9 hour layover in Sacramento!? What to do or options?

[Pal2Pluto]

Hey y'all. This trip we are planning next summer cross country..... at this point, from DEN to PDX, it puts us in Sacramento for a 9 hour layover from 2:15pm until midnight. What is there to do to take up time there?? Or are there other travel options to do that wouldn't put us just sitting around waiting for midnight?

 

[tgstubbs1]

If you take the California Zepher to its terminal in Emeryville you won't have to wait as long (six hours) and there might be more things to do. Other possible layovers in Davis or Martinez might be better than waiting until midnight, although if the northbound Coast Starlight is behind schedule your wait could be longer.

 

[caravanman]

Well, the first thing is the rail museum in Sacramento, if that is your thing?
There is a light rail/tram service out to Folsom, an interesting little place to visit with local shops.
The "old town" area near the river is interesting, they have a steam railway there too.
I guess in summer you should find plenty to see in Sacramento, with the lighter evenings you san sightsee till quite late.

 

[GAT]

In addition to those great things Caravanman suggests, there are plenty of fine restaurants in Sacramento where you can while away a couple of hours over a fine meal. And, of course, there's the State Capitol. Continuing on to Emeryville and the end of the line will afford you lovely views of the delta and the San Francisco skyline with the three Bay bridges. But then you would have to taxi/Uber/Lyft into Oakland, Berkeley, or San Francisco for any city and dining life. But there's lots of it to be had. The Emeryville station is in nowheresville.

If you will have a sleeper on the CS, and you like riding the train, and you're not already committed to making the change in Sacramento, I would consider continuing on to EMY. In addition to the attractions mentioned above, You will have longer to sleep on the northbound route. All that said, however, it's probably going to cost more; how much I don't know.

 

[Brian Battuello]

All good ideas. I've had the same urge for the amazing Sacramento rail museum, a short walk from the station, but they close at 5pm, and the CZ is often a little late to make it worthwhile. The historic paddlewheeler Delta King is another great option for drinks and/or dinner. The dinner is okay, but you might do well having drinks and then going into town for dinner. Personally, I'd go for Emeryville and make sensible short term plans Uber-distance from the station. You can also get off at Richmond and take a straightforward, if somewhat long, BART ride into San Francisco.

https://www.deltaking.com/

 

[Sidney]

When traveling west on the CZ to transfer to the NB CS they Amtrak always uses Sacramento. That's a long wait and you can't board till Midnight if the train is on time. EMY makes more sense. Maybe just book two separate trips.

 

[BCL]

The train ride was mentioned but it really depends on when. I was a member of the museum and we had rides included in our membership tier. It only operates on weekends in summer and on certain holidays.

https://www.californiarailroad.museum/visit/excursion-train-rides
Old Sacramento is kind of cheesy but that's kind of good, clean tourist fun sometimes. One thing you might consider is a horse drawn carriage ride, although I'm not sure when they run those other than weekends/holidays during summer. I took my kid on those rides, and the prices for all rides are required to be fixed. Just around a few blocks was $10 when I rode on it, although they also take tips. There are more expensive trips including ones to the State Capitol Building. Looks like it's $20 now for the short ride.

https://www.oldsacramento.com/attraction/carriage-rideshttps://www.tophandranch.com/services-pricing.html
The irony is that Sacramento Chinatown is across the street from the Sacramento Valley Station, but there's hardly anything there now worth visiting. It was turned into kind of a sterile mall in the 1970s and it completely lost any character. There's barely any retail businesses left - I think maybe one Thai restaurant now. It was a thriving Chinatown for over 100 years but it's kind of sad what redevelopment did to it.

http://www.valcomnews.com/sacramento’s-chinatown-fell-to-revitalization-project-in-the-1960s/
There's been some redevelopment of the downtown area in the past few years - especially with the new Golden 1 Center, which is the home of the Sacramento Kings. You might check the schedule to see if there's a game or perhaps a concert. I'm looking at the schedule for the next few months and it's mostly NBA games, but also concerts, a monster truck show, a rodeo, Mexican bands, Disney on Ice, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Celine Dion, etc. If it's summer then there's New Kids on the Block (how old are they?) on June 2 and Shawn Mendes on June 30. It's still early and there aren't any NBA games in the summer unless the Kings inexplicably make the playoffs.

https://www.golden1center.com/events
This is making me feel old.

The old Downtown Plaza shopping center still partially exists (as Downtown Commons) even though part of it was torn down for Golden 1 Center. You could kill time by watching a movie and there's still Macy's and restaurants. I haven't been to that specific location, but I do like the Yard House restaurant chain.

https://www.docosacramento.com

 

[pennyk]

The first time I connected from the CZ to the CS was in 2010 and I went to the Railroad Museum and then walked around until dark (which was not too early since it was early September). I went back to the station and sat around on uncomfortable benches in a hot waiting room. (no AC). I was extremely uncomfortable as were the many others who were doing the same transfer. I vowed never again.

In December 2019, I was making the same connection, but booked a hotel room (walking distance in daylight) at the Embassy Suites (with points). After walking to my hotel, I relaxed, took a short nap, walked around and walked to dinner. The hotel shuttle brought me back to the station about an hour before the CS arrived. It was worth spending points for a night's stay for only 9 hours.

 

[tgstubbs1]

When traveling west on the CZ to transfer to the NB CS they Amtrak always uses Sacramento. That's a long wait and you can't board till Midnight if the train is on time. EMY makes more sense. Maybe just book two separate trips.

I wonder if they do that because it's the most likely to make the connection?

 

[Asher]

I’m liking staying in Sacramento. i Think Penny made a smart move booking a room and then finding a place to eat, moseying around for awhile. You’ll probably end up hustling to make the CS. Otherwise, the trip to Emeryville May be alright, but then you have to get out of there, probably not sure how much time you have so you’re in a rush to go and come back to board the CS.

 

[pennyk]

I wonder if they do that because it's the most likely to make the connection?

Back in 2009, when planning my 2010 trip, I had the option of transferring in EMY or SAC. On a previous trip, I spoke to some passengers who recommended transferring in SAC because EMY was too tight. When planning, I googled something like "which is better Sacramento or Emeryville to connect to the Coast Starlight." I found Amtrak Unlimited as a result of that google search.... and the rest is history (LOL).

 

[GAT]

I wonder if they do that because it's the most likely to make the connection?

True. SAC is the best bet in case the CZ is late. It's possible you'll end up spending nowhere near nine hours. But then again, if the CS is late.............

 

[Willbridge]

I wonder if they do that because it's the most likely to make the connection?

Yes. Also, the load turns over in SAC anyway.

My favorite is Davis for the connection. It still gives a good cushion for a delayed Zephyr and as a college town it has a lot of interesting restaurants and stores. Davis is an agency station, if you need assistance, and the attractions are all within walk distance. There also is a movie theater in the walk range.

If you want to insert a night or two into the connection, then it makes it worth considering a stay at Oakland's Jack London Square. The waterfront activity is interesting, the food is good, and the departure time for Train 14 is civilized. The Amtrak reservation system shows the connection for the last train EMY>OKJ, but you should arrive in time for an earlier connection. It's within taxi or Uber/Lyft range if there's a long wait at EMY. The ferry ride into SF is endorsed by my 98-year-old father, who made that trip in the 1930's and 1940's and still loves to talk it up. Even waiting for ferries can be interesting.





I've done Sacramento and in summer the waterfront is a nice visit, but as noted above it can be a warm wait. If you spend a night in Sacramento, then the Delta King stay is fun if you are interested in the past of river navigation. Some people find the rooms uncomfortable. I think they're fine for a night or two.



The rail museum is the best argument for a night in Sacramento.

 

[Seaboard92]

When I did the California Zephyr we arrived into SAC a little after 12 because there is some serious padding in the timetable. So you could get some really good time in the museum which I highly recommend. It is one of the best museums in the country for railroads. I would argue the three must sees are Pennsylvania (Strasburg), Illinois (Union), and California (Sacramento).

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Back in 2009, when planning my 2010 trip, I had the option of transferring in EMY or SAC. On a previous trip, I spoke to some passengers who recommended transferring in SAC because EMY was too tight. When planning, I googled something like "which is better Sacramento or Emeryville to connect to the Coast Starlight." I found Amtrak Unlimited as a result of that google search.... and the rest is history (LOL).

That would make an interesting thread, how we found AU. My wife actually found it by googling something about Superliner roomettes before we took our first Western trip and told me about it.

 

[neroden]

I really enjoyed Old Town Sacramento though it closes up before midnight.

 

[BCL]

The irony is that Sacramento Chinatown is across the street from the Sacramento Valley Station, but there's hardly anything there now worth visiting. It was turned into kind of a sterile mall in the 1970s and it completely lost any character. There's barely any retail businesses left - I think maybe one Thai restaurant now. It was a thriving Chinatown for over 100 years but it's kind of sad what redevelopment did to it.

Just as a followup after doing a little research, Sacramento Chinatown had many problems including being burned to the ground several times. Even more shocking was that ethnic Chinese residents were restricted from leaving and weren't even allowed to leave to seek medical treatment after those fires; the police and fire wouldn't allow that. But what really started its decline was when most of it was taken by through eminent domain (or at least the threat thereof) to build what's now the rail yard and the Sacramento Valley Station. The redevelopment in the 60s/70s was just the final blow.