13 Things To Do With Family in Sacramento, California

Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park

 

Step back in time to the early days of Sacramento at this live history museum based around the rebuilt fort that Swiss immigrant John Sutter built in 1839. Stories of people who lived in the 1840s are brought to life by costumed docents and interpreters. These people include fur trappers, merchants, troops, and Native Americans who helped make Sacramento an agricultural hub and settlement along the Sacramento River.

Hands-on displays show how to be a blacksmith, make candles, and do other jobs that were necessary to survive in that time. Walk around the outside of the fort on the same road that early settlers used and talk to historical figures who are still preserving and teaching about the fort’s history.

Throughout the year, there are special events like haunted lantern tours on Halloween and a holiday party in December where kids can do hands-on activities like making corn husk dolls and playing games that were popular when the fort was at its peak.

California Automobile Museum

 

Families love the creative, multimedia, and hands-on exhibits at this museum that teach and entertain while telling the exciting history of cars in California. Up close, you can see more than 150 beautifully restored classic cars and trucks, from a 1905 Locomobile Steam Car to famous cars like the Ford Model T that changed the course of history.

You can walk under a huge 395,000-gallon water tank that was moved here from 1906, which is when cars first started showing up on city streets. Kids love the complicated LEGO creations that look like old California gas stations, drive-ins, and other buildings found along the road. You can get a feel for what early car engineers went through by getting in a shake machine that simulates an earthquake.

Rare cars are shown at shows every few weekends, which will please all of your family’s car lovers, young and old. Inside the Streetscape show, there is a detailed Art Deco garage from the 1920s that kids can explore.

Sacramento History Museum

 

This museum, which is in the old Eagle Theatre, tells the story of Sacramento from the time it was founded to the present day. History comes to life for both kids and adults through hands-on displays, rare objects, oral histories, and multimedia shows.

See a real Pony Express mochilla saddle bag and lift a heavy rock of gold ore to get a sense of how hard it was to mine during the Gold Rush. Full-size train cars can be walked through in exhibits that focus on the time of the transcontinental railroad. Walk through a neighborhood that looks like it did in the 1940s, the inside of a commercial jet, and rooms that show how important businesses have been to Sacramento’s growth over the years.

Families can enjoy the displays by seeing, hearing, and doing things. Kids love playing with interactive multimedia displays that show how different streets looked over 150 years ago and now. This city museum is a place where families can get together for special events, like summer camps where kids can play with real things and holiday parties.

Powerhouse Science Center

 

This science center has two large floors with dozens of hands-on science exhibits. It is a great place for kids to learn STEM skills and have fun while doing it. Permanent exhibit halls have themes like “Kids Town,” which shows different community helper roles for pretend work as doctors, builders, grocery store clerks, and more.

Kids can use simple machines to come up with answers to everyday problems in the Invention Convention area. Tinkering Workshops have tools and loose parts that people can use to make new things. Planet Pulse is all about environmental science, and it has fun, engaging models that families can use to learn about things like solar energy, composting, and air quality.

Some really cool demos are a Van de Graaff generator that makes huge sparks that look like lightning and laying under a big whisk to learn about chemical reactions. Themed events that happen often give people more reasons to come back and explore.

Sacramento Zoo Zoofari

 

The Sacramento Zoo’s Zoofari Night tours give families who want to see animals up close and personal outside of regular zoo hours a rare chance to see animals like majestic lions, playful meerkats, and endangered lemurs at night.

Animal lovers can get up-close looks at more than 200 animals that live at the zoo on these guided evening walking walks, which happen after dark when animals that come out at night to play. During in-depth talks by keeper guides, you can hear the roar of lions right next to their enclosures. Get sprayed by otters having fun behind low glass while guides talk about interesting facts about these cute animals.

As you watch fuzzy bats flap their wings and eat fruit kabobs that hang from trees, you can’t help but laugh. When you go to the zoo after hours, you can see animals doing things you don’t normally see during the day. This will make unforgettable family experiences.

Riverfront Activities along the American River Parkway

 

Beautiful green space called the American River Parkway runs along the American River in the middle of Sacramento. This urban haven is a great place for families to enjoy the outdoors. Take a bike ride along the beautiful Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail in the park and enjoy the view. Bring a picnic and eat by the river at one of the picnic places that are spread out along the path.

Take your group on a guided kayak tour and paddle along while looking for wildlife. On a hot summer day, go tubing and relax as you float down the lower American River. Along the road are also the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town, and Funderland, all of which are fun places to visit. It has 29 miles of trails, so you and your family will have plenty of room to move around and spend time together.

Old Sacramento Historic District

 

In the middle of the 1800s, this 28-acre National Historic Landmark District takes tourists back in time to when Sacramento was a busy commercial center and a rest stop for miners looking for gold during the Gold Rush.

Today, the cobblestone streets are lined with more than 100 buildings that look like they were built in the Old West. These buildings are shops, bars, and museums that show how people lived in California in the early days. Family-friendly activities include rides on the old railroad cars at the Sacramento History Museum. The California State Railroad Museum is the biggest railroad museum in North America. It has locomotives and passenger cars from the 1860s that kids can climb on.

The whole family will be amazed by the full-size trains and the intricate model train shows. After that, take a walk down K Street and get an old-fashioned ice cream treat. Don’t miss the street artists who show off frontier skills like blacksmithing or the antique and specialty shops that are hidden away in restored buildings.

Sacramento Zoo

 

You and your family will see lions, tigers, bears, and other animals as you walk through the 14-acre Sacramento Zoo. Get a close look at the more than 500 birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects that live here, including some that are not from this area. A great way to work out your calves is to walk up the zoo’s treehouse trail, which has monkeys, lemurs, and tropical birds in a free-flight enclosure.

At Rocky Shores, you can watch the otters and seals swim and dive while they are having fun. Don’t miss the Kangaroo Walkabout show, where you can get very close to red kangaroos and see their young ones peeking out from their pouches. Bring a camera to take pictures of yourself with the animal statues all over the park. Eat a lunch at the Lakeside Café, which has a view of the river, or at the Zoo Zoofari Café, where you can watch elephants and zebras graze across the street, before you leave.

California State Capitol

 

The California State Capitol Building is not only a landmark, but also a live museum. The Capitol’s unique architecture, as well as art and displays about California history, can be seen on free guided walks. Kids can look for hidden signatures of former leaders in the granite floors. Take a look at the beautiful Rotunda’s 8-foot paintings that show the past of California. To get to the Capitol dome, take the grand marble stairs and stand under it. It is taller than the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Sit in the public viewing area during legislative sessions to get a good view of the fancy rooms where California’s senators and assembly members meet to plan the state’s future. Plan your trip for a weekday between 9 am and 5 pm to get a first-hand look at how democracy works. Outside, don’t miss the 40 acres of Capitol Park that circle the grounds. It has flower gardens, memorials to important people in California’s history, and fun sculptures that kids can climb on and explore.

Fairytale Town

 

With 25 play areas based on well-known children’s stories like Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty, this 2.5-acre park brings popular storybooks and nursery rhymes to life. Parents can experience favorite childhood movies while their kids explore settings, act out stories, and use their imaginations. The Old Woman in the Shoe playground is a must-see in Storylands. It has a five-story slide and climbing nets inside a big boot prop.

Based on the “Pat-A-Cake” rhyme, use the sticks, stones, and muffins in the Baker’s Kitchen to make fun musical sounds. Take a trip through the labyrinth hedge maze from Alice in Wonderland. Both kids and adults enjoy the attention to detail in each area. For example, Never Never Land is based on Peter Pan and has Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship with moving steering wheels and rope stairs to climb.

You can bring a picnic or buy food and souvenirs at the Tales and Treats snack stands while you’re there. Every year, new displays and events are added to this Sacramento gem, making more memories for families.

Funderland Amusement Park

 

This family-owned park is a classic place to have fun with rides, games, attractions, and shows. Funderland has been fun for families for more than 40 years, with more than 36 rides ranging from exciting roller coasters to gentle rides that are great for little kids.

You can ride The Riptide together or fly high on the park’s famous 90-foot-tall Skycoaster bungee ride to get amazing views of the city. If you want to take a break from the rides, you can play Whac-A-Mole or skeeball on the midway. In the restaurant inside the amusement park, you can get foods like corn dogs, cotton candy, and fresh-squeezed lemonade for the whole family.

On hot days, friends can cool off by splashing around at the Buccaneer Cove Waterpark and going fast down the three-story Devil’s Peak Speed Slides. This 11-acre park is just a short walk from Sacramento’s Old Town district and has cheap all-day passes that let you enjoy the park with your family.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center

 

This nature park is part of the American River Parkway greenbelt and has 100 acres of oak forests and views of the river that are great for easy family hikes. There are five miles of trails that go by wildlife displays, a butterfly garden, and demonstration gardens with native plants that birds and bugs love to visit.

At the Ancil Hoffman Center, there are interactive displays with taxidermy, feathers, shells, and taxidermy, as well as cameras for learning up close. Naturalists put on special events like story walks and up-close encounters with animals. Bring a lunch to eat at a picnic table by the river with a view of nature.

Every month of the year, there are fun events like candy cane hikes and hunts for leprechaun traps in the spring, as well as guided full moon walks in the fall. All of these events are educational, which families like. The Effie Yeaw Nature Center is one of 28 protected nature areas in Sacramento County. It’s a fun place for kids of all ages to explore nature.

 

Conclusion

Sacramento has a lot of fun places for families to spend time together, like the riverfront, historic sites, parks, and museums. Along the beautiful American River Parkway, people who like being outside can hike and ride bikes. Old Sacramento takes people back to the days of the Gold Rush with its pioneer-era buildings that house cute shops and restaurants.

There are places like the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town fairytale park where families love to watch both wild and domestic animals roam. Hands-on museums are fun for people of all ages and teach about history, science, cars, and transportation. With its slow pace and lively neighborhoods serving farm-to-fork food, Sacramento is a great place for families looking for excitement and quality time together.