3 Sights You Miss If You Take The Longest Train Route In The U.S.

Journeying across the U.S. by train is a special experience that provides passengers with an up-close view of the varying landscapes and features dotting the country. Boasting the lengthiest rail route across America, the California Zephyr offers a trip that spans across nearly 2,500 miles. It starts near the southern portion of Lake Michigan, in the windy city of Chicago — where you can see one of the few remaining auto shows still worth your time. The end-of-the-line stops on the shores of a massive bay overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Spanning seven states, with multiple stops in each, and navigating over both the Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, the California Zephyr provides plenty of amazing photo opportunities.

However, the train does miss out on some unique places that may interest automotive enthusiasts. While the California Zephyr may not offer a stop at these locales, a road trip behind the wheel of a car would. What sort of sights might you be missing on the rail? How about a prehistoric monument reconstructed to scale with old cars? Or the experience of driving your own car to the summit of a 14,000+ foot peak, which is also the site of one of the world's most challenging motorsports events? And what about stepping foot in one of the most unusual and otherworldly landscapes on Earth, which is also been the site of many land speed records?

You've likely heard of England's Stonehenge site, which is a collection of massive stones carved and arranged thousands of years ago. The deliberate and careful circular arrangements have fascinated archeologists and visitors alike, showcasing the engineering ability of earlier civilizations, completed with nothing but basic tools.

Enter Jim Reinders, creator of Carhenge. With the question of why he decided to recreate such a historical site in Nebraska, he simply thinks, "Why not?" according to Carhenge.com. Except, instead of stones, Reinders used old cars and trucks, crafting a scaled replica in the rural plains of Nebraska. While the Stonehenge bit is the main attraction, there are some other art pieces on display that also utilize old cars. One visitor on Tripadvisor wrote, "Such a strange idea, and yet so much fun for photo opportunities."

Unfortunately, in the case of the California Zephyr, its route travels well south of Alliance, Nebraska (where Carhenge is located). The closest stop is McCook, NE, but it's nearly a four hour drive to Carhenge from there. While it might not be everyone's type of sightseeing, those who visit can at least get an interesting photo and story out of it.

The Colorado Rocky Mountains offer a total of 58 peaks greater than 14,000 feet. If you have the skills and physical fortitude, you can climb to the summit of each one. But if panoramic views at high altitude are something you're after, why not drive to the top? Technically, Mount Evans (now Mount Blue Sky) at 14,268 feet in Colorado is the highest peak you can drive to in the U.S. But, for fans of motorsports, the slightly shorter Pikes Peak at 14,109 feet might be a better option. With a jaw-dropping 19-mile stretch of road to the summit, you can navigate an extended series of switchbacks, some with serious drops past the shoulder. While the California Zephyr train does stop in Denver, the mountain is still a few hours away by car from there.

After reaching the top, you might have a greater appreciation for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb — a motorsports event that's over a century old, dubbed "The Race to the Clouds." According to Guinness World Records, Frenchman Romain Dumas was able to complete the course in a high-performance electric Volkswagen and get up to the summit in just under eight minutes. Notably, an average speed exceeding 90 mph was required to make this time, which is incredible considering the elevation increase and 156 turns involved. (Cars aren't the only vehicles speeding up the mountain; check out the fastest Pikes Peak motorcycles of all time.)

One of the most bizarre landscapes you'll get a glimpse of on the California Zephyr is west of Salt Lake City, Utah. Unfortunately, the train doesn't stop anywhere near it. The Bonneville Salt Flats are a 30,000-acre expanse of land that stretches into the horizon, creating striking visual illusions. As the name implies, sodium chloride covers a large section of the flats, almost appearing like snow from some angles. A massive lake originally covered the entire area, and it was apparently equivalent to Lake Michigan in terms of size.

Among the automotive community, though, this area is more known as a place where land speed records are attempted and broken. For example, a bagger racing champion destroyed a 58-year-old land speed record on an Indian Challenger, approaching 200 mph. One of the reasons this spot might be a better experience during a road trip is that you can cruise on the flats yourself — and not just cruise, but open the throttle all the way, seeing how far your ride can get into the triple digits safely. There aren't any speed limits and there's plenty of space, so it's a popular place for performance junkies to test the capabilities of their cars.