Discovery Park

A large open park at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, at the western end of the American River Parkway. The park is the starting point for cyclists heading east along the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, and for paddlers launching onto the Sacramento River. The confluence itself is spectacular on winter mornings when the rivers run high and the willows are bare.

Camping is available in the park, which makes it one of the few places to sleep outdoors within the Sacramento city limits. The park also hosts the Sacramento airshow in late summer, drawing large crowds. On most other days it is quiet — dog walkers, fishermen, and the occasional kayaker.

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Discovery Park sits at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, the spot where the two great waterways of the Central Valley meet. In the Gold Rush era this confluence was one of the busiest points on the western frontier — supply boats arrived from San Francisco, and miners headed inland on the American River toward the Sierra Nevada diggings. The junction is quieter now, but the view across the two rivers gives a real sense of Sacramento's geography.

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