Midtown, Land Park, East Sac?

[la_cavalière]

I'm back from our scouting trip! We stayed in downtown Sac, just north of Capitol Park. We spent a lot of time walking around Midtown and parts of downtown, as well as driving around Land Park and East Sacramento. One day we drove up to Folsom, peeked at the lake, and walked around the old town. Another day we rented bikes and rode around Lake Natoma on the American River Trail (and got to see a few rowing races). The rest of the time was spent looking at places to rent.

A few quick observations from this Sac newbie:

- The trees are IMMENSE -- and so beautiful. Must be the climate as well as the tree species...?

- Lots and lots of flowering trees & bushes in Sacramento. The whole city smelled like perfume. By the way, can you pick the oranges in the parks? Are they edible?

- People are very friendly and helpful -- even people who aren't paid to be that way.

- Downtown is very nice and clean, but pretty dead in the evening. A couple nights we had nearly the whole restaurant to ourselves. Great service, though!

- We fell in love with Midtown and nearby neighborhoods: the restaurants, shops, mix of people, and the quiet, tree-lined residential streets.

- Land Park and East Sacramento are absolutely gorgeous. I was disappointed that most of the retail areas in Land Park don't seem to fit with the rest of the neighborhood, apart from Tower Café and Taylor's. Maybe I missed the good stuff.

- The number of nice rental homes in these areas was very limited -- although I admit that we're pretty picky.

- LOVED Capitol Park, Land Park, McKinley Park, and the American River Trail. Looking forward to lots of quality time in these areas.

- The tree-dotted, grassy hills near Nimbus Dam are so pretty, as are the foothills near Folsom.

- Lake Natoma is a gem. My husband can't wait to start kayaking there (me too -- looks safer than ocean kayaking.)

- I am going to have to start getting used to the heat again, and/or become a morning person.

We're hoping to hear back soon about our first choice, a wonderful home near Midtown. Actually, we don't have a second choice, so we're crossing our fingers...!

[ryuns]

Glad you had a great trip! And your observations seem right on to me.

On a couple in particular. I live about a block from Taylor's (fantastic as a restaurant, deli, and grocery), and your observations are pretty close--those are nice areas you mention but most of the places nearby aren't the same kind of "upscale". There are a few other nice-ish places scattered around, but that's pretty much true. This is totally a personal view, but I find I'm totally okay with that, might even prefer it. Despite the expensive homes, it seems that most of the businesses aren't "priced out" in the same way, so you get a great diversity.Tons of ethnic food, good mix of very old places, and very new ones. Still, Midtown is always going to have more to do, and more close by.

Not 100% sure about the oranges but I don't see the harm. Whenever I'm in Capitol Park, they're too high for me! =)

Good luck with your rental!

[la_cavalière]

How easy is it to get to Midtown from the northern part of Land Park? Can you walk it at night, or is it a little creepy because you have to walk under the highway overpass? Can you take the light rail line?

[wburg]

Pretty easy, the hardest part is crossing W and X Street which are three-lane one-way traffic and not all that pedestrian-friendly, although 21st is all right. Harder near the on-ramps at 11th and 16th. You can take light rail but it doesn't run late at night--the hours were expanded slightly but still end around 10-11 PM.

[Mr. Ozo]

Technically the oranges in Capital Park are State property and can't be picked. Anywhere else like along P street is ok.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by la_cavalière

How easy is it to get to Midtown from the northern part of Land Park? Can you walk it at night, or is it a little creepy because you have to walk under the highway overpass? Can you take the light rail line?

Agree with wburg--not too bad. There are crosswalks and stoplights and the area under the freeway is not as sketchy as it seems like it's going to be. My bigger gripe is the bike unfriendliness in the transition from Land Park to Downtown, because it's such an easy bike ride from Land Park/Curtis Park to Midtown/Downtown when the infrastructure is there.

[la_cavalière]

Woot woot! Our application was accepted for the great place in Midtown near Marshall Park. We love the neighborhood - it's pretty quiet, but a short walk to the Midtown action and also close to McKinley Park and Sutter's Fort. The American River bike trail looks like it's easy to get to as well via Sutter's Landing.

We didn't have time to check it out, but on Google maps, Sutter's Landing "Park" looks pretty barren. I heard it used to be the city dump. What are the plans for this area?

[wburg]

The city dump was the area just east of Sutter's Landing, it is capped off and the methane generated by the old dump powers the lights at Blue Diamond Almonds. There are plans to put solar panels on top of the dump to generate even more power. The landscaping has filled in somewhat since that Google photo was taken--there is the dog park, a skate park in a big warehouse close to the river, and a bocce court near the parking lot.

There were some long-range and very vague plans about using the dump area for a new zoo, but there will be methane offgassing etc. from that site for decades, so less programmed low-intensity uses are the park's near future. That gives the river itself a sort of wildness you wouldn't expect so close to an urban downtown.

Did you check out Marshall Park on a weekend night? The 2700 block of J Street is a nightlife epicenter--Harlow's gets a lot of great touring acts. A spot called Red Rabbit just opened on that block, terrific food and a good place for brunch. There's also a place called Barwest that is more of a sports bar.

[la_cavalière]

That's good to know -- so Sutter's Landing is not too deserted? Are there any trees?

I love that stretch of J Street. We did check out the Red Rabbit one afternoon -- I think we'll be hanging out there quite a bit. Harlow's, BarWest and Centro look cool too. Can't wait to try Biba's on Capitol! The B Street Theater is fairly close, too, isn't it?