FOLLOW THE SACRAMENTO RIVER

When you've satisfied your curiosity about what San Francisco must have been like back in the 1840s, the next stop along the Gold Rush Trail would be Old Sacramento & Sutter's Fort.

HOW TO WE GET THERE?

I'd love to tell you to board an historical replica of a Victorian riverboat like the Matthew McKinley and follow the Sacramento River like the real 49ers did during the Gold Rush, but I can't. It seems the company that runs the McKinley is having some problems and the paddleboat is currently moored in Stockton.

So, we'll just have to drive there! We've got three options - 2 of the routes take around an hour 30 minutes.

The third involves about 3 hours, but it allows you to follow the route up-river that the 49ers took a little more accurately.

Here they are:

• San Francisco to Old Sacramento via Interstate 80 - from San Francisco, cross the Bay Bridge and follow the signs to I-80 North. You'll go past Berkeley, Richmond, Vallejo, Fairfield and Davis, then on into Old Sacramento - about 1 hour 20 minutes.
• San Francisco to Old Sacramento via Interstate 680 - from San Francisco, cross the Bay Bridge, but this time follow the signs to Hwy 24 and I-680 North. You'll pass Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, and Martinez before joining I-80 just below Fairfield. Continue on into Old Sacramento as before - about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Side Note: Both of these routes will allow little glimpses of the Bay through which the Gold Rush 49ers traveled by steamer, but you won't actually follow the Sacramento River.

• Follow in the Footsteps of the Gold Rush 49ers

  This is the route I would recommend for a history tour; you'll be able to imagine yourself as a 49er, traveling along the waterways of the upper Bay and up the Sacramento River to New Helvetia and Sutter's Fort, at least for most of the way!
  

  This time cross the Golden Gate Bridge and take US-101 to SR-37. Follow SR-37 East to SR-29 (this will take you around the edge of San Pablo Bay which the 49ers would have done by paddleboat); then follow SR-29 South through Vallejo to Curtola Pkwy, which will put you onto I-780. Take I-780 East through Benicia to I-680 North (some of this is running along Suisun Bay), and then to I-80 East. Before you get to Fairfield proper, turn East onto SR-12.
  
  

  
  

  At this point, you'll be traveling in and out of The Delta. Follow SR-12 East past Suisun City (if you have time, stop in here and visit their Old Town - it's charming with its historic shopping district right on the waterfront!). From Suisun City, continue on to Rio Vista. Rio Vista's a cute little town with some familiar sights - remember the escapades of Humphrey the Humpback Whale back in the 1980s? This is where a lot of the news footage was shot.
  

  When you've finished looking around Rio Vista, it's back on SR-12 and across the Sacramento River to SR-160.
  

  Turn north onto SR-160 - you WON'T want to miss this! Just under 5 miles along the road (which runs atop a levee), you'll come to a little town called Isleton. Isleton is famous for its Crawdad Festival, which runs over Father's Day weekend, but you won't have to wait 'till Father's Day to try the local specialty! Just step into Isleton Joe's and order up a 1 pound Crawdad appetizer or the 2 or 3 pound Crawdad Platters and start crackin'! It's really a lot of fun!!
  
  

  
  

  From Isleton you can return to SR-12, following it East to I-5, then North on I-5 to Old Sacramento.

• BUT . . . if you're up for a bit of an adventure, try this instead:
  

  Follow the Sacramento River - continue North on SR-160 out of Isleton. You'll cross to the West side of the River and follow 160 until it becomes South River Road. (If you're so inclined, Walnut Grove and Locke make interesting stops, but if you DO visit them, be sure to cross back over the river to SR 160.) Continue on S. River Rd, meandering along the river, until it joins SR-84 just outside of West Sacramento. At this point you'll pick up I-80 to cross the river again via the Tower Bridge into Old Sacramento.

This trip will take about 3 hours or more, depending on how long you stop, but it's really the one I recommend for the true history buff - you can't get any closer to the route the Argonauts took back in 1848 and 1849 without getting on the water!

Follow the links below to discover the California Gold Rush by visiting Old Sacramento and Sutter's Fort!

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