I want to take a trip in May after I am done with school. My current plan is to take an Amtrak somewhere cool and simply explore. Where should I go? I want to go somewhere that has lots of beautiful nature, and where I can roam without getting into dangerous situations. Also ideally somewhere I could camp for cheap.
Where are you starting from, are you looking to use amtrak purely to get from point A to point B, or do you want a scenic amtrak trip on top of going to your destination?
Northern routes? The southeast? You didn't tell us where you're riding out from anon...
I'll be riding out from the east coast, probably the station in DC. I do not care too much about how scenic the train ride is, mostly just about cool destinations I can get to using amtrak. I've been looking at Midwest locations, but am open to going anywhere really
You can do Glacier National Park via Amtrak with no need to do bus connections or long travel after the train.
Take the Capitol Limited overnight from DC to Chicago, arrive around 9am, then take the Empire Builder out of Chicago that afternoon and get off at West Glacier or Essex the next evening.
Then you can explore the national park for a few days, do whatever you like, then you can take a train back to Chicago, or head out to Seattle.
There is also the California Zephyer route that goes further south out of Chicago if you're more interested in like Monument Valley and that kinda shit.
>Monument Valley
That train goes hundred of miles north of that, but does go through the rockies which is cool. You might be thinking of the Southwest Chief but that doesn't actually go close to Monument Valley either, which is on the Navajo reservation and is hard to get to without a car.
Nah I assumed if he was going out there he knew he would be driving to get to actual locations of interest. Like Monument valley, and similar places.
Like I said, I'm pretty sure Glacier National is the only one you can do more or less without any transportation outside of amtrak.
glenwood springs colorado is a nice little mountain town with hot springs and hiking trails on the amtrak line west of denver. you could do some trips from denver by bus to colorado springs to see garden of the gods, or rent a car in denver and go to estes or wherever. i think you could probably even rent a car in glenwood springs. you could also drive to some of the utah parks from either glenwood or denver as well.
>https://www.amtrak.com/student-discounts
Don't forget to claim your 15% discount when you book a ticket.
There is also currently free companion fares on long-distance trips, so if you and your partner want to take a trip in the next ~3-4 months somewhere by train in a roomette you can do that for cheap.
Chicago to San Fransisco for like $400 per person in a roomette. Includes 8 meals and 3 free alcoholic beverages (1 with each dinner). However, it limits bookings to before April 2024, so off-season only.
>somewhere I could camp for cheap.
Glacier national park camp sites are $10-23/night.
Virginia has a good Amtrak viewing ride. They kept Covid restrictions and bring food to your room. Very relaxing
The primary 3 scenic routes from what I understand are the California Zypher, Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight.
Though OP seemingly doesnt care about how scenic the trip is.