Wild West meets NEW WAVE
GOLD RUSH HISTORY MEETS TRAIN LORE, LOLLIPOPS AND UNDERGROUND TOURS IN OLD SACRAMENTO. PLUS THERE’S MURDEROUS FUN ABOARD THE DELTA KING.
Just off Highway 5, as you curve down the J Street offramp and let Sacramento’s shiny skyscrapers shrink in the rearview mirror, there’s a land that time remembered and turned into a prime tourist destination: Old Sacramento.
Take a walk on the Wild West side of town, where Gold Rush miners once mingled with merchants and madams. The 28-acre district on the edge of the Sacramento River was the last stop on the Pony Express route and the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Today that past lives on in this State Historic Park with its wood-planked sidewalks and 53 original mid-1800s buildings, restored decades ago and now occupied by museums and restaurants, such as Joe’s Crab Shack and the Fat City Bar & Cafe (try the mushroom quiche), as well as shops with saltwater taffy and novelty T-shirts.
On weekends and summer days, there are horse-drawn carriage rides and street performers dressed in period garb and strumming guitars or dangling handmade marionettes. Stop in at the River City Saloon for a sweet sarsaparilla (25 cents for the first glass, $2.50 for more). Swing by the California State Railroad Museum. Or head underground to tour a hidden world of buried buildings and alleyways. And every Labor Day weekend, the park’s Gold Rush Days turn back time with wagon rides, Pony Express re-creations, gunfights and interactions with living history characters.
The district is not quite as vibrant as it was a few years back — there are some empty storefronts and a bit of construction right now — but that means it’s a bit less crowded, too. It’s a great place for a family outing. An extra fun way to get there from the Bay Area is by Amtrak, which lets passengers off at the Sacramento Valley Station, just a short walk from the historic district. Plus, a relaxing, rumbling train ride — even on a modern conveyance — will get you in the right frame of mind.
Here are just a few must-sees in Old Town.
Old Sacramento Underground Tours
Back in the day, the original streets of Old Sacramento were often devastated by floods. In the 1860s, somebody got the bright idea to raise the buildings and streets to their current level — and place them right on top of the old.
Much of the old is still there. So take a tour ($10-$15) and dip down past the past to see long-buried windows and doorways, forgotten alleys and retaining walls, and hear wild stories from costumed docents.
The museum staff also does an after-hours tour ($20) for the over-21 crowd, which includes a commemorative glass to use at the saloon afterward.
Regular underground tours are offered from late March through December; after-hours tours run from May through October. Reservations are recommended. Tours leave from the Sacramento History Museum, 101 I St.; www.sachistorymuseum.org/tours.
Sacramento History Museum
Explore the history and stories of the area’s first inhabitants, the pioneers who settled here during the Gold Rush, farm life and more via this museum’s galleries and exhibits. Be sure to check out the historic print shop exhibit, where you can learn about newspaper production and even get your own “Wanted” poster printed.
Museum admission is $8 for adults, $6 for kids. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 101 I St.; www.sachistorymuseum.org.
California State Railroad Museum
Imagine a kid’s prized model railroad collection, but actual size! The museum is packed with hundreds of exhibits and 19 steam locomotives, dating from 1862 to 1944 and including a big, burly, black behemoth — the Southern Pacific 4294, which weighs in at a million pounds. You can climb into elegant dining cars and pretend you’re a first-class passenger from days of yore.
Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for kids and teens, and children under 5 get in free. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 125 I St.; www.californiarailroad.museum.
Excursion train rides
Even better, you can actually ride a historic train pulled by vintage diesel locomotives from the museum’s collection. The popular excursion railroad — the Sacramento Southern Railroad — operates on weekends from April through September, and on occasional Tuesdays. Rides depart from the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot just steps from the museum. Tickets are $12-$20 for adults, $6-$15 for kids and teens; www.oldsacramento.com/attractions/rides.
Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum
Step into this one-room schoolhouse, a detailed replica of schools in the late 1800s. It smells of old wood and chalk in this classroom, where vintage wooden desks neatly flank a potbellied stove. Costumed schoolmarms and masters offer information — no pop quizzes required! Admission is free and the schoolhouse is open to the public on most days. (Just be aware that it is sometimes booked for field trips.)
Amusing souvenirs available for purchase include slates, sunbonnets, punishment lists and rules for teachers. 1200 Front St.; oldsacschoolhouse.scoe.net.
Delta King
This historic sternwheel riverboat, renovated in the 1980s, is moored in the river and has become a destination in its own right. It has a white-tablecloth restaurant that hosts a “Suspects” murder mystery dinner ($43) every weekend, plus two theaters and a wine school. And it’s also a hotel, where you can stay in a stateroom ($129 and up) or even the two-level Captain’s Quarters. Make a murderous night of it with a “Suspects” and stateroom package ($284) that includes a city-view stateroom, the show and dinner for two. 1000 Front St.; www.deltaking.com.