USA: Amtrak Coast Starlight, LA to Oakland

If the Surfliner ride [see: Amtrak Surfliner, LA to San Deigo] had impressed me a few days earlier, then the Coast Starlight simply blew me away. Although some of Amtrak's routes are gorgeous, the majority (to be blunt) are not noteworthy at all scenery-wise. I looked forward to the journey to the Bay Area with great anticipation. The train left Los Angeles Union Station on time and I was even "assigned" a seat before boarding (on the platform - a first for me with Amtrak).

A 12-hour ride between the two cities (compared to about six driving), the journey was one I wanted to experience. Unfortunately, unlike most long-distance trains, the Coast Starlight does not offer WiFi. At first I panicked, but then I thought - if I can fly 17 hours on a plane without WiFi I can certainly do 12 hours on train. As it turned out, it wasn't a problem. The view for 2/3 of the journey (until nightfall) ranged from pleasant to breathtaking.

It takes about an hour to leave LA, and then the train snakes through some lovely hills stopping in Simi Valley on the way. The countryside there looks more like Arizona than California. At Oxnard, the train again descends to the coast and continues along the Pacific most of the way to Pismo Beach. The train rides high above the ocean on fossilized sand dunes. The views up and down the coast reminded me of photos taken from the Pacific Coast Highway except that no driving was involved - so much more relaxing to take in all that scenery on the train! After Vandenburg Airforce Base, the train slowly climbs into the hills with a brief stop at San Luis Obispo (lovely countryside). Then... there is a long, winding ascent from the coast into the central valley. One of the reasons the ride is so long is that the train moves slowly and snakes along many turns. That ascent alone took a couple of hours. The views, however, were gorgeous. We were passing through cattle country.

I quickly claimed a seat in the observation car (with its much larger windows). Although not a full dome car, the windows did continue partially to the ceiling. I spent most of the trip there - watching beautiful California roll by. I would say the ride was one of the most spectacular train trips ever for me.

January 2026

I met a guy on the train, Doug. His hobby in retirement was riding long-distance Amtrak trains all over the country (in coach - ugh). He was a retired geologist from Montana on his way back home to take a break from a couple of months of travel. He certainly knew a lot about Amtrak (which was a bonus). The lounge car was the nerve center of the train - I recalled the same experience on other long-distance trains, like the one across Canada [see: Cross-Canada, journal entries]. Maybe no WiFi (and often no cell signal) was a good thing - people took the time to sit and talk to each other.

I thought nothing was going to top the Surfliner ride to San Diego, but I was mistaken. Although I loved that ride right along the beach, too, it cannot compare with the Coast Starlight.

(Take note: I only completed 1/3 of the trip. The bulk of that rail journey across Northern California, Oregon, and Washington remains for me to explore.

Coast Starlight: A+