Sacramento



Sacramento is the state capital of California in the United States. It is the regional center for the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area, which dominates much of the surrounding Sacramento Valley and stretches into parts of Gold Country.

Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California, settled between the confluences of the Sacramento and American rivers. The city has been the site of many important historic events that have shaped California and U.S. history, most notably the California Gold Rush and location of the original terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Much of this historical legacy has been preserved, especially in the historic Old Sacramento district, where buildings and railroads from that era continue to attract visitors.

However, Sacramento is not a city that is stuck in the past. As the capital of the most populous U.S. state and the country's largest economy, it has emerged as a major metropolitan area since the turn of the millennium. What was once considered a "cow town" surrounded by sleepy suburbs and farmland is transforming into a political and educational hub buzzing with policymakers and institutions from the political, economic, and healthcare sectors. While often overshadowed by the metropolises of Los Angeles and San Francisco, Sacramento has developed its fair share of attractions, shopping and dining options, and nightlife, with a more relaxed pace of life than the other major urban centers of the state.

Sacramento is known among locals as the "City of Trees", and it has a higher density of shade trees than any other major city of the U.S., so walking the city streets sometimes feels like walking through a park. A short drive from the city into the surrounding areas also provides opportunities to experience places of natural beauty such as Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Understand
Sacramento is in the southern Sacramento Valley, the northern half of the vast 450-mile (720 km) long California Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural areas. While the Central Valley is mostly rural, Sacramento and its urban area seemingly arise abruptly from the surrounding farmland, a sight that is particularly notable to those driving from the west on Interstate 80 or from the south on Interstate 5 or Highway 99. Once considered a typical Central Valley backwater with the distinction of hosting the state capitol, Sacramento's growth has skyrocketed since the late 20th century due increased investment from both local and state governments to bring related jobs to the city, which in turn has attracted think tanks and other research-related sectors such as healthcare and food science.

The city has a population of about 520,000 as of 2020 and almost 2.7 million in the metropolitan area. Besides Sacramento County, the metropolitan area also includes the counties of Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter, Yuba, and Nevada.

The pace of life is somewhat slower than in other large Californian cities, and the people are generally warm and friendly. According to Time magazine, Sacramento is the most diverse city in the USA. The city used to be an affordable place, but it suffered from the San Francisco Bay Area's dot com rise and fall, and real estate went from undervalued to overvalued. The market is correcting itself, so property values in most neighborhoods have leveled off while others are dropping to more reasonable valuations.

History
Sacramento was founded in 1839 as New Helvetia (Nueva Helvetia in Spanish) by Swiss pioneer John Sutter, having been granted permission by the Mexican government to develop a rancho settlement to bring European settlement to the Sacramento Valley area. The settlement eventually developed into Sutter's Fort, a key agricultural and trading post for settlers arriving in California after crossing the Sierra Nevada. It remained a farming community until 1848, when gold was discovered in nearby Coloma. This discovery caused Sacramento to experience explosive growth as a boomtown.

With the California Gold Rush bringing in waves of migrants into the city on a seemingly daily basis, the original portion of the city (present-day Old Sacramento) popped up along the shores of the Sacramento and American Rivers. The city became the first incorporated community in the state when a city charter was enacted in 1849, with the town taking on its current name. Devastating floods in 1850, 1852, and 1862 wiped out much of the city. Stronger levees were constructed and the town was raised 15 feet (4.57 meters) to prevent further damage. Remnants of the original ground level of Sacramento can still be accessed via underground tunnels in the old city today.

In 1854, the California State Capitol was moved to Sacramento after brief stints in San Jose, Vallejo, and Benicia. After the catastrophic 1862 flood, it was moved to San Francisco, then the largest city and financial hub for not only California, but the entire West Coast. Nevertheless, a state constitutional convention in 1879 permanently designated Sacramento once again as the state capital.

With its status as state capital solidified, Sacramento continued to grow quickly as gold gave way to agriculture and trade as the state's economic engine. Sacramento's strategic location between the port of San Francisco and Sierra Nevada mountains, where pioneers from the east arrived in California, led to the city being host to national communications and infrastructure projects. The city served as the western terminus for the Pony Express and in 1869, the western terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

The city was a major center of food processing throughout much of the late 19th and 20th centuries, with crops and other products being conveniently brought in from nearby farms. With the rise of the technology industry in the nearby Bay Area in the 1990s, Sacramento and its western suburbs in Yolo County became popular (and much cheaper) locations for a handful of professionals to buy homes. The arrival of these "super-commuters" foreshadowed the abrupt growth that the city and its metropolitan area would experience shortly after.

The California state government's consolidation of offices to be as close to the capital and local city government's efforts to bring in federal agencies led to the first wave of growth as civil servants and their families arrived. Government continues to be largest employment sector, but education, healthcare, and research have also become attracted to the city, as are businesses interested in setting up in California but away from the astronomical prices found in the state's other major cities. Tourism has also started to become a major sector, capitalizing on the city's rich history and central location in scenic Northern California.

Climate
Sacramento has a Mediterranean-type climate with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Being further inland than most of the other major California cities, Sacramento is subject to more temperature variation. Winter high temperatures are commonly in the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit (10–20 °C), and at night the temperature drops below freezing every so often. The summer heat can be intense, with temperatures exceeding 100 °F (37.7 °C) not unusual. Generally speaking, the warmer it gets, the drier it gets, so even the most intense Sacramento heat is easily alleviated by a quick dip in the swimming pool.

Sacramento's hot, dry summers are mitigated by a phenomenon locals call "the delta breeze." Heat waves rarely last more than three to five days, because as hot air builds over California's interior valleys, cold ocean air is sucked inland through the Sacramento river delta, acting as natural air conditioning and dropping the temperature sharply. The delta breeze tends to hit the westernmost areas of Sacramento late in the afternoon and travel east–northeast at ten to fifteen miles per hour, so the hour at which your neighborhood cools depends on your proximity to the river delta or how far west or south you reside.

Most rain falls from around fall to mid-spring and occasionally early summer. Generally speaking, however, you can count on dry and sunny days from the middle of April until at least the middle of October. Winter is known not only for its rain but also for its dense fog, which can hamper driving conditions and reduce visibility to 100 feet (30 m) at times. Snow is rare, but once every 5 to 10 years a light dusting occurs, and some light accumulation away from the city. In the foothills not far east of the city, snow is much more common, and the Tahoe-area ski resorts are within easy reach of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Sacramento's location in the heart of California's agricultural interior gives it a blossom-laden spring as a profusion of fruit trees bloom and flowers fill the grassland. It also experiences a "foliage fall": autumn color without the severe weather that accompanies brilliant color in other parts of the nation.

Severe weather is rare in Sacramento, with the primary concern being heat in summer and local flooding in winter. Occasional summer thunderstorms and even tornadoes can occur, but they are extremely rare. Sacramento is not in a known earthquake zone.

Smoking
Smoking is prohibited by state law at all restaurants and bars, most workplaces (workplaces with five or fewer employees are exempt from the ban as long as all workers consent), and all public buildings. It's also banned within 20 feet (6 m) of any entrance, window, or exit to a public place.

Tourist information
The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau offer maps, brochures and other information.



By plane
Nonstop flights are available with:


 * Terminal A: Air Canada Express, American/American Eagle, Delta/Delta Connection, JetBlue & United/United Express.
 * Terminal B: Aeromexico, Alaska/Horizon Air, Boutique, Contour, Frontier, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, & Volaris.

Taxis from the airport to downtown are estimated at $34 one-way. Bus service to downtown (from Yolobus) runs hourly from 5:30AM to 10:20PM weekdays and 8:20AM to 10:20PM weekends. The fare is $2.25 and the buses do not make change. 42A runs clockwise and 42B runs counterclockwise. Be sure to get on the correct bus: 42A goes to Sacramento, 42B comes from Sacramento and goes to Davis via Woodland. SacRT offers express service to the airport with Route 142 providing service every 30 minutes to and from Downtown Sacramento.

For international flights, you may be better off flying into or connecting from San Francisco International Airport (SFO). From there, take the BART subway to Oakland and then Greyhound, Amtrak or Flixbus to Sacramento.

By train

 * Route stopping in Sacramento:
 * Coast Starlight operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Stops include Tacoma, Lacey, Centralia, Kelso, Vancouver, WA, Portland, Salem, Albany, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank.
 * California Zephyr runs daily from San Francisco (via Emeryville) through Sacramento to Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver, Omaha, and Chicago.
 * Capitol Corridor is a regional train that runs multiple times a day from the Bay Area to Sacramento making major stops in Martinez, Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, Fremont, and San Jose.
 * San Joaquins is a regional train that runs from Sacramento south into the San Joaquin Valley making major stops in Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield.
 * San Joaquins is a regional train that runs from Sacramento south into the San Joaquin Valley making major stops in Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield.

By car
Sacramento sits at the intersection of Interstate 5 (a north-south route) and Interstate 80 (an east-west route). It is also at the western terminus of U.S. Route 50.


 * From the San Francisco Bay Area, take Interstate 80 east. (2 hours from San Francisco and 30 minutes by plane from SFO)
 * From Reno and North Lake Tahoe, take Interstate 80 west. (2 hours from Reno)
 * From South Lake Tahoe, take U.S. Route 50 west. (2 hours)
 * From Redding and the Pacific Northwest, take Interstate 5 south. (2 hours 30 minutes from Redding & 4 hours 30 minutes from the Oregon/California border)
 * From the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, take Interstate 5 or State Route 99 north. (about 6 hours from downtown Los Angeles and 1 hour 15 minutes by plane)

By bus
at 5385 S Franklin Blvd Suite E serves as a ticket agent for several Hispanic intercity bus companies bound for Mexico via San Joaquin Valley, Los Angeles and San Ysidro. The buses are in the next to  and  at Franklin Blvd & Fruitridge Rd with the following:

The following are located in different locations around town:

The following operate as public transportation with commuter and/or local routes into Sacramento from surrounding cities in adjacent counties:

Many nearby cities provide service to Downtown Sacramento, but it's largely limited to weekday rush hours.

Get around
Sacramento is fairly easy to navigate due to the numbered and lettered streets, especially in the central district which is laid out in a grid. Numbered streets run north and south while lettered streets run east and west. South of the city center (bounded by Broadway, Front Street, and Alhambra Boulevard), the streets are named "Avenue" when the lettered streets run out.

By foot
Historic Old Sacramento, the Riverfront, and the California State Railroad Museum are all within an easy 5-minute walk of the train station. The Capitol building is a pleasant 15-minute walk from Old Sacramento. Sacramento has been called the tree city, due to the density of street trees present. This makes for a pleasant walk anyone in Central Sacramento.

By bicycle
The wide, flat, tree-lined streets make cycling a relaxing way to get around Downtown and Midtown Sacramento. Most streets in the grid have bike lanes, and bike routes through the city are clearly marked. Traveling by bike also means avoiding expensive and hard-to-find parking. Additionally, the region is connected with the American River Bike Trail, one of the gems of outdoor recreation for the city. For more information about bike infrastructure and advocacy in Sacramento, check out the SABA website.

While many bike rental options exist in the city, the region officially supports private bike share rentals by Lime bike. Usage is as easy as downloading the app and locating the nearest bike.

By car
For nearly all other getting around, you will want a car.

Public transportation
Sacramento Regional Transit is the major provider of transit service in Sacramento with connections to other inter-urban buses and the surrounding area. Services include:
 * Light rail - there are three lines (Gold, Blue, Green) which share tracks through downtown. Buy a ticket before boarding. Remember to press the button to open the train door, they do not open automatically. The lines radiate out of downtown to Folsom, Elk Grove and Watt/I-80.
 * Buses - Buses serve the City of Sacramento, but generally get weaker the further you are from downtown.

Many other regional agencies provide rapid or express service to downtown, but check the schedule as they are mostly limited to rush hour.

By taxi
Sacramento has about 500 taxis and a taxi meter fare system regulated by the City of Sacramento. The standard taxi fare in Sacramento is $4.00 flag drop, $3.00 each additional mile, and $28.00 per hour of waiting time. Sacramento has 5 major taxi companies: Sacramento Taxi Yellow Cab, Kmm Cab, orange cab, Sitoa, Yellow Cab Sacramento. Taxis are waiting at the train station, hotels and major attractions. It's decently easy to hail a cab downtown, but for all other locations, you'll want to call in advance.

See




Old Sacramento
Once the original, thriving riverfront pioneer town, Old Sacramento is now primarily a living historic district and tourist destination. The boardwalk style sidewalks and horse-drawn stagecoaches give this small section of town a unique Western flavor. Old Sacramento contains several museums, restaurants, and the usual assortment of souvenir shops and ice cream parlors, all within walking distance of each other. Attractions in the Old Town area also include the Delta King Riverboat, a working hotel with restaurant. The California State Railroad Museum's Sacramento Southern Railroad is a private line extension providing riverside rides on a steam locomotive that departs from the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot, carriage rides as well as annual city event and functions. Best of all, it's a five-minute walk from the Amtrak station. It's best visited in the morning and early evenings, especially during the hot summers. Parking can be scarce, so be sure to utilize the reasonably priced parking structures in the K Street Mall. There's a nice, short, safe walkway between K Street Mall and Old Sacramento.

For fine dining, the Firehouse Restaurant is an old and well-established city favorite known for its food and ambiance. Also of note is the Pilothouse Restaurant aboard the Delta King Riverboat with its grand staircase, river views and fine food. A newer selection for fine dining is Ten22. Locally owned Frank Fat's Fat City Bar & Cafe is one several eateries in the mid- to high-end pricing, but a family can also find the Round Table Pizza buffet with salad bar for an affordable price while visiting. Locals and tourist enjoy Fanny Ann's Saloon and restaurant for the rustic interior with mid-range pricing.



Learn

 * Los Rios Community College District is the regions major two-year public college system enrolling 73,000 students with four campuses in the surrounding area. Its campuses include Sacramento City College, American River College, Cosumnes River College, and Folsom Lake College along with five satellite centers.
 * Los Rios Community College District is the regions major two-year public college system enrolling 73,000 students with four campuses in the surrounding area. Its campuses include Sacramento City College, American River College, Cosumnes River College, and Folsom Lake College along with five satellite centers.
 * Los Rios Community College District is the regions major two-year public college system enrolling 73,000 students with four campuses in the surrounding area. Its campuses include Sacramento City College, American River College, Cosumnes River College, and Folsom Lake College along with five satellite centers.

Work
As the capital of California, many state agencies are located in Sacramento. The State of California continues to be the largest employer in the Sacramento region.

Eat
The diversity of Sacramento is not only reflected in its various neighborhoods but also in the food choices you can find here. The places in the central district tend to be more trendy and hip while food establishments in their respective neighborhoods reflect the tastes of their residents. Finding unique fare in suburban Sacramento, northeast of the city limits, can be difficult as many of the establishments are dominated by national or large regional chains.

Drink
Nightlife in Sacramento is vibrant if you know where to look. Stay in Downtown or Midtown. This is where most tourists are anyway. The upscale clubs and lounges tend to be on or near J Street. Directly across from the Capitol grounds is the Park which is the premiere Sacramento nightclub. The dress code and cover charges tend to be stiff.

Just around the corner is the Capitol Garage which typically has guest DJs on Saturday and a $5 cover in a laid back atmosphere.

Nearby is the Crest Theater, an independent historic movie theater that boasts art deco design. In the summer you can catch the French Film Festival here as well as the Trash Film Orgy, an all-night spectacle of old B movie flicks where locals gather in their cheesiest costumes.

On most days of the year, however, the Crest is the place to catch foreign and independent films as well as traveling stand-up comedy and music acts. On 16th and R Street. you'll find the popular bar R15. This is a trendy bar/restaurant (Cafe Bernardo is attached) that has an urban industrial feel. Despite being trendy the prices are very affordable with $2 Pabst on tap and $1 pool tables. They also boast couches and big screens where you can play Xbox for free with a couple of friends.

R Street corridor offers Shady Lady Saloon, R15 Bar, and restaurants.

Another popular club is Mix Downtown with stiff cover charges and dress code as well, but Mix attracts an older crowd than District 30 and less pretentious crowd than the Park. On 10th and S Street, you'll find the popular indie-rock venue Old Ironsides. Local and traveling indie-rock talent showcase their music here. Every Tuesday you can catch Lipstick, a popular indie-rock dance party where you'll find mostly hip Midtown locals. Every first Saturday of the month you can catch After Dark which is like Lipstick only on a Saturday so it attracts a more varied metropolitan crowd.

The Press Club on 21st and P Street is popular with the college crowd with its $5 cover charges and cheap $3 24 oz. of Pabst. It's known for playing 1980s dance music and the best nights to go are Wednesdays or Thursdays as it is a small club and, on weekends, gets unbearably overcrowded.



Sleep
Visitors to Sacramento should be aware that hotels in the downtown area charge more on weekday and major event stays than weekends as a lot of business travelers come during the weekdays close to the central business district.

Internet
All branches of the Sacramento Public Library system offer free internet access, via public terminals and wireless. The most centrally located branch is the large Central Library located at 9th and I Streets but there are branch libraries in every part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Only the Central Library and the regional Carmichael Library are open on Sundays.

Telephones
916 is the area code for most of the Sacramento metropolitan area with 530 used in outlying areas.

Stay safe
Downtown has a lot of one-way streets which can be confusing and are not always well marked so look at the direction in which cars are parked.

Sacramento is generally a safe place to visit. As with any other urban area, no matter where you are, stay safe. Be aware of your surroundings, lock your car doors, don't carry a large amount of cash, and don't wear flashy clothing or jewelry.

As with other large metropolitan areas, there are neighborhoods that deserve more caution than others at night. Be cautious while in the following areas:


 * South Sacramento Area—especially at night. It has been cleaned up but there are still rough patches especially around Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Fruitridge Road, Franklin Boulevard, Mack Road, and Meadowview Road.
 * North Highlands—at night, prostitutes are usually strolling Watt Avenue between Roseville Road and I-80. The motels at Longview Drive and I-80 are some of the worst in the north Sacramento area. Avoid them if at all possible.
 * Del Paso Heights used to be of the worst crime infested areas in the Sacramento Region, but has attracted numerous galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Stay safe, but there's no reason to avoid it.

Consulates

 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Go next
Part of the beauty of Sacramento is its central location. It's sometimes possible to go skiing in the morning and surfing in the afternoon. All within a couple hours by car:


 * Several eastern suburbs of Sacramento are part of Gold Country, a concentration of numerous small towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills that were the site of the California Gold Rush, with Coloma being the site of the original gold discovery.
 * Truckee and Donner Pass, about 100 miles east of Sacramento on I-80. Be prepared in wintertime, as the elevation is over 7,000 ft. This also includes Reno/Tahoe (below), which are further east via I-80.
 * Lake Tahoe, a gorgeous lake on the Nevada border, popular for outdoor activities year-round (skiing and snowboarding in winter, swimming and hiking in summer).
 * Reno, a little bit o' gambling just over the border in Nevada. Accessible by Amtrak, Greyhound, or Flixbus.
 * San Francisco, the cultural and financial center of Northern California, is approximately 85 miles to the west. An approximately 2 hour drive on Interstate 80 without traffic. It is also accessible by Amtrak, Greyhound, or Flixbus. Those with the money to spare or an aversion to driving can also take one of the handful of daily flights to the city (30 minute flight time, although the actual trip will probably be just as long as driving time given check-in and security checks).
 * Napa Valley and the California Wine Country, gorgeous landscape and the most famous wine-tasting in the States.
 * Napa Valley and the California Wine Country, gorgeous landscape and the most famous wine-tasting in the States.