed in our assigned seats for the first 2-3 hours to get settled in and get a feel for the train itself. 

After a few hours, we ventured into the Observation car which was full of travelers from other cars. They had a mix of booth seating and open seats to choose from. We got there when they were serving lunch so we were able to find a seat fairly quickly since people were going in and out of the dining car. 

The Observation Car

In my opinion, this is the best seat in the house. This is a car on the train that has windows along the side and up onto the ceiling. You are able to see so much and the lighting in this car is by far superior to any other spot on the train. 

We spent a large majority of our trip on this car. While you don’t want to set up camp and take a spot from other travelers, we moved around quite a bit and made friends with other travelers. 

The Guides

During our stop in Santa Barbara, two guides boarded the train to ride with us for the next four hours. While on board, they told us interesting facts about the beaches in the area, historical facts about the state of California and other interesting stories that they had to offer. It was actually very interesting and without their knowledge, we would have never known about some of the landmarks or historical markers we passed. Two of them being an underground missile and a SpaceX rocket!

They were so sweet and had some incredible stories of their adventures along with the historical facts they were sharing. If you are planning your trip, I would definitely recommend grabbing a seat in the Observation car while they are there! They are there for about 4 hours which is a really great way to help the time pass quickly.

Lunch

They have a meal car on the Coast Starlight but it is prioritized to those staying in sleeper cars. This meal costs $25 per person if you plan to travel in a sleeper car or are lucky to get one of the free reservations left over.  For coach travelers, they have a cafe at the bottom of the Observation car. They served pretty decent food options and a reasonable price.

However, we had read multiple stories of people successfully ordering food on their fresh air stops using Uber Eats. These are longer stops that last about 15 minutes where you are allowed to get off the train and stretch your legs to get some fresh air.

Our Uber Eats Experience

We decided that San Luis Obispo would be the best opportunity for us. We thought about scheduling our delivery, but we had noticed a small delay in our travel time already and we didn’t want to either miss it or schedule our delivery too early and risk them leaving. So, we decided to risk it and time it as best as we could!

We ordered Chipotle and we were on time with our arrival. However, our food took a while to get picked up. Once we had a driver, it was going to be very close. While we came to our stop, we noticed the driver wasn’t moving and realized he got stuck at a long light. The minutes were beginning to drop and we realized he probably wasn’t going to make it. 

My husband comes back up and looks defeated because it didn’t work. The conductor had just called “all aboard” meaning we were about to leave. Then we get a call from the driver asking where we are. Turns out, he had arrived but was at the other end of the train. My husband ran back down to try and see if he can find him. 

While I’m holding our seats, I see someone SPRINTING along the train. About one minute later, I see my husband come back up with a Chipotle bag and a huge smile. The man sprinting for his life was our incredible delivery driver who practically handed him our food just seconds before the train took off (and no, that is not an exaggeration haha)!

We ate that Chipotle not believing we had actually pulled this off and knowing that we were NOT going to try that again! 

The Hills of California

Once the beach scenery ends, you enter more of the hillside areas of California. This part is so beautiful and truly remarkable getting to ride through the large hills and see the incredible landscapes. 

We were pretty mesmerized and truly enjoyed this portion of the trip. Even though it was pretty desolate during this part, I felt like you got to see some beautiful pieces of the state that you wouldn’t be able to see traveling by car.

The Farmlands of California

Around 5 o’clock pm, we entered more of the farmland scenery. While this wasn’t the prettiest part in my opinion, it was a lot of fun to look at the organization of the crops. We also created a game of trying to figure out what they were growing! It made this part more interesting.

We had to stop for about 30 minutes during this portion to let a freight train pass. That’s the hardest part of the trip in my opinion. The freight trains have the right of way so if there are any issues or backups, the freight trains will be able to pass first.

Another reason I think this part was kind of boring is because the excitement had kind of dwindled by this point and we realized that night time was quickly approaching. Since we were traveling in April, we knew the sun was going to set closer to 7:30-8:00. We grabbed dinner at 8:00 from the cafe which was pretty decent! We both ate an Asian noodle bowl which was served cold, had a lot of vegetables and a delicious spicy-sweet plumb dressing.

They closed the Observation car at 9:00 pm and we headed back to our seats in coach to settle in for the night.

Overnight On The Coast Starlight

Since we were worried about the amount of sleep we would get, we brought our Kindles, downloaded some TV shows and a few movies in advance. My husband is 6’4” and was pretty nervous about the amount/quality of sleep he would get. He fit on the seats decently and had more room than he expected.

Everyone was very respectful and quiet during the night so noise was not a problem. We made a long stop in San Francisco around 10:45, almost an hour after we were supposed to. This was another fresh air stop so it lasted about 20 minutes. Once we were going through the night, we were able to make up some time with less traffic. 

I fell asleep around midnight and slept fairly well. Aside from the random traveler that missed his stop around 2 AM, I didn’t have any issues. My husband had a harder time staying asleep but overall, he said he slept better than he thought he would.

Morning on The Coast Starlight

We woke up around 6:00 am in Mount Shasta, California. The sun was beginning to rise and it was one of the most beautiful views of the trip on the Coast Starlight. The mountains were still capped with snow and there were lakes in the surrounding areas. It was truly one of my favorite parts of the trip!

For breakfast, the meal car is first come first serve beginning at 6:30 AM. Since we woke up early enough, we decided to try it out. It was $20 a person for coffee and a continental breakfast. It was actually very delicious and both enjoyed it very much! 

Oregon on The Coast Starlight

We crossed over into Oregon around 8:00 AM. Right after one of our morning stops, the conductor made an announcement letting us know that we were about to enter the Cascade Mountains, a section of the trip where we wouldn’t have cell service. We secured our spot in the Observation car and decided to read while looking out at the forest.

We didn’t know what kind of weather we would get booking the trip on the Coast Starlight in April. Everyone says that it’s hit or miss during that time of year. When we started to see snow, everyone was kind of shocked. This ended up being the most beautiful part of the trip!

There must have been a storm one of the nights prior because the further we got into the mountain range, the deeper the snow was. We were riding through pine trees on both sides 20 feet tall covered in snow. It truly felt like a winter wonderland!

The Lakes

Once we began our exit from the forest, we rode by the Lookout Point lake near Oakridge, Oregon. This lake was beautiful! The trees and scenery around this lake were incredible especially after all of the snow capped trees! We saw so many beautiful areas around this section of the trip. 

Since we didn’t have any service during this part, we talked to other travelers on the train and got to know them. One woman said it was her third time taking this trip and it’s always beautiful! Another traveler was visiting from Germany for work and was taking the train to visit a friend in Seattle. 

Not having service was a great way for us to mingle with other people and just look out at the scenery. I will say, we brought books and movies but hardly used anything to keep us entertained. We kept looking out at the scenery and talking to other travelers. 

Oregon and Washington on The Coast Starlight

Oregon

Once we were through the mountain ranges of Oregon, we moved into more of the backwoods and then suburbs of the state. It started as a lot of one off neighborhoods and small communities. Then once we got closer to the cities, it became more populated.

My favorite thing about this part of the trip were all of the rivers and bridges that we crossed. It was amazing to see how quickly the terrain changed and how green everything is up in this part of the country. We rode through Eugene and saw parts of the University of Oregon. 

Going into Portland was beautiful. We saw the Willamette Falls in Oregon City right before we reached Portland. This is a natural waterfall on the Willamette river and such a great thing to see, especially if you have kids! 

Portland is a beautiful city and definitely has a lot of character to see from the train before you reach Portland Union Station! This is also the last fresh air stop before getting to Seattle. It is where a majority of people got off of the train. A few people went inside to grab sandwiches, coffee and other snacks for the last part of the trip. We didn’t want to risk it but everyone made it back as far as we know of!

Washington

Once you leave Portland, you enter Washington pretty quickly. I will be honest, this was the most boring part of the Coast Starlight. It was very industrialized and we passed through a lot of suburban neighborhoods.

It was also probably hard because this is where we began to get very antsy and were ready to get off of the train. The reality of being on a train for 33 hours really set in. We focused a lot on reading our books and trying to stay positive for the remainder of the trip. 

They closed the Observation car at 7:00 so we had to move back to our assigned seats for the remainder of the trip. We were running late and arrived in Seattle around 8:45 pm at King Street Station in downtown. We were so excited to spend a quick 24 hours in Seattle but were also just so proud of ourselves for making it the entire trip!

Final Thoughts On The Coast Starlight

Overall, the Amtrak Coast Starlight was one of the most incredible trips that I have ever taken. It’s very different from anything I have ever done and that is probably one of the reasons I loved it so much. It is a great way to experience such a large amount of scenery in a unique way. 

The experience overall was really amazing! The staff were all kind and helpful whenever someone had a question. The trip itself was smooth and you didn’t really feel a lot of rocking or anything that we found to be terrible along the ride. 

If you are looking for an interesting trip that is in the United States, I would highly recommend the Amtrak Coast Starlight. It is a unique travel experience, kids are welcome and you can honestly make the trip as long or as short as you want by choosing your beginning and end locations. It is an interesting trip that will show you one of the most beautiful areas of the country in a quick 36 hours!