(SAN FRANCISCO) VALLEJO
TO SACRAMENTO
86 MILES / 1,365 FEET
Travel between Sacramento and San Francisco via Vallejo and
the
Vallejo Baylink Ferry.
Sacramento Valley, southern Coast
Range, San Pablo & San Francisco Bays.
Sacramento: mile 13.5 of the American River Bike Trail, William Pond Recreation Area, Carmichael, CA
Travel to the intersection of Arden Way and Fair
Oaks Blvd in Carmichael, CA (immediately east of Sacramento).
Park in the Five Points
parking lot (SE corner of Arden Way & Fair Oaks Blvd, away from
retail outlets) or on Arden Way, west of restricted parking. Mile 13.5 is at the intersection
of the American River Pkwy Bike Trail and the Arden Way access path.
Vallejo: Vallejo Ferry Terminal, 289 Mare Island Way (at Georgia Street), Vallejo, CA
Parking is available.
San Francisco: San Francisco Ferry Building or Fisherman's Wharf Pier 41 Ferry Terminal, San Francisco, CA
San
Francisco parking near the ferry terminals
is limited; check
on-line information.
Climbing: 1,340 - 1,365 feet. Climbing is relatively easy, as the routes skirt under the Bay-Coast Range boundary.
Difficulty: mild to moderate. Although this is not an unusually long bike ride, it will take the better part of a day to complete the entire bike + ferry journey. Plan on an over-night stay in either San Francisco or Vallejo.
Risks: Urban cycling (not bad in Sacramento, Davis, & Fairfield; somewhat more congested in Vallejo). Highway 12 has very heavy traffic, is somewhat narrow, and lacks a shoulder in some sections.
The two courses are virtually identical except for different streets passing through Sacramento.
The Vallejo Baylink Ferry covers a course of about 26 miles and takes about sixty minutes.
