Seven Day Trips by Rail Along California Coast

When Ted Frank took his daughter and her friends on the train to Santa Barbara for a YMCA Indian Princesses outing, he found it was a tossup which of the attractions the girls enjoyed the most--the city’s zoo or the train.

“They loved the freedom on the train to walk to the snack bar and bathroom,” said Frank, an NBC executive.

“They moved around a lot because they were so excited about not being cramped in a car.” Frank took his family of four on another rail trip a few months later and made more use of the train’s wide seats.

“Instead of worrying about traffic, we played board games and enjoyed the time together as a family,” Frank said.

Many Southern Californians are making the same discovery as the Franks. In a region known for its homage to the automobile, train travel is a welcome change of pace and even an end in itself.

What follows are some suggestions for day or weekend trips by train in Southern California. Climb aboard Amtrak’s San Diegan, which makes eight daily round-trip runs between Los Angeles and San Diego and three daily trips between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara--with more than a dozen stops between the two furthest points.

Once you arrive at any of the destinations highlighted below, you’ll be surprised at the ease with which you can explore nearby attractions without a car, by walking or taking a convenient bus, trolley or shuttle.

Amtrak also sells tour packages that include sightseeing or hotel accommodations for two or more nights. You cannot make reservations for coach service unless there are 15 or more people in your party. Just be sure to arrive at the station in time to buy tickets and walk to the platform.

All coach seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. If Los Angeles is your point of departure, leave a bit more time to look around graceful Union Station, with its soaring beamed ceilings and colorful tiles. You also may want to spend some time a block away at Olvera Street, the open-air Mexican market where merchants sell handicrafts from south of the border.

SANTA BARBARA

Catch the first San Diegan train of the day. It leaves Los Angeles’ Union Station at 8:20 a.m. and arrives in Santa Barbara at 10:55 a.m., allowing most of the day to explore this scenic town. During the trip from Los Angeles, you’ll travel along some of the most beautiful coastal right-of-way in Southern California. Sit on the left side of the train when you’re heading north for the best view of the blue Pacific and the mountainous Channel Islands.

From the Spanish Mission-style Santa Barbara station, the beach is a two-block walk down Chapala Street. At the harbor nearby you can rent motorboats and sailboats, or sign up for a shoreline cruise.

One block east of Chapala Street is Stearns Wharf, a Santa Barbara landmark built in 1872. Walk out the long, wooden-plank pier to discover restaurants, specialty shops and the Sea Center, a small marine museum that features coastal ocean life.

Rent bikes or four-seater “pedalinas” at the foot of Stearns Wharf to head east along ocean-front Cabrillo Boulevard for more attractions. On Sundays, Chase Palm Park east of the wharf becomes a colorful art gallery where you can buy paintings, photographs and crafts.

Farther east on Cabrillo Boulevard at Ninos Drive you’ll find the Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens, home to more than 500 animals, from lions to sea lions. A miniature train circles the grounds. Adjacent to the zoo is the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, a landscaped water lagoon that attracts hundreds of varieties of birds.

To see the Spanish-flavored central part of Santa Barbara, catch one of the trolleys that run up State Street from Stearns Wharf every 90 minutes. A walk through the 12-block area can include stops at the elegant County Courthouse, Historical Society Museum, Museum of Art and any of several specialty shops and outdoor restaurants.

The trolley continues on to the graceful Santa Barbara Mission, completed in 1820, and the nearby Museum of Natural History, which showcases the area’s Chumash Indian heritage.

OXNARD

Southeast of Santa Barbara, the sprawling seaside town of Oxnard remains relatively undiscovered. The city’s 4-year-old red brick Amtrak station anchors a mid-town transportation center where you can catch buses or taxis to the harbor and the nearby town of Ventura.

A few blocks from the station is the 1-year-old Gull Wings Children’s Museum, an activity center filled with hands-on exhibits for kids. Around the corner, the Carnegie Art Museum displays traveling art shows.

At Oxnard’s Channel Islands Harbor, visit Fisherman’s Wharf, a Cape Cod-style village of shops and restaurants. Nearby at Channel Islands Landing, rent a small boat to explore the harbor or go out on a whale-watching trip (January through March only) with Cisco’s Sportfishing.

FULLERTON

Heading south from Los Angeles, the San Diegan makes its first stop at Fullerton, about a half-hour ride. The city’s Amtrak station is located in the renovated Fullerton Santa Fe station, built in 1930. It is the cornerstone of the Fullerton Transportation Center, a pleasant plaza where you can catch buses to other destinations in Orange County.

Next to the station is The Old Spaghetti Factory, a popular family restaurant housed in a former Union Pacific depot. Within walking distance of the station are several other attractions.

Along tree-lined Harbor Boulevard just north of the station, you’ll pass shops, restaurants and art galleries located in historic buildings. One block east on Wilshire Avenue is the Fullerton Museum Center. Housed in the city’s former main library building, the museum features science, history and art exhibits.

Take a bus or taxi from the transportation center to the Fullerton Arboretum at Cal State Fullerton. Walk the flower-lined paths of this 25-acre garden, and tour its restored Victorian mansion.

ANAHEIM

About 10 minutes south of Fullerton the train pulls into Anaheim, where it is a short bus or taxi ride to the area’s best-known attractions: Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm. If you have time, take advantage of one of Amtrak’s two-, three- or four-day packages that includes hotel accommodations, theme park admissions and transfers from the train station.

Disneyland is a 10-minute ride from the Amtrak station on Orange County Transit District bus No. 50; Knott’s Berry Farm involves a transfer from OCTD bus No. 50 to No. 29.

Across the street from the Amtrak station is Anaheim Stadium, home of the Angels and Rams. Take the train to see a game or meet at Gate 1 for a one-hour walking tour of the stadium. Tours are offered daily on the hour during non-event days. On the tour, you’ll see locker rooms, press areas and owners’ suites.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

San Juan Capistrano Depot, with its red-tile roof, is a popular tourist attraction. Built in 1894 as a Santa Fe Railway station, it has been expanded with several permanently placed train cars that house a restaurant and small shops.

Across the street is Mission San Juan Capistrano, built in 1776. The mission contains some of the oldest buildings in California, while the adjacent museum displays Indian and early Spanish artifacts, and offers children’s programs the last Saturday of each month. In March, visit the mission for the Fiesta de Las Golondrinas, a three-week celebration of the swallows’ return from their annual migration to South America.

From the train station, take a short bus (OCTD No. 85) or taxi ride to Doheny State Beach, or stop at the nearby Marine Institute at Dana Point Harbor, a sea-life museum with aquariums, touch tanks and weekend classes. On Saturdays you can ship out aboard the institute’s square-rigged brig Pilgrim, a replica of the ship that brought writer Richard Henry Dana into the harbor in 1834.

OCEANSIDE

Oceanside’s modern Amtrak station is part of the city’s transit center where you’ll find buses and taxis to take you to nearby attractions.

Walk down palm-lined Mission Boulevard a couple of blocks to the beach. This three-mile stretch of sand is one of the few California beaches with fire rings for seaside hot dog and marshmallow roasts. A few blocks north is the Oceanside Municipal Fishing Pier, the longest over-water pier on the West Coast. Shaped like a hammerhead shark, the 1,942-foot pier houses shops and restaurants. Next to the pier, the Beach Amphitheater sets the stage for concerts and shows on weekends.

To explore Oceanside’s Harbor and Marina, take the North County Transit District No. 314 bus from the train station. The attractive small craft harbor has a village with gift shops, a fish market and restaurants. Rent paddle boats or sign up for whale-watching tours (January through March only) at the harbor. Rent a bike and cycle along Harbor Drive to explore more of the area.

SAN DIEGO

Amtrak’s San Diegan line continues south along the sweeping Southern California coastline through rugged Camp Pendleton to San Diego. The city’s Spanish-style former Santa Fe station sits across the street from the harbor and a few blocks from downtown.

Amtrak sells packages including a one-hour harbor cruise, half-day city tour, admission to Sea World and San Diego Zoo and round-trip transfers to and from the station.

Sea World and the zoo are short bus rides from the train station (on San Diego Transit Authority buses Nos. 9 and 7, respectively).

It is possible to sandwich two train rides and a trip to one of the city’s major attractions into one day’s activities. For example, a 6:20 a.m. train from Los Angeles arrives in San Diego at 9:10 a.m. and leaves San Diego as late as 8:45 p.m., arriving in Los Angeles at 11:25 p.m.

Ferries leave from piers only a block away from the train station for one-hour harbor tours or 15-minute cruises to Coronado Island. From the open-air deck of either boat, you’ll have a good view of San Diego’s bustling harbor.

To see other city attractions, buy an all-day pass on the Molly Trolley, a bus that shuttles visitors to points of interest daily between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Ride the trolley to Old Town State Park to learn about early California life, or ride to Balboa Park, a sylvan setting in the middle of the city that is home to 16 museums and several live theaters, as well as the city’s famed zoo.

GUIDEBOOK

A Few Trains to Catch

Train fares and times: Los Angeles-Santa Barbara--$20 for same-day round-trip adult fare (children ages 2-11 travel for 50% off on this and all other fares). Approximate train time, 2 1/2 hours.

Los Angeles-Oxnard--$14 round trip, approximately 2 hours.

Los Angeles-Fullerton--$9 round trip, approximately half an hour.

Los Angeles-Anaheim--$12 round trip, about 45 minutes.

Los Angeles-San Juan Capistrano--$16 round trip, about 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Los Angeles-Oceanside--$20 round trip, about 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Los Angeles-San Diego--$30 round trip, about 3 hours.

For more information: Call (800) USA-RAIL.