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Sacramento, the capital of the most populous and economically powerful state in the United States, is also one of the fastest growing cities in California. Founded in 1848 near the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers to house and provide provisions and services for the thousands of miners searching for gold in the nearby Sierra Nevada foothills, the city grew quickly, becoming the state capital in 1854.

Surviving the end of the gold rush and serious floods, Sacramento prospered in the late nineteenth century as the economic hub of the Central Valley. In the twentieth century, Sacramento also became the crossroads for Interstates 5 and 80, the two main freeways linking California to the rest of the West Coast and the United States.

Despite the burgeoning population and the needs of expanding business, the city preserved some land for recreation. This section focuses on three hikes in and near the downtown area. The first visits more tranquil areas along the north bank of the American River on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail. The second takes you into the heart of downtown by visiting Capitol Park and Old Sacramento, where you tour the capitol building and wander past historically significant nineteenth-century buildings near the Sacramento River. The third explores urban William Land Park, home of the Sacramento Zoo.