California Zephyr
Chicago Union Station to Emeryville. Westbound train 5 and eastbound train 6, daily. The table below lists the named stretches in westbound order with the direction and season each is in daylight.
Duration
52 h 57 m
Westbound end to end, scheduled
Frequency
Daily
A stop is 24 hours or a multiple
Trains
5 westbound, 6 eastbound
35 stations
What you see, in order
Westbound order. Times are the published timetable at the midpoint of each stretch, in Central time unless the station is in another zone. "Dark" means the scheduled time is after sunset or before sunrise in that month; "dawn" and "dusk" are within 30 minutes of them.
| Stretch | Westbound 5 | Eastbound 6 | Stations around it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River crossingThe river forms the Illinois and Iowa line here; marshy bottomland lies beneath the bridge into Burlington.Watch for Mississippi River | Evening, 5:08 p.m.daylight Mar to Oct; dusk Nov; dark Dec; dusk Jan to Feb | Midday, 11:03 a.m.daylight | Galesburg, Burlington |
| Missouri River crossingThe Missouri is the Iowa and Nebraska line between Council Bluffs and Omaha; the Platte River is crossed a few miles beyond Omaha.Watch for Missouri River, Platte River | Night, 10:02 p.m.dark | Early morning, 6:04 a.m.dawn May to Aug; dark Sep to Apr | Creston, Omaha |
| Front Range and Moffat TunnelThe climb from Arvada up the Front Range through 31 tunnels; Plainview looks back over Denver and the plains, South Boulder Canyon follows, and the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel crosses the Continental Divide to the Winter Park ski area at its west portal.Watch for Plainview, South Boulder Canyon, Moffat Tunnel | Morning, 9:47 a.m.daylight | Afternoon, 4:57 p.m.daylight Feb to Oct; dusk Nov to Jan | Denver, Winter Park/Fraser |
| Fraser CanyonThe line follows the Fraser River through a remote canyon below Tabernash to Granby.Watch for Fraser River | Midday, 11:07 a.m.daylight | Afternoon, 3:11 p.m.daylight | Winter Park/Fraser, Granby |
| Gore Canyon and the upper Colorado RiverFrom Granby the line runs beside the Colorado River for 235 miles, on the left westbound. Gore Canyon has no roads and is reached only by rail or kayak; its walls rise about 1,000 feet on each side.Watch for Colorado River, Gore Canyon | Midday, 12:59 p.m.daylight | Midday, 1:18 p.m.daylight | Granby, Glenwood Springs |
| Glenwood CanyonA 12.5-mile gorge beginning a few miles beyond Dotsero, the largest of the upper Colorado River canyons, with high cliffs dotted with aspen and evergreen, ending at Glenwood Springs.Watch for Glenwood Canyon | Midday, 12:59 p.m.daylight | Midday, 1:18 p.m.daylight | Granby, Glenwood Springs |
| De Beque CanyonA 20-mile winding canyon on the Colorado River from De Beque to Palisade.Watch for De Beque Canyon | Afternoon, 3:36 p.m.daylight | Morning, 10:44 a.m.daylight | Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction |
| Ruby CanyonAfter Mack the line turns south back to the Colorado River and runs 25 miles between red sandstone cliffs into Utah; the state line is painted on the canyon wall on the right, and the last view of the Colorado River is on the left about five miles beyond.Watch for Red sandstone cliffs, state line sign, Colorado River | Evening, 5:37 p.m.daylight Mar to Oct; dark Nov to Dec; dusk Jan to Feb | Morning, 8:42 a.m.daylight | Grand Junction, Green River |
| Castle Gate and Soldier SummitBeyond Helper the Castle Gate rock formation opens as the train approaches; the line follows the Price River up the Wasatch Range to Soldier Summit at 7,000 feet, then descends Spanish Fork Canyon through the Gilluly Loops past the remains of Thistle.Watch for Castle Gate, Price River, Soldier Summit, Gilluly Loops | Night, 8:57 p.m.dusk May to Jul; dark Aug to Apr | Early morning, 5:20 a.m.dark | Helper, Provo |
| Humboldt River desertAround Lovelock the Humboldt River winds across the desert between the Trinity Mountains on the right and the Humboldt Range on the left before disappearing into the sand.Watch for Humboldt River, Trinity Mountains, Humboldt Range | Early morning, 7:37 a.m.daylight Feb to Nov; dawn Dec to Jan | Evening, 5:01 p.m.daylight Mar to Oct; dusk Nov; dark Dec; dusk Jan to Feb | Winnemucca, Reno |
| Truckee River canyonThe line follows the Truckee River from Reno into California past Verdi, the fish ladder at Floriston, and the Hoodoo Pillars rock formations near Boca.Watch for Truckee River, Hoodoo Pillars | Morning, 9:58 a.m.daylight | Afternoon, 2:44 p.m.daylight | Reno, Truckee |
| Donner Pass and the American River CanyonThe climb from Stanford Flats over Donner Pass: Donner Lake on the right, snow sheds, the tunnel through Mount Judah at about 7,000 feet, Emigrant Gap, then the North Fork of the American River 1,500 to 2,000 feet below on the left and the bluff at Cape Horn before the steep descent to Colfax.Watch for Donner Lake, Mount Judah tunnel, Emigrant Gap, American River Canyon, Cape Horn | Midday, 11:41 a.m.daylight | Midday, 12:50 p.m.daylight | Truckee, Colfax |
| Suisun Bay and the Carquinez StraitThe Yolo Bypass trestle beyond Davis, then the Carquinez Strait Bridge with the mothball fleet of stored World War II ships off to the left and Mount Diablo beyond.Watch for Mothball fleet, Carquinez Strait, Mount Diablo | Afternoon, 3:52 p.m.daylight | Morning, 9:27 a.m.daylight | Davis, Martinez |
| San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay shoreThe line skirts San Pablo Bay and then San Francisco Bay; through Berkeley the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge are across the water on the right.Watch for San Francisco skyline, Golden Gate Bridge | Afternoon, 4:35 p.m.daylight Jan to Oct; dusk Nov to Dec | Morning, 8:46 a.m.daylight | Martinez, Richmond, Emeryville |
Computed from the Amtrak GTFS timetable (feed version 20261015, valid 2026-10-16 to 2026-10-22, fetched 2026-10-15) and sunrise and sunset on the 15th of each month at the midpoint of each stretch. Scheduled times only; a late train moves evening stretches into darkness.How this table is computed.
Stations, in westbound order
| Station | Arrives | Departs | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Union Station | 2:00 p.m. | Central time | |
| Naperville | 2:34 p.m. | 2:34 p.m. | Central time |
| Princeton | 3:44 p.m. | 3:44 p.m. | Central time |
| Galesburg | 4:43 p.m. | 4:43 p.m. | Central time |
| Burlington | 5:34 p.m. | 5:34 p.m. | Central time |
| Mt. Pleasant | 6:06 p.m. | 6:06 p.m. | Central time |
| Ottumwa | 6:57 p.m. | 6:57 p.m. | Central time |
| Osceola | 8:23 p.m. | 8:23 p.m. | Central time |
| Creston | 8:52 p.m. | 8:55 p.m. | Central time |
| Omaha | 11:09 p.m. | 11:25 p.m. | Central time |
| Lincoln | 12:36 a.m. +1d | 12:46 a.m. +1d | Central time |
| Hastings | 2:22 a.m. +1d | 2:22 a.m. +1d | Central time |
| Holdrege | 3:11 a.m. +1d | 3:11 a.m. +1d | Central time |
| Mccook | 4:22 a.m. +1d | 4:22 a.m. +1d | Central time |
| Fort Morgan | 5:46 a.m. +1d | 5:46 a.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Denver | 7:56 a.m. +1d | 8:46 a.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Winter Park/Fraser | 10:48 a.m. +1d | 10:53 a.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Granby | 11:22 a.m. +1d | 11:22 a.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Glenwood Springs | 2:36 p.m. +1d | 2:43 p.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Grand Junction | 4:30 p.m. +1d | 4:43 p.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Green River | 6:32 p.m. +1d | 6:32 p.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Helper | 7:53 p.m. +1d | 7:53 p.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Provo | 10:02 p.m. +1d | 10:02 p.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Salt Lake City | 11:15 p.m. +1d | 11:40 p.m. +1d | Mountain time |
| Elko | 3:23 a.m. +2d | 3:25 a.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Winnemucca | 6:01 a.m. +2d | 6:01 a.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Reno | 9:13 a.m. +2d | 9:24 a.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Truckee | 10:33 a.m. +2d | 10:33 a.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Colfax | 12:50 p.m. +2d | 12:50 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Roseville | 2:14 p.m. +2d | 2:14 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Sacramento | 3:05 p.m. +2d | 3:05 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Davis | 3:31 p.m. +2d | 3:31 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Martinez | 4:13 p.m. +2d | 4:13 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Richmond | 4:47 p.m. +2d | 4:47 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
| Emeryville | 4:57 p.m. +2d | Pacific time |
Local time at each station; "+1d" is the day after departure from Chicago Union Station.
Connects with
Routes that stop at a station this train stops at, from the same timetable. Transfer times are not checked.