Making Travel Plans in 2020: Whitefish, Montana by Rail [Follow Up]

I wanted to give a follow-up to the Making Travel Plans in 2020 post I made in September. Specifically, our trip to Whitefish, Montana by Rail and give some more info while I’m at it.

First off, I’m excited to say that we’re going to make it happen!

Whitefish, Montana by Rail

Today is the day we’re departing from Portland to Whitefish, Montana by rail with two of our closest friends. Two great friends who have helped us carry through the bitterness of this COVID pandemic. So, we’re going to visit Whitefish where our friend’s sister lives. It’ll be so nice to have someone there to guide us around and make being in a new location so much more prepared.

As anyone knows, making travel plans in 2020 is tough. Especially going to a place that is going to be covered in snow and won’t be the easiest to get around.

Thankfully, we’re already set with our transportation to Whitefish, our lodging for the long weekend, and even potentially a vehicle to get around in while we’re there.

Getting to Whitefish, Montana

We’re departing later today on a train and our great friend Zach, who we’ve already been close with during this pandemic, is going to give the four of us and our gear a ride to the train station.

Amtrak Empire Builder

At 4:45 pm, we depart on the Amtrak Empire Builder train from Portland direct to Whitefish. If all goes according to plan, we’ll arrive at the Whitefish train station at 7:25 am. So, we’ll be on the train for roughly 15 hours. Thankfully, we booked ourselves in the sleeper cars! We booked two roomettes that were discounted close to half using some companion passes that I received with my Bank of America Amtrak Mastercard.

Arriving in Whitefish

Other than being tired since it’ll be 6:25 am our time, getting into Whitefish will hopefully go smooth. We’ll be picked up by our friend’s sister (who, like us, have been socially distancing to prepare) and set up in her place to get settled in until our room opens up at our Baker Loft through Whitefish Escapes for the next five days.

I’m so excited to be doing some sort of getting around again since pretty much January. So, glad that making plans in 2020 worked out for us! Feels so nice to be packing for a trip and going away for longer than a few days.

What do you think about Whitefish, Montana, trains, traveling, or this post in general! Please share in the comments below!

-Jason