Hop on the train for travel and team building
For meeting professionals and their clients, traveling can be crucial to the job. This can come with some headaches, especially with the heightening uncertainty surrounding planes continually delaying departures or even failing to depart at all. Travelers may want to consider a more affordable and scenic experience—a good old fashioned train ride.
Connecting destinations around the country, taking the train is a slower form of transportation yet much more affordable, eco-friendly and can be a great way to add an experiential activity for a group or extend a work trip into a vacation as rail services pass some of America’s most iconic sites. Whether it be a cross country/cross coastal train or a quick day trip to team-build and sight see, Smart Meetings has rounded up some of the railroads to travel on that can make traveling affordable, experiential and memory-making!
Trains for Travel
There is the potential for meeting professionals to rein in more event attendees should a train ride prove to be more affordable and leisurely. Attendees from across the country can travel a shorter distance to the closest train station and work, team-build and sightsee as they are on their way to the event.
Read More: Top Business Travel Trends Coming in 2024
California Zephyr
From the Midwest metropolis of Chicago to California’s Bay Area and back, the California Zephyr has daily departures that pass through some of the most scenic destinations of the West. With stops in Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City and ending in Emeryville, California, passengers will weave through both the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada mountains before landing in the heart of the Bay Area with bus connections available to San Francisco and Oakland.
The Coast Starlight
Cruise up almost the entire Pacific coastline, from Los Angeles to Seattle, with stops in Santa Barbara, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Portland and many more. Between the beaches of Southern California, the Redwood forests of Northern California, hitting Oregon’s most “hipster” cities such as Portland and Salem before landing at King Street Station in Seattle, the variety of natural wonders on the country’s West Coast will impress.
Southwest Chief
Chicago’s Union Station is hub to another long stretch rail service, the Southwest Chief. Ending in Los Angeles, the train takes the scenic route through the American West with stops in Kansas City, Albuquerque and Flagstaff. The trip takes passengers through the Grand Canyon with available connections to the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Arizona.
Day Trip Excursions
Trains don’t have to be exclusively for traveling long distances. There are trains that use the railways to provide short trips for visitors to showcase the beauty of their area and visiting groups would love to see the area.
Cape Cod Central Railroad
With several options for your Massachusetts experience, the two-hour train takes passengers through the marshes of and cranberry bogs of Cape Cod, some of which are exclusively accessible by rail. The rail service offers a variety of Massachusetts experiences, including the Sunday Brunch Train and Jazz Sunday Brunch Train.
Skunk Train
For a California experience that will transport you into nature and back in time, the Skunk Train in the heart of Noyo River canyon provides groups with an unforgettable experience through the world-famous redwoods. The seven-mile roundtrip excursion has history, beauty and adventure while passing over trestle bridges and through historic tunnels. With hidden bars and railbike opportunities along the way, there are endless options for activities amongst the giant trees.
