Passengers can board the Empire Builder as far East as Chicago, and they can ride the train as far West as Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. They can also disembark in St. Paul, Minnesota. The route follows some segments of the trail Lewis and Clark used on their historic journey across the American Northwest. The Empire Builder runs its 46-hour trip daily, and amenities include a dining car, lounge, café and snack cars, as well as checked baggage service. Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the train.
Amtrak
800-872-7245
www.amtrak.com
Big Mountain is a 3,000-acre ski resort in Whitefish. Empire Builder passengers can reach it with a one-way or round-trip ticket, or by transferring to this special touring route from another train line. While passengers can only book train tickets through Amtrak, travelers can book ski vacation packages through such Amtrak affiliated private travel agencies as RMA Tours in Denver, Colorado, and Flathead Travel in Kalispell, Montana. Packages include hotel or rental accommodations, additional transportation and ski lift tickets, in addition to train fare. All passengers have the option of upgrading their train accommodations to sleeper car tickets.
RMA Tours
1660 S Albion St., Suite 201
Denver, CO 80222
800-841-9800
www.rmatours.com
Flathead Travel
500 S Main St.
Kalispell, MT 59901
800-223-9380
www.flatheadtravel.com
During the spring and summer, National Park Service rangers ride aboard the Empire Builder, to share historic information with passengers. These "interpreters" board the train in the northwestern Montana town of Shelby and do not disembark until they reach Seattle. They are employed by the Seattle branch of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, located in Skagway, Alaska. The service they provide is part of the so-called Trails and Rails program, a partnership between Amtrak and the National Park Service to provide educational enrichment experiences for passengers riding Amtrak trains.
The National Park Service
12795 Alameda Pkwy.
Denver, CO 80225
303-969-2500
www.nps.org/findapark/trailsandrails.htm
