Touring * Beginner * Street * Historic *

Entering Sacramento from the west on Interstate (Business) 80, follow the Downtown Sacramento signs to exit at Highway 106, which doubles as 16th Street. Turn left when you reach 16th and proceed north nine blocks to O Street. Turn left again and look for curbside parking (free on Sundays), or turn right at 15th Street to get to the parking lot at N Street. The state capitol is bordered by Ninth Street on the west and 15th on the south, by L Street on the north and N on the south. Entering downtown from the north on Interstate 5, take the J Street exit and start looking for curbside parking at Eighth Street. Finally, coming from the east on Interstate (Business) 80, follow the signs to Highway 160 and Downtown Sacramento. You'll emerge downtown at 12th Street.

Ignore the faded signs painted on the pavement around the grounds of the state capitol depicting a skate, a skateboard, and a bicycle within a "busters" circle. Those old ordinances are no longer enforced, so you're free to skate around the capitol and on the sidewalks and streets of downtown Sacramento. (In fact, touring the capitol park on skates is easier and more fun than walking because you can roll from site to site, reading the placards.) Metal maps are placed strategically throughout the gardens on the east side of the capitol building so you can get an idea of what it is you're seeing. Weekends and evenings are the best times to visit on skates; there's less traffic and you're more likely to be able to park for free. Although you can skate on the state government grounds, you'll be asked to leave the steps of the capitol building. Never fear, there are lots of other steps around the capitol mall area that are well suited for riding or jumping, and even some easier ones for people just learning these skills. Wherever you skate, keep your eyes open for raised cracks between the aging slabs of concrete sidewalks.