shuttercookie

We've been looking at flying to Portland from the east coast and getting on the Empire Builder for a cross country trip.

Last time we did a trip straight through (California Zephyr to Lakeshore Limited). This time we would like to stay a night or two in various places along the Empire Builder Route.

One thing we would definitely like to see is Glacier National Park. Other that that, what are sites that are worth getting off to see for a day or two?

We have up to 13 nights for the trip.

Any suggestions welcome: natural wonders, hotels, diners, etc. Thanks!

Yoshi212

Minneapolis can be a fun town. Good food, art & music scene with plenty of random events through the year.

When you are you planning this trip for?

shuttercookie

Late summer, early fall.
Looking for places to stay close to the train stations but open to renting a car for a day or two as well.

3Cforme

Leave the train at Pasco and take an hour drive to some wineries of Walla Walla.

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/ind...t_walla.html#0

fairviewroad

If you've never been to Portland or Oregon in general, you should factor in a few days in the PDX area before you leave. Plenty to do in the city itself by using public transit...or rent a car and you can easily make day trips out to tons of cool stuff such as the Oregon coast, the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood, etc.

MADPhil

As fairviewroad writes there is lots of good stuff in Portland and Oregon in general. Near the other end of the trip consider Milwaukee as there is quite a bit to do there. The old part of the Pfister hotel is quite nice and there are a couple of good Serbian restaurants amongst many other things. The art gallery is excellent. And, of course, there is much to do and see in Chicago.

BobH

Without knowing what type of thing you're interested in seeing, it's difficult to make recommendations on any specific thing to see/do.

I recommend spending a few bucks on some guide books, such as the Moon books.

Some of them may be a bit out of date in terms of prices, but the descriptions of what you can do don't change

Bob H

shuttercookie

Great suggestions! Making notes.

We definitely want to spend a few days in Oregon as we've never been there before.

We enjoy natural settings such as beaches/lakes/waterfalls but also like enjoy some touristy stuff thrown in such as dining in the Space Needle when we visited Seattle.

MADPhil

If you don't mind driving a bit consider Crater Lake in Oregon (there is a nice lodge). The Evergreen Aviation museum in McMinville is pretty neat: https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/ and the nearby Sokol Blosser winery has an architecturally interesting visitor center (and good wine)

jackal

You might also post an inquiry in the West forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/west-456/) for some ideas of what to see in the region. While I'm sure many folks here know plenty about sights, others there may have other ideas and expertise.

The Pacific Northwest is a spectacular region of the country with plenty to do. PDX and surrounds are funky and have amazing cuisine and coffee (and wine, if you're into Pinot...I'm more of a Cab drinker so I prefer the wines from the hotter area up the Columbia in eastern Washington). Many of the suggestions above are great.

Note that breaking the trip up with stopovers will increase the rail fare (possibly significantly) so you may want to take that into consideration. While MSP is a more happening region than I expected, if I had to choose between splitting the rail fare and stopping there versus spending more time in PDX and surrounds before beginning the journey, I'd choose the latter, no contest.

MADPhil

Splitting the fare in MSP isn't so bad as the leg to Chicago isn't overnight. The more expensive thing is splitting between overnights if you want a sleeper.

shuttercookie

Thanks for sharing the "West" thread. Wish I had found that last year when doing our Route 66 trip.

I will price out the different legs of the trip to compare going coast to coast.

We did the California Zephyr last year straight through (then the LSL from Chicago to Boston). Loved the scenery from the train but felt like we were missing out some by not visiting a few towns along the way.

If it ends up cost prohibitive, we'll be happy to see that area of the country from the train window straight through.

shuttercookie

Not into wine but Crater Lake looks like something we'd enjoy. That is going on our list. Thanks!

saxman66

Include Whitefish in your Glacier Park tour. It's an Amtrak stop or you wait and get off at on the stops just outside the park. Not much to see until MSP after that. You could get off in Williston and explore the Black Hills, but that involves some driving to the southern of the state of North Dakota. Wisconsin Dells might be a fun stop though. It's the water park capitol of the world and has lots of amusements and theme parks. Lots are within walking distance of the station. It's a beautiful area as well.

serpens

That's South Dakota for the Black Hills, not North Dakota.

Also from Williston, you could visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park.