Travel
This Guy Saw the USA for Less Than $500. Here’s How He Did It.
Adventure traveler and entrepreneur Derek Low took the scenic route by train across 11 states and four time zones.
Adventure traveler and entrepreneur Derek Low has gained fame for writing about his journeys. He’s been featured in TechCrunch, CNN, The Guardian, and TIME
Low is the kind of traveler who can travel on the cheap as easily as he travels in style. Readers are drawn to his easygoing charm and matter-of-fact observations about the places that he’s been to and the people that he’s met.
The happy traveler is happy everywhere.
But, perhaps, one of Low’s most popular travel stories is the one where he rode Amtrak trains to travel from San Francisco to New York.
Ready for the long ride.
Low’s 3,397-mile railway journey across America took him through 11 states — California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York — and four time zones.
Traveling by train lets you enjoy the scenery.
Low got to enjoy enough awesome scenery to last him a lifetime. Best of all, he did it without breaking the bank.
So, how exactly did he do it?
Low revealed, “I paid $429 for a 15-day rail pass. You can do it for much less. The rail pass includes eight train rides which I used to explore other cities after my cross-country journey.”
There's something endearingly old-fashioned about trains.
He added this tip: “If you’re thinking of stopping at a few cities, a rail pass can be a great value. Note that a three-day journey counts as one ride, but so does a 30-minute one! If you work out the math, each ride is $54 on the rail pass. In comparison, most long-distance journeys cost upwards of $80.”
Check out the cross- country train route.
Low left San Francisco via Amtrak’s California Zephyr, which travels directly to Chicago. “The train doesn’t technically depart from San Francisco,” explained Low. It actually departs from Emeryville, which is 20 minutes away from San Francisco.
DAY 1: SAN FRANCISCO TO SALT LAKE CITY (17 hours)
From the moment the California Zephyr passes through San Francisco, Low documents the breathtaking scenes that he saw from the train.
A glimpse of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The California Zephyr's Sightseer Lounge car has windows built for sightseeing.
In Sacramento, train passengers looked out to see Donner Lake.
Passengers viewed the snowy Sierra Nevada and, hours later, the vast desert.
He made a stop in Salt Lake City, Utah.
DAY 2: SALT LAKE CITY TO DENVER (15 hours)
Low writes, “The journey between Utah and Colorado is regarded to be the most spectacular train ride in all of the United States.”
The majestic Colorado canyons didn't disappoint.
Colorado's Book Cliffs was part of the view.
At times, the grand vista looked like it was on another planet.
The Colorado River hosts adventure-seekers.
Low documented his journey in words, too.
DAY 3: DENVER TO CHICAGO (19 hours)
At this point in his terrific train journey, Low had traveled 2,438 miles. As the train mostly traveled at night during this leg of the journey, Low slept through most of it.
You can stay in the train's sleeper cabins for an added cost.
The train had gone through all sorts of terrain.
Train shop: The historic Chicago Union Station.
DAY 4: CHICAGO TO NEW YORK (20 hours)
For this leg of his train travel, Low needed to transfer to another train line — the Lake Shore Limited — to head to New York.
The view on the way to New York.
Low's cross-country train journey ends at New York's Penn Station.
Low raved about his train journey, saying, “The experience rewards you with far more stories and experiences and sights than you could ever witness alone in a car, eyes fixed to the road, or on a five-hour flight across the country.” He also admitted that he already “splurged” a bit by spending $429. He noted that if train travelers don’t want to stop at any of the cities along the way, they can spend as little as $213 for a train ride from San Francisco to New York.
There's no doubt Low was on a high during his train journey.
But, of course, you don’t need to pinch pennies to the point where your journey becomes an ordeal rather than an enriching ride.