Urban Trails: Sacramento. John Soares

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       The Rose Garden adds beautiful color to Capitol Park.

       GET MOVING

      Start on Ninth Street, where Capitol Mall stretches to the west and you’ll see the California State Capitol directly ahead to the east. Walk east near the circular driveway between two imposing neoclassical buildings, the California State Library and Court on the right and the Jesse M. Unruh State Office Building on the left. (On your return to head west on Capitol Mall you’ll again pass between these buildings.)

      At Tenth Street the California State Capitol stretches in full glory before you. Built between 1860 and 1874, the massive neoclassical structure houses the state assembly, the state senate, the governor’s office, and the California State Capitol Museum. The latter is well worth a visit as is the capitol building itself. Both are open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day; check the California State Capitol Museum website for specific hours for both (see Resources).

      Walk past a row of large deodar cedars on the north side of the capitol building to begin exploring the grounds of Capitol Park. A network of paved paths interweaves the entire area between the capitol and Fifteenth Street, allowing access to mature trees, both native and nonnative, plus other botanical features and various monuments.

      Travel east past coast redwoods, giant sequoias, and numerous other tree species. You can visit the Camellia Grove and the Civil War Memorial Grove on the way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the World Peace Rose Garden, which anchor the eastern end of the park.

      Continue along the southern half of the park and meander west. Along the way you’ll encounter the cactus garden and memorials to firefighters and veterans. Pass near the south steps of the capitol building and angle right (north) to the front of the capitol building, then cross Tenth Street, and return to the start of your capitol grounds walk, heading west between the California State Library and Court, now on your left, and the Jesse M. Unruh State Office Building on your right. You’re now at the eastern end of Capitol Mall.

      One of the iconic streets of downtown Sacramento, Capitol Mall passes government buildings, banks, and restaurants as it heads west. Occupying what would be M Street, Capitol Mall is divided by a green median, which is hugged by oneway vehicle traffic on each side. Walk west seven blocks from Ninth Street to Second Street, passing above I-5 between Second and Third Streets as the impressive visage of golden Tower Bridge juts above you.

      Turn right on Second Street and follow it one block. You’ve now reached Old Sacramento, popular with both visitors and locals, where wooden boardwalks and restored buildings recreate the heart of the nineteenth-century city. Wander where you will among the restaurants and shops, but be sure to walk the paved path beside the Sacramento River, where you can’t miss the Delta King, the 285-foot-long luxury steamboat that plied the waters between Sacramento and San Francisco from 1927 to 1940; it’s now a hotel and restaurant.

      Wend your way north to the museums and buildings of Old Sacramento State Historic Park. The park contains numerous buildings from the nineteenth century, including the California State Railroad Museum (open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day). Learn more at www.californiarailroad.museum.

       GO FARTHER

      Cross the Tower Bridge from Old Sacramento to West Sacramento and immediately turn right into River Walk Park. This pleasant path travels through greenery and lets you drop right down to the banks of the Sacramento River, where you can watch birds flying about in front of Sacramento’s downtown skyline. The path runs 0.3 mile past the multistepped Ziggurat office building to the I Street Bridge. Return the way you came, or cross the I Street Bridge and then turn right to drop back into Old Sacramento near the California State Railroad Museum.

3

William Land Park

DISTANCE:	3.0 miles of trails
ELEVATION GAIN:	Negligible
HIGH POINT:	15 feet
DIFFICULTY:	Easy
FITNESS:	Walkers, runners
FAMILY-FRIENDLY:	Yes, includes Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town
DOG-FRIENDLY:	On-leash
BIKE-FRIENDLY:	Yes
AMENITIES:	Bathrooms, picnic tables, water, wide variety of recreation facilities
CONTACT/MAP:	Sacramento City Parks and Recreation; download map from website
GPS:	N 38˚32.349', W 121˚30.137'
MORE KEY INFO:	Open sunrise to sunset; much of the park is wheelchair accessible

       GETTING THERE

      Driving: From downtown Sacramento, go south on I-5 for about 2.5 miles and take the Sutterville Road exit (exit 516), also signed for William Land Park and the Sacramento Zoo. Travel Sutterville Road for 0.4 mile and then turn left onto Land Park Drive. Continue another 0.1 mile and then park in the vicinity of the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town. There are many other places in and near the park where you can park your car.

      Transit: Bus 11 stops at several places in and near William Land Park, including at the Sacramento Zoo.

      With everything you could possibly want in a suburban park—baseball diamonds, basketball courts, a golf course, a fishing pond, the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town, numerous picnic tables, and an extensive road and trail system that lets you explore it all—William Land Park is popular with Sacramento residents of all ages and athletic proclivities. That said, it is a suburban park: a lot of people visit, and it’s surrounded

      by busy streets, so it appeals most to those who want a nearby place to walk, and is especially suited for families with younger children.

       GET MOVING

      Rather than recommending a specific itinerary, this description provides general guidance and information and gives you the best options for enjoying William Land Park, a major destination for Sacramento residents since 1918. At 241 acres, the park is easy to navigate, and you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way back to your parking spot. A network of roads and walking paths leads to all major parts of the park, and there are many places where you can leave the roads and paths to wander open grassy areas as well as under the shade of large trees.

      Three main attractions await you in the southwest area of the park, near the parking area described in Getting There, above, and all have major appeal to the younger set. The Sacramento Zoo has nearly five hundred animals of many different species, from the big and tall—lions, snow leopards, and giraffes—to the small—aardvarks, meerkats, and reptiles. (Open daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving; see www.saczoo.org for more information, including admission fee.)

      Fairytale СКАЧАТЬ