Downtown Sac with Toddlers

I’m sure many of you venture downtown often, but for those of you that don’t and are hesitant to head there with little ones, this article is for you.  When I first moved to Sacramento, I was scared to drive downtown by myself due to the one-way streets and tricky parking.  It wasn’t until my husband got a job there and I had to drop him off or pick him up once in a while, that I started getting comfortable navigating my way around.  I soon realized that it is not the monstrous place I thought it was and I actually like that I can figure out how to get somewhere with those numbered and lettered streets!

I was recently talking to a friend who is in the same boat I was several years back.  She hesitates to go downtown for the same reasons I did.  I’ve enjoyed so many fun activities with my kids there that I thought it might be helpful to pass on some tips and try to make it easy for any of you that need a little jump-start.  One of my favorite outings with the kids is the Central Library and the K Street Mall (Downtown Westfield Plaza).  I’ve posted pictures in this article of my recent trip there with my three-year-old and one-year-old.  Since my oldest was in school, we made it a “toddler day”.  If you have older kids, you could still do the same outing and just go to a storytime geared towards school-age kids and then change up the activities at the mall a bit.

An exciting day downtown with kids requires nothing more than the Library and the K Street Mall!  My boys were all smiles and giggles from the time we walked up to the library to the time we got back in the car to go home.  Not only is going downtown an adventure for them, but I enjoy the hustle and bustle.  It adds some variety to our lives since we live in Elk Grove.

So here’s how to get to the Central Library…it’s simple!
From I-5 (North or South), exit J Street (you will be heading East – it only goes one way).
Make a left on 8th Street
The library is on 8th and I Streets but you cannot turn right on I
Turn right on H Street
Look for metered street parking around the library
(Allow yourself 15-20 minutes extra to look and bring quarters for the meter or use one of the parking meter ATM machines)

To get to the mall from the library…head South on either 7th Street or 9th Street.
Turn right on L Street
There it is on the right!

This outing with the boys was so cheap!  The library was free, of course.  I had my mall parking validated at Johnny Rockets.  I also happened to have a 2 for 1 coupon for a burger at Johnny Rockets from the Entertainment book…so our meal cost about $13.00.  Parking at the library and the little rides outside the food court were a handful of quarters.  My three-year-old said it was the “best day ever”!

[mappress]