Sunset Limited With Kids: All 22 Stops, Desert Views and Kids Tickets
Yes, the Sunset Limited works for families, but it isn't a daily train, so pick your dates before anything else. It runs three days a week each way between New Orleans and Los Angeles, about 46 hours, through Louisiana bayou country, across Texas and over the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona. Below are all 22 stops, what kids can look for, which days the train runs, and how child fares and sleepers work. Times come from Amtrak's current westbound timetable for Train 1.
The short version
- Three trains a week each way; westbound leaves New Orleans at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- About 1,995 miles and roughly 46 hours, crossing three time zones, so set one watch to train time.
- Kids 2 to 12 get 50 percent off the rail fare; sleeper rooms are priced per room, not per child.
- The best daylight stretch for kids is Alpine to El Paso on the second morning.
- It's the oldest continuously operating named train in the United States, dating to 1894.
- Superliner cars on two levels, with a Sightseer Lounge for the desert and Family Bedrooms in the sleepers.
Sunset Limited at a glance
- Runs between
- New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and Los Angeles Union Station
- States
- Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California
- Distance
- about 1,995 miles
- End to end
- about 46 hours
- Trains
- three per week each way (Trains 1 and 2)
- Train cars
- Superliner double-decker cars
- Four-seat tables
- Not in coach; tables in the Sightseer Lounge and dining car
- Upstairs seating
- Yes, coach seats on upper and lower levels
- Quiet Car
- None listed; quiet hours usually start at 10 p.m.
- Food
- Dining car (meals included with sleepers) and Cafe
- Sleeper rooms
- Roomette, Bedroom, Bedroom Suite, Family Bedroom, Accessible Bedroom
- Checked bags
- Yes, between stations that offer it (not Lake Charles)
Look inside the book
Up before the sun, just like Rally: the Sunset Limited ends early.
A five-minute picture book makes a good bedtime read in a Superliner bunk. Sample a few spreads of Rally Takes the Train below.
Rally Takes the Train
Eight pages from the book
Turn the page
That's 8 of 25 pages
See who’s waiting at the station
Grandmommy and Papa are at the last stop. Get the full hand-painted book, $13.99 on Amazon.
See the full bookPage 1 of 8
Like it so far? See the full book
25 hand-painted pages, paperback, $13.99 with fast shipping from Amazon.
Every page is real watercolor on paper, painted by hand by Leslie Dunn. Nothing in this book was made with AI.
Do kids need a ticket on the Sunset Limited?
As on every Amtrak train, kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult fare when they ride with an adult 18 or older on the same reservation. A baby under 2 rides free on a paying adult’s lap, one per adult. Sleeper charges are per room and aren’t discounted for kids.
What’s different about booking this line:
- Pick the day first. There are only three departures a week in each direction, and westbound leaves New Orleans on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings. If a Family Bedroom is sold out on your day, the next train is two or three days later, so book early once you know your dates.
- Where will everyone sleep? Amtrak includes the Superliner Family Bedroom in this train’s room list. It holds two adults and two kids 2 to 12, and it shares the car’s restroom and shower. Meals are included.
- Coming from Chicago? Three times a week a sleeper and a coach from the Texas Eagle are added to this train at San Antonio and ride through to Los Angeles, so one ticket can cover Chicago to the West Coast.
- Some stops are bare platforms. Lake Charles has no ticket office or checked baggage, and Benson has an open-air shelter with no restrooms. Buy tickets in the app, and do the potty run on board before those stops.
Free for train families
A free activity book made for the Sunset Limited
Print it the night before. Kids color in each of the 22 stops as the train pulls in, check off things to spot out the window, play window bingo and finish with an “I rode the Sunset Limited” certificate.
Get the free Sunset Limited activity bookEvery Sunset Limited stop, from New Orleans to Los Angeles
The Sunset Limited makes 22 stops between New Orleans and Los Angeles, and every one is served on all three weekly trips. Between San Antonio and Los Angeles the train also carries the Texas Eagle’s through cars from Chicago.
Louisiana- New Orleans Union Passenger TerminalLook for: Give yourself ten minutes in the 1954 waiting hall to show the kids its fresco murals. They cover 2,166 square feet and tell the story of Louisiana, and the Rampart-Loyola streetcar stops outside.
- Schriever
- New IberiaLook for: A red brick depot from 1900. Tabasco hot sauce was born on nearby Avery Island, a fun fact for any kid who likes spicy food.
- LafayetteLook for: The brick depot from about 1911 was badly burned in 2001, then rebuilt with its original walls and canopy. It reopened in 2007 as the Rosa Parks Transportation Center.
- Lake Charles
- Beaumont
- HoustonLook for: The 1960 station has tall windows at each end of a bright waiting room. Let kids read the wall panels about the history of trains in Houston while you wait.
- San Antonio
- Del RioLook for: Tell kids the river here is the Rio Grande, and the city on the other side is Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, Del Rio’s sister city, linked by a bridge.
- Sanderson
- AlpineLook for: Look for the 1946 Spanish Mission style depot. Alpine is the “Gateway to Big Bend National Park,” a park of more than 800,000 acres.
- El Paso Union DepotLook for: Point out the tall tower on this 1906 depot by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. It was called America’s first international rail station, with trains from Ciudad Juárez across the Rio Grande.
- Deming
- Lordsburg
- BensonLook for: A replica of the old depot is now the town visitor center. Nearby Kartchner Caverns was found in 1974 and kept secret for four years to protect it. That’s a good story for the next stretch of desert.
- TucsonLook for: Southern Pacific steam engine No. 1673 is on display by the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum in the depot. It was a star of the 1954 movie Oklahoma!
- Maricopa
- YumaLook for: Yuma grew up at a good place to cross the Colorado River. The Yuma Territorial Prison, opened in 1876, is now a museum.
- Palm Springs
- Ontario
- Pomona
- Los Angeles Union Station
What kids can see from the Sunset Limited
What you see depends on the direction
Westbound, day one is Louisiana and east Texas in daylight: New Orleans at 9:00 a.m., the Cajun country stops around noon, and Houston at 6:55 p.m. Central Texas passes in the night, while everyone sleeps.
Day two brings far west Texas after sunrise, with Sanderson at 8:27 a.m., Alpine at 10:41 a.m. and El Paso at 1:50 p.m., then New Mexico in the afternoon. That’s the morning to have breakfast done early and faces at the window.
West Texas from the window
A 2026 Houstonia story described the stretch from Alpine to El Paso as desert flats, suddenly rising mountains, long valleys and high plateaus. The writer also saw roaming deer and longhorns, and her first dust devil.
Turn that into a lookout list for the kids: a deer, a longhorn, a dust devil and a mountain that looks like a table. First one to spot all four picks the next snack.
Three time zones
The train starts on Central time, switches to Mountain time at El Paso, and ends on Pacific time. If your kids live by the clock for meals and naps, set one watch to train time, and remember that the timetable always shows local time.
A train older than the car
The Sunset Limited began in November 1894, first called the Sunset Express, and it’s the oldest continuously operating named train in the United States. Since 1981 it has run combined with the Texas Eagle’s through cars west of San Antonio. On April 1, 2026, Amtrak moved it onto a 5-mile Union Pacific segment near Avondale, Louisiana, under a new track agreement.
Where to sit with kids on the Sunset Limited
The Sunset Limited uses Superliner cars with two levels and stairs in between. Coach seats are on both floors, two across on each side with no middle seat. Upstairs gives kids a higher view of the desert, and the 2026 Houstonia story found the downstairs rooms bumpier and recommends booking upstairs.
You won’t find four-seat tables in Sunset Limited coaches. For a table to spread out on, use the Sightseer Lounge, which Amtrak built for watching the landscape, or the dining car, where meals are served at shared booth tables. Seasonal National Park guides sometimes ride and talk about the scenery.
Wondering how sleeping works? A Roomette is a two-person cabin with seats that turn into a bed, plus an upper berth. The Family Bedroom fits two adults and two kids and spans the width of the car. Your choices are coach or a sleeper; there’s no Business Class.
No seats side by side on the Sunset Limited?
Booking all of you on one reservation is step one; where Amtrak assigns seats, a shared booking gets neighboring seats when the train has room. Still, a coach ticket here covers a seat for each traveler, not a specific one. New Orleans is a busy station, and parents with babies and preschoolers are often let on first, so be ready well before 9:00 a.m. Tell the car attendant your number and the kids’ ages in one breath.
Climbing aboard later, at Houston in the evening or a bare platform like Lake Charles? Scan both floors of your coach, then the next coach, for an empty pair. A pillow or tote on a seat doesn’t make it taken, since every ticket covers one seat, and the attendant can have the owner shift it. Settle into two seats a row apart until something better turns up.
To get a stranger to swap, ask before quiet hours start around 10 p.m., give your reason in a few words, and offer upstairs for upstairs, window for window. Don’t nudge anybody from a window toward a worse seat; a polite no ends the conversation. The crew won’t move a seated rider for you. And a young child always sits within reach of a grown-up.
The best first Sunset Limited ride with kids
Not ready for two nights? Three short westbound pieces work with kids:
- New Orleans to New Iberia, about 3 hours. Leave at 9:00 a.m. and arrive at 11:56 a.m., or stay on to Lafayette at 12:24 p.m. You get bayou country and sugar cane land in daylight, and you’re off by lunch.
- Lafayette to Lake Charles, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Board at 12:24 p.m. and arrive at 1:55 p.m. It’s a short afternoon hop that ends before nap time runs out.
- Alpine to El Paso, about 4 hours. Board at 10:41 a.m. Central time and arrive at 1:50 p.m. Mountain time. This is the big desert stretch, and El Paso’s 1906 depot is a fine place to get off.
Eastbound Train 2 runs on different days and times, so check the app before you plan.
Food, bathrooms and naps on the Sunset Limited
What will everyone eat? The Sunset Limited has a dining car and a Cafe. Sleeping car meals are included, and Amtrak lists kids’ selections on the dining car menu. Westbound, meals run lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
One recent rider described dinners of fried shrimp and flat-iron steak and breakfasts of omelets and French toast. Coach and sleeper riders alike can buy meals, snacks and drinks in the Cafe, but coach families should still pack enough food for two days. Slip some free Rally printables into the food bag for after lunch.
We couldn’t confirm changing tables on this train, so a travel pad is worth the space. Each coach car has its own restrooms, which matters because some stops, like Benson, have no station restrooms at all. In sleepers, the shared bathrooms are about the size of an airplane restroom and include small showers, so bring flip-flops and a quick-dry towel for the kids.
Quiet hours usually start around 10 p.m. That makes a handy bedtime target, even if your kids are used to something earlier.
A train book for the ride
Rally Takes the Train starts with an early wake-up on the morning of the trip. Westbound, the Sunset Limited pulls into Los Angeles at 5:35 a.m., so your last morning on board is Rally’s first page all over again: wake the kids early, pack up, and get ready to step off.
Read that page the night before arrival so the early alarm feels like part of the story. Then print the free Rally activity pack for the desert day.
An early-morning book for an early arrivalRally wakes up early, rides the train and finds his grand-paw-rents waiting. Rally Takes the Train is a short watercolor rhyme for ages 0 to 8, $13.99 on Amazon.
Buy on Amazon
More for train families
- Every Amtrak route with kids: find another train by city or station
- The complete guide to Amtrak with kids: tickets, car seats, changing tables, family tables and what to pack by age
- Free Rally activity pack and coloring pages to print before your trip
- Texas Eagle with kids
- Southwest Chief with kids
- Pacific Surfliner with kids
- Mardi Gras Service with kids
Sources
- Amtrak: Sunset Limited
- Amtrak: Sunset Limited timetable
- Amtrak Media: Union Pacific track agreement for the Sunset Limited (April 2026)
- Wikipedia: Sunset Limited
- Houstonia: Riding the Sunset Limited (2026)
- Great American Stations: New Orleans, LA
- Great American Stations: Lake Charles, LA
- Great American Stations: Alpine, TX
- Great American Stations: El Paso, TX
- Great American Stations: Benson, AZ
- Great American Stations: Tucson, AZ
- Amtrak: Family Room
- Amtrak: Discounts for children
- Amtrak: Traditional Dining
Checked against Amtrak and partner railroad pages in October 2026. Schedules and policies change, so confirm on amtrak.com before you ride.
Sunset Limited with kids: questions parents ask
Do kids need a ticket on the Sunset Limited?
Yes, anyone 2 or older. On the Sunset Limited, a 2 to 12 year old’s rail fare is half of yours, as long as you’re 18 or older and on their reservation. A Roomette or Family Bedroom, though, is priced by the room and doesn’t get cheaper for kids. With only three departures a week each way, book the kids’ seats or your room as soon as your dates are set.
Do babies ride free on the Sunset Limited?
Under 2, a baby can ride free in the arms of an adult with an adult ticket, one baby each. One adult with two babies, or a baby who gets a ticketed seat, means paying the child fare. Borrowing an empty seat for a lap baby is fine only if no paying customer is waiting for it, so on a 46-hour ride from New Orleans to Los Angeles, don’t count on a spare seat for two nights.
Do I need a car seat on the Sunset Limited?
Not on the train. Amtrak seats offer no way to fasten a car seat, and yours may sit in an open spot only until a paying rider needs it. Bring one if you’re driving at the other end, like a rental car from Alpine toward Big Bend National Park, which covers more than 800,000 acres. It replaces one regular bag, free up to 50 lbs.
Where can I change a diaper on the Sunset Limited?
We couldn’t confirm whether the Sunset Limited has changing tables. With no official Amtrak policy on diaper changes, it’s hit or miss. Pack a fold-up mat and use the wider accessible restroom when you need the room. In a Roomette or Family Bedroom, the pad on a seat gives you a private spot, which helps on a train with two nights and three time zones.
What are the bathrooms like on the Sunset Limited?
Each coach car has its own restrooms, with an occupied light outside. Go with young kids, hold the rail on the Superliner stairs, and tell them early: that flush roars. In the sleepers, shared bathrooms are about the size of an airplane restroom and include small showers. Do potty runs on board, because the Benson stop has an open-air shelter with no restrooms.
Can I bring a stroller on the Sunset Limited?
Yes. Families with a baby under 2 may add one more infant item, a stroller or a diaper bag, past the usual 2 carry-ons and 1 personal item. Checking a folding stroller costs nothing at stops that take baggage, but Lake Charles isn’t one of them. Jogging and double strollers might have to go in checked baggage. Fold yours before the Superliner stairs.
Can I breastfeed on the Sunset Limited?
Yes. Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California all protect breastfeeding in public, like every other state. For bottles, Amtrak’s tip is to ask the dining car crew to help you get one ready. Keep feeding times on one watch set to train time, because the clock jumps from Central to Mountain to Pacific time on the way west.
What food does the Sunset Limited have for kids?
There’s a dining car with kids’ selections and a Cafe. Room fares cover dining car meals, and westbound they run lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch and dinner. One recent rider had fried shrimp and flat-iron steak at dinner and omelets and French toast at breakfast. Coach families can buy snacks and meals in the Cafe, but pack enough food from home for two days.
How do I keep kids entertained on the Sunset Limited?
Turn the desert into a lookout game. Between Alpine and El Paso, a 2026 Houstonia writer saw deer, longhorns and her first dust devil, so make a list and see who spots each one first. Day one westbound gives you Louisiana bayou country in daylight. Print the free printable coloring pages, and take turns in the Sightseer Lounge.
Where should we sit on the Sunset Limited?
Coach seats are in pairs on both Superliner levels, with no middle seat; three or four of you will fill two pairs. Upstairs gives a higher desert view, and a 2026 Houstonia story found the downstairs rooms bumpier and suggested booking upstairs. For a table, leave coach for the Sightseer Lounge or dining car. There’s no Business Class on this train.
No two seats together on the Sunset Limited: what now?
Sit a row apart for now, with each young child glued to a grown-up’s side. Then check upstairs and downstairs in your coach, plus the next coach, for an empty pair. A seat with only a pillow or tote on it isn’t really taken, because every ticket covers one seat. If you board at a bare platform like Lake Charles, with no ticket office, go straight to the car attendant for help.
Is it OK to ask the Sunset Limited conductor for seats together?
Catch the crew early: the car attendant at the coach door, or the conductor while scanning tickets. Say something like “Two of us, with a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old,” and ask whether another car has empty seats. They can send you to it and get bags cleared off seats. Ordering someone out of a seat is off the table, and a lap baby borrowing an empty seat may lose it to a paying rider.
Is there a Quiet Car on the Sunset Limited?
Amtrak doesn’t list a Quiet Car, but quiet hours usually start around 10 p.m., which makes a handy bedtime target. During the day, use headphones for anything with sound. On the first night westbound, the train leaves Houston at 6:55 p.m. and crosses central Texas in the dark, so get pajamas on early and let the car settle down with you.
What should I pack for kids on the Sunset Limited?
Flip-flops and a quick-dry towel for the small showers, food for two days, extra diapers and wipes, and a cozy layer for night. Set one watch to train time so naps and meals don’t drift across three time zones. Load shows at home, bring headphones, and print the pack-the-suitcase page so kids can pack too. Keep tickets in the app, too, since Lake Charles has no ticket office.
Where do kids sleep on the Sunset Limited?
In coach, kids sleep in the reclining seat beside you. A Roomette is a two-person cabin whose seats turn into a bed, plus an upper berth. The Family Bedroom on this Superliner train is built for two parents and two kids ages 2 to 12: four beds, two high and two low, big windows and meals included. Sleepers share the car’s restrooms and small showers.
What is the best first ride on the Sunset Limited with kids?
Lafayette to Lake Charles: board at 12:24 p.m. and arrive at 1:55 p.m., about an hour and a half. For a longer try, ride New Orleans to New Iberia, 9:00 a.m. to 11:56 a.m. We’d skip Houston to San Antonio with little kids, because it leaves at 6:55 p.m. and arrives at 2:45 a.m. Remember the train runs only three days a week.
Can my child ride the Sunset Limited alone?
Not if they’re 12 or under. Teens 13 to 15 face strict Amtrak rules for riding unaccompanied: booking happens over the phone with Amtrak (1-800-USA-RAIL), travel is daytime only with staff at both stations, there are no transfers, and the teen pays an adult fare. Bare stops like Lake Charles, with no ticket office, or Benson’s open-air shelter may not qualify, so ask when you call. Teens 16 and 17 can go alone.
How early should we get to New Orleans for the Sunset Limited?
Plan on about 30 minutes before the 9:00 a.m. westbound departure, a bit more with a stroller. New Orleans is a busy station, and families with small children are often waved aboard first. Use any spare minutes to show kids the fresco murals in the 1954 waiting hall, which tell the story of Louisiana. The Rampart-Loyola streetcar stops outside, a fun way to arrive.
What if my child gets scared on the Sunset Limited?
Talk about the horn before you board, because it’s loud, and practice with Rally’s tunnel page in the book. Some kids get rattled by bumps; one 2026 rider found the downstairs rooms bumpier, so upstairs may feel calmer. A small light and a familiar blanket help in the dark desert night. At the 5:35 a.m. Los Angeles arrival, wait for the aisle to clear.
Is the Sunset Limited safe for kids?
Use the same rules at every stop: hands held on the platform, feet behind the painted line, no wandering at a quick stop. Inside the car, shoes go on, kids sit or keep a grip while the train rolls, and the Superliner stairs are a two-person job. Walking through to the Sightseer Lounge, keep hands linked between cars. If you step off anywhere, ask your car attendant first how long you have.
What if the Sunset Limited is delayed with kids?
Look up your train on the Amtrak app and read travel advisories before leaving, and toss in an extra day of snacks, diapers and Rally tracing and counting pages. Because the train runs only three days a week, leave slack in hotel and rental car plans at the other end. Remember the timetable shows local time, so a late arrival in El Paso is on Mountain time, not the Central time you started on.
What days does the Sunset Limited run?
Three days a week each way. Westbound Train 1 leaves New Orleans at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and reaches Los Angeles at 5:35 a.m. two days later. Eastbound Train 2 keeps its own days, so check the app. Amtrak resubmitted daily-service studies to the Federal Railroad Administration in December 2025, but as of October 2026 it’s still three a week.