Berkeley Parents Network: Commuting from the East Bay to Sacramento

Berkeley Parents Network

Commuting from the East Bay to Sacramento

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Working & Careers > Commuting from the East Bay to Sacramento

Commuting to Davis
Scenic Route to Sacramento

Commuting to Davis

May 2005

My sister is going to be working in Davis next fall and is thinking of living in the east bay. where would good places to live be that are easy to commute on train or by car at least three times a week? does anyone make this commute that can tell me about your experience. thanks!

If your sister is a UC affiliate, there is a bus that runs between the two campuses. I think there is one in the morning and one in the afternoon. See http://www-fleet.ucdavis.edu/buses/shuttles/berkeley/schedule.php

Hi, I grew up in Davis, and my husband's mom and my parents still live there. We live in West Berkeley, and grandparents from both sides take the train up to see their grandson weekly. They get off at the Berkeley station (which is not much of a station although improvements are underway) and just walk 10 minutes to our house in West Berkeley. Since it's always daylight when they do it it's fine, I probably wouldn't make that walk at dark. If I had to get off at night by myself I would probably go to the Emeryville station and have my car there. Overall the train is quite reliable and on-time, although if I absolutely had to be at work at a particular time (for example, if I were a teacher and had a classroom waiting for me) I might be hesitant, or might take an early train to make sure. For example, several times in the last 2 years since the grandparents have been doing this, someone has thrown themselves on the tracks (so sad) and the train gets really delayed (like 2+ hours). Ick. The big plus is that they can read, watch the beautiful scenery, work, or even socialize (my mother-in-law knits with a group of commuters regularly). There are lots of bike commuters, which would be perfect for Davis. I suppose one could even chain a beater bike up at the Davis station if you didn't want to have to deal with a bike when you got to the East Bay. anon

I commuted to Davis every day for 2 years. I live in Crockett, and worked on campus. I carpooled, so some of the time I would drive, some of the time drive to someone else's house and then ride with them. . A surprisingly large number of people communte from the East Bay to Davis! so, tell your sister to contact Bay Area Rideshare - they will hook her up.

I did try Amtrak, but it was quite expensive and the times did not really work with my job. There is a bus that runs from Davis to UCBerkeley, but I believe you have to be a student or faculty member to ride it (I was neither), so I never really looked into it. But really, I found carpooling to be fun, fast, and friendly - I met great people, and it really was just as convenient as driving alone. Emma

Scenic Route to Sacramento

Feb 2000

Any recommendations on an alternative route to Sacramento, that's not all highway 80; scenic would be nice, but not too long. Any advice on short stopover activities for 2 young boys between here and there?

Re the request for a scenic route: that's an easy one! First take highway 80 to highway 4 out to Antioch. Cross the bridge to sherman island and the scenery begins. After the bridge, make the very first right. You'll be on a levee road with the river on one side and rich reclaimed farmland on the other. Pear trees and so on. You'll see that the road, Highway 160, mainly goes on one side and then the other of the Sacramento River all the way to Sacramento. Lots of boathouses and interesting drawbridges and small towns. Walnut Grove, Locke, Isleton, Hood. This is the old river road from before highway 80 existed. Console yourself by speeding home on I-80 at a fast clip. I first saw this route published in Bill Mandel's column in the Examiner about 15 years ago. Have driven it at least a dozen or more times. In fact, I just drove the route again last month. Beautiful! Peek at a state of California map first. Can't get lost if you follow the river though. For stopovers for your two boys, there's not a lot except near the bridges where they can see what fisherman have been catching. Later in the season there are folks selling roadside fruit, pears and such. Or bring some binoculars for bird watching along the river. Have fun! ...p.s. the Amtrak train service is also very good and relaxing and quite scenic. Glenn

From I80 - to Suisun City/Fairfield Take Highway 12 to Rio Vista/Stockton. The trip between Fairfield to Rio Vista is about 30 minutes (approx. 20 miles) & this time of year the green rolling hills are beautiful. Also, as you leave Fairfield, if you look off to the left you can see the HUGE airplanes at Travis AFB & (if you're lucky) they'll be running touch & go drills & the big planes fly over you so you get a good look at them.

At Rio Vista, as you enter town, veer off Highway 12 to the right to downtown Rio Vista. There is a park & an old Chinese cemetery right next to the big community cemetery on your right where you can have a picnic or you can go to the end of Main Street where there is a plaque about Humphrey the Whale -- right on the river with grass for running & playing & a few picnic tables. Also on Main Street, if the boys are old enough & you are not totally grossed out see Foster's BigHorn (one of the world's largest collections of taxidermy animals from Africa, etc.) Bakery across the street from Foster's is pretty good. Rio Vista Museum is only open on Sat. & Sun. & it is right off of Main St. on Front Street. Everything is within walking distance.

Go across Rio Vista Bridge to Highway 160 -- at end of bridge make left towards Sacramento.

Follow Hwy 160 to Isleton, approx. 5 miles (you'll be on right side of Sacramento River). In Isleton you can also veer right (just before you go out of town) & that will take you to a small Chinese part of town -- nothing too interesting but Rogelio's restaurant can be pretty good. The better China town is in Locke & you'll get to that on this route.

After Isleton, get back on the river road (Hwy 160), go left over bridge approx. 1/2 mile outside of Isleton. You can continue straight on the right side of the river but you'll miss the Ryde Hotel which used to be an old speakeasy. I haven't been there in years but I understand the restaurant is now pretty good & they've fixed up the hotel.

Continuing on to Sacramento (on left side of river) until you get to Walnut Grove then you can go back over a bridge to the right side of the river again. Right past Walnut Grove is Locke. Very old historical buildings. This is only about a half an hour from Rio Vista but if you didn't stop in Rio everyone may be ready to get out & stretch their legs.

After Locke you have some choices as to how you want to continue the trip to Sacramento. You can continue on the right side of the river to Twin Cities Road (about 2 miles out of Locke) & that will take you to I5 into Sacramento. Or you can continue up the River Road (Highway 160) on either side -- beautiful scenery on both sides. If you want to continue on the left side of the river, you'll need to backtrack to the Walnut Grove Bridge but make sure you cross over @ Freeport or you'll end up in West Sacramento. All of the different types of bridges are wonders in themselves.

I grew up in Rio Vista & still live there (yes, I commute to Oakland EVERY WEEKDAY!). The trip from Rio Vista to Sacramento (non-stop) is about 50 minutes. I love the drive & this time of year the colors are beautiful & the river is usually like glass. After Rio Vista there are no junk food places (i.e., Taco Bell or McDonald's) until you get to Sacramento. Rio Vista's Taco Bell/KFC franchise is (unfortunately) opening this week (our first fast food except for Subway). There are a few restaurants (most of which I haven't been to in years) & delis along the way & plenty of places to pull over for a picnic.

I think it is an incredibly scenic drive with a wide variety but, of course, I'm prejudice. Happy to provide more info if needed.

Vanessa

Highway 99 through Stockton is scenic. There is a place between Stockton and Lodi called The Chicken Kitchen (melt in your mouth chicken) that has a little mock western town that's open, usually during the Summer. I hope the place is still open. It is very old. I enjoyed it as a child and my children enjoyed it as they grew up.
Ella

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