Training Locations
Download
Auburn Overlook
One of the most scenic workouts we have. The parking
area overlooks the site of what was be to the Auburn Dam. To get there, take
I-80 east toward Auburn, and take the Newcastle exit. Go straight through the light
and stay on Indian Hills
Road, heading east. Turn left at
Auburn-Folsom Road, and go north about 1 mile
to Pacific (signal). Turn right, and continue past the stop sign about ¼
mile to the parking area, on the right. There is a permanent restroom
adjacent to the parking lot and a drinking fountain and “perma-potty”
(you’ll see) are located in the little park immediately to the north
(down the hill) from the parking area. There’s also a water spigot at
the northwest corner of the parking area (a bit hidden).
Our training route combines paved roads and dirt
trails (sometimes single track) near the middle fork of the American River.
Big Lots Parking Lot
We have easy access to the American River Parkway when meeting at the
Big Lots Parking Lot located at
Watt Avenue and La Riviera Drive. From Highway 50 east or
west, take the Watt Avenue
exit and head north on Watt
Avenue
to the La Riviera exit. Big Lots is on the right on La Riviera Drive.
The
American
River and it’s trails are
only ¼ mile away from the parking lot. Restrooms are conveniently
located on both sides of the river at
Watt Avenue.
Country
Club
Plaza
At least once during the program we will meet in the
Sport’s Chalet Parking Lot off Butano drive near Watt Ave and El Camino. For mapquesting
purposes, the address for Sport’s Chalet is 2401 Butano Drive, Sacramento
95825. From Hwy 50
East or West, take Watt Ave. north
approximately 3 miles to
Butano Drive. Turn right on Butano Drive and follow the curve to the
Sport’s Chalet parking lot. From Capital City Freeway take El Camino
east approximately 3 miles to
Butano Drive (one block past Watt Avenue).
Turn right on Butano and you’re there. If you’re coming from farther
east on Capital City Freeway, take
Watt Ave. south
to El Camino. Turn left on El Camino and then right on Butano and you’re
there.
This workout is a sleeper. We run on the Valentine
Run course which is a four-mile loop through a nice middle-class
neighborhood and a very well-to-do residential area. Rich and Tony
gather really good landscaping ideas from all of the nice front yards
along this route.
El Dorado Hills
One of our hillier workouts takes place from the
Raley’s parking lot in El Dorado Hills, approximately 30 minutes east of
downtown Sacramento. Take 50 east
to El Dorado Hills Blvd.,
and head north to the second signal. Turn right at the Shell station
into the Raley’s parking lot. Park near the back of the north end of the
lot.
Once you leave the shopping center, there are no
readily-accessible rest rooms or drinking fountains. There are
portapotties at the park at
El Dorado Hills Blvd.
and Harvard. You might use the rest rooms at the Shell Station, Bella
Bru or Raley’s. The highlight of this session is the challenging climb
up an old logging road to upper Serrano. Your coaches like this run
because of all the landscaping ideas they get from running past the
million dollar homes in upper Serrano.
Fish Hatchery/CSUS Aquatic
Center
We will have a couple
workouts from the Nimbus Fish Hatchery which is located just past the
22.5 mile mark of the bike trail near Hazel Avenue. To get
here, take Hwy. 50 to Hazel
Avenue, go north about ½ mile to Gold Country
(the last signal before the bridge), turn left, then right into the
hatchery parking lot. There is a restroom and drinking fountain near the
parking lot. If you go up river, there is a drinking fountain and
restroom at Negro Bar picnic area (just past mile 27). If you head
downstream, there is a drinking fountain and restroom at
Sunrise (about Mile 19 ¾), Lower Sunrise area (about mile
19), Mile 18, and Hagan
Park (about
Mile 15 ¾). We may run a loop course from the hatchery which takes us
over to the other side of the river into the Sailor Bar Recreation Area
and into the beautiful Old Fair Oaks area.
McKinley
Park
East Sacramento’s
McKinley
Park is the site of many
workouts early on in the program. The park’s decomposed granite paths
present an ideal surface for breaking in feet and legs new to running.
McKinley
Park is bounded by McKinley Blvd. on
the north, H Street
to the south, Alhambra
Blvd.
on the west, and 33rd
Street on the east. Harey Tortuga Fitness
meets near the corner of H
Street
and Alhambra Blvd.
From the north, take the Capitol City Freeway south to the E Street
exit. Turn left on E and proceed to
Alhambra Blvd and turn right. Park as close
as possible to the corner of
H Street
and Alhambra.
From the south, take the Capitol City Freeway north to H Street offramp. Head to corner of H Street and Alhambra Blvd. DO
NOT PARK ON THE EAST SIDE OF 33RD STREET;
YOU WILL GET TICKETED.
A lap at McKinley Park is about .8 miles; add the loop around the Shepard Garden Center
east of the tennis courts to make it 1.05 miles. The restroom is in the
north center of the park, behind the ball diamond. An additional
bathroom is in the library building. A drinking fountain is located
along H Street near our meeting spot.
McKinley Park is the most popular park in Sacramento for runners and walkers.
Miller Park
Miller Park, at the west end of Broadway on the edge of downtown
Sacramento, is the starting point for workouts in two
different directions (south to Greenhaven and the Pocket area and north
through Old Sacramento to
Discovery
Park).
To get to
Miller
Park from the east, take
Highway 50 to the 10th
Street exit. Go one block after exiting to 9th Street,
turn left and go two blocks to Broadway. Turn right on Broadway and
proceed into the park. From the west take 1-80 across the
Sacramento River to the
5th Street exit. Turn right at the
stop sign, then right on Broadway and proceed into the park. From the
North, take 1-5 and follow the
South Lake Tahoe
ramp to the 5th
Street
exit and proceed as above. From the South area, take 1-5 to the Broadway
exit, turn left at the stop sign and proceed into the park.
There is one bathroom in the park but be prepared and
bring your own toilet paper – just in case! Other facilities are located
in Old Sac if going in that direction but there are no other facilities
(other than Le Rivage) if heading into Greenhaven.
Old
Sacramento
Train Museum
The Old Sacramento Train Museum gives us a launch
point for exploring Discovery Park and the western portion of the
American River Bike Trail, as well as the levee south of Old Sacramento.
In addition, we may also head into West Sacramento
along the River Walk for a few workouts. Parking is free until 10am.
Take 1-5 to the J Street Exit. Head to
5th Street
and turn left. Take another left on I Street. I Street will take you
directly into Old Sacramento. The train museum is on the extreme north
side of Old Sacramento.
There is a drinking fountain next to the Train Museum
and public restrooms nearby.
It is about 1.5 miles north to the “0” mile mark on
the bike trail. From the
Train
Museum, head west toward
the river, cross the tracks, and turn right on the path. The path will
take you to the Jiboom
Street
bridge into Discovery
Park. Cross the bridge and
stay to the left; the paved path will circle to the left to meet the
bike path. Once you are out of the park, there are no working drinking
fountains for at least 6.5 miles.
Pennsylvania Hill Workout
One of the key sessions of our program is our hill
repeat workout(s). We meet in Fair Oaks
at the Scandinavian Designs Parking Lot (corner of Sunrise Blvd and Winding Way). From Hwy 50 take Sunrise
Blvd north to Winding Way. Turn
left on Winding Way
and then left into the parking lot after passing Taco Bell and Workout
19.
After a 1.5 mile warm up, we run 4-8 x ¼ mile or 1/3
mile repeats up
Pennsylvania Avenue. We cool down by
returning 1.5 miles to the parking lot. Restrooms are readily available
at several spots along the warm up to the hill.
River Park/Glen Hall Park
Just north of Sac
State on the American
River,
Glen
Hall Park is
home of, among other things, the Buffalo Chips’ Susan B. Anthony 5k race
(for women only). It’s a nice quiet residential area. From points west,
take J Street or H Street east to Carlson Drive (just north of Sac
State.
Turn left on Carlson Drive.
Carlson Drive
will dead end into
Glen
Hall
Park after
about one mile. From the east take Fair Oaks Blvd. over the American
River and
then right on Carlson Drive to the
park. From the South, take Hwy 50 to Howe Avenue, then go north to Fair Oaks
Blvd. Turn left, go over the bridge, and bear to the right on H Street.
Turn right on Carlson Drive
to the park. We may run on the quiet streets inside the
River
Park residential neighborhood or head
over to the levee along the American
River and then toward
Sac
State.
Sutter’s Landing Regional Park
Sutter’s Landing Regional Park,
located at 20 28th
Street just north of
Stanford
Park at 28th & C Streets, is
the starting point for workouts along the American River Levee heading
to CSUS and also for laps around McKinley Park
which lays only half a mile away.
To get to Sutter’s Landing from the North take the
Capital City Freeway and Exit at “E” Street. Turn right on “E” Street
and head one block to 28th
Street. Turn right on
28th Street then head one quarter
mile over the railroad tracks and into the parking lot at Sutter’s
Landing. Coming from the South, take Capital City Freeway and exit at
“H” Street. Head straight onto 30th Street
(paralleling the freeway) then turn left on “E” Street and then follow
the above directions. You skateboarder riders and Bocci Ball players
should bring your gear – Sutter’s Landing sports facilities for both of
these pastimes.
University Park
University Park
is located on
University Drive
underneath Howe Avenue
on the north side of the
American
River.
You can get to the park from Highway 50 by taking
Howe Avenue north to University Avenue. Turn left on University Avenue
then head one mile to the park on right side of University Avenue. If coming from
downtown, take J Street east (past Sac State), turn right on Cadillac
Drive, right on University Avenue and then one half mile to the park.
The bike trail can be accessed here at about the 8.5-mile mark. There is
a portable toilet on the bike path underneath the
Howe Avenue bridge.
William Land Park/Zoo Area
This meeting point is right behind the Land Park
Zoo, near Land Park Drive. To
reach the park from I-5, north or south, take the Sutterville Road exit and east on
Sutterville (the only direction you can go). At the first light, turn
left onto
Land Park Drive,
go past the zoo and take the first left. Start looking for a parking
spot. If you are coming from Highway 99, take the 12th Avenue exit – go West on
12th (it turns into Sutterville, which runs along the South
edge of the park. Proceed to the next stoplight, turn right onto Land Park Drive, pass the
zoo then turn left at the first opportunity then park.
There are bathrooms across Land Park Drive next to the small pond.