Well, it turns out that you really don’t need a road trip or even a car to see the best of America. I have realized that traveling from coast to coast across the US using a train is the most breathtaking experience I have had in a long time. And that is not even the best part. The biggest surprise is that this trip is very cheap because it will cost you only $213. Get this, 3,400 miles coast to coast across the US for just $213, it doesn’t get any better than that. American railroads have been here for a long time and there is something about them that takes you back to a bygone era.
Learn more about how to travel the US by train!
They were the roads that provided the foundation for the industrial revolution, they tamed the Wild West, and yes, they were the drivers of the gold rush. There was a time in America when using railroads was the most luxurious form of transport and even though a lot has changed since then, the magic of traveling through train across these historical railroads is still there. The railroad infrastructure is still good and while not many people use it, you can enjoy a great ride if you want to. I have to say though that one of the most exciting prospects is traveling through the country from San Francisco to New York City.
As the train slowly climbs past the snow-capped Sierra Nevada and makes it way further east through the country to cut across the Rockies, the beauty of America and the wildness of nature will leave you completely breathless. It’s simply majestic. The entire journey from San Francisco to the city of New York will take you about 4 days if you are traveling directly without stopovers. However, you can’t travel without stopovers so make some plans along the way. As the train makes it way out of the station in San Francisco, you get an epic view of the coast and the tranquil waters around the Bay Area. As the famous San Francisco fog rolls in you realize it’s time to say goodbye to the city. A few hours and the train cruises across great sceneries of mountains and forests until it turns its way towards Donner Lake.
It’s a sight to behold. The Donner Lake was famously known for the Donner Party in 1846 where a party of 87 people was stranded during winter here. It is believed that due to the harsh conditions, the 87 turned into cannibalism and only 48 survived. At this point, I was strangely hungry. And if you think I had seen enough at that point, I couldn’t wait until the train surged towards the Sierra Nevada and straight into the deserts of Nevada. It’s a view worth cherishing and as it pulls into Salt Lake City, which was my first stop, I just realized that the best was yet to come. By the time I got to the city of New York I wanted to just go back the same route again, because the experience was so amazing.
