Best Sacramento California Travel Books of 2026

Moon California Hiking: The Complete Guide to 1,000 of the Best Hikes in the Golden State by Moon Travel is an essential guide for anyone who wants to explore the beauty of California's hiking trails. This book offers a variety of hikes for all levels of hikers, from easy day hikes to challenging backpacking trips. With detailed maps, directions, and essential planning details, hikers can choose from strategic lists of the best hikes for kids, bird-watching, redwoods, vivid fall colors, waterfalls, wheelchair-accessibility, and more. Expert advice from seasoned hikers Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown is also included. Overall, Moon California Hiking is a comprehensive and honest guide to discovering the best of California's hiking trails.

The Lonely Planet Northern California (Travel Guide) is a comprehensive guide to exploring Northern California, featuring insider tips to help travelers save time and money while avoiding crowds and trouble spots. The guide covers top sights and hidden gems, including San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Yosemite National Park, and Lake Tahoe. With over 18 color maps and cultural insights, readers can have a richer, more rewarding travel experience. Overall, this guide is perfect for those looking to explore Northern California's top destinations and take the road less traveled.

Lonely Planet California 9 is an informative travel guide that provides up-to-date information on what to see and skip in California. The guidebook features planning tools for family travelers, insider tips, essential information, and honest reviews for all budgets. It also includes cultural insights that give a richer, more rewarding travel experience. With over 105 maps, this guidebook is a great resource for those planning to explore San Francisco, Marin County & the Bay Area, Napa & Sonoma Wine Country, and more. Overall, Lonely Planet California 9 is an excellent travel companion that offers a comprehensive guide to California's diverse attractions and hidden gems.

Lonely Planet Coastal California is a comprehensive guidebook that provides up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. It offers insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots. The book covers San Francisco, Marin County, Bay Area, San Jose, Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Coastal Highway 1, Redwood Coast, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Disneyland, Anaheim, San Diego, and more. This guidebook is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less traveled. Overall, it is an excellent resource for travelers who want to discover the beauty of California's coast.

50 Hikes with Kids California is an excellent resource for families who love to explore nature. The book offers detailed maps, directions, difficulty ratings, and restroom information for each hike, making it easy for families to plan their adventures. The scavenger hunts included in each hike also make it fun for kids to learn about the region's geology, flora, and fauna. Written by Wendy Gorton, a former classroom teacher and National Geographic Fellow, this book is the perfect gift for nature-loving parents who want to spark a love of the outdoors in their children.

Rand McNally Folded Map: Sacramento Street Map is a reliable and accurate guide for anyone traveling in or around Sacramento, California. This folded map includes all major highways, parks, points of interest, airports, and county boundaries, making it easy to locate destinations. The easy-to-use legend and detailed index add to the convenience of this map. The coverage area includes Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, West Sacramento and adjoining communities plus downtown and vicinity maps. Measuring 9.5' x 4' and unfolding to 40' x 28', this full-color map is perfect for travelers on a budget. This map is a must-have for anyone visiting Sacramento.

The Lonely Planet En ruta por California (Travel Guide) (Spanish Edition) is an informative guidebook for Spanish-speaking tourists looking to explore the West Coast of the United States. Written by Sara Benson, a seasoned traveler with a passion for adventure, the book offers tips and recommendations for road trips and sightseeing along the California coast. From San Francisco to Los Angeles and beyond, readers will find useful information on where to go, what to see, and how to make the most of their trip. Overall, this guidebook is a great resource for anyone looking to explore California's stunning landscapes and vibrant culture.

The book "Up and Down California in 1860-1864: The Journal of William H. Brewer, Fourth Edition, with Maps" is a collection of lively and detailed letters written by William Brewer during his four-year journey with the first geological survey of California. The letters describe the state's spectacular beauty and provide a vivid picture of California in the mid-nineteenth century. This fourth edition includes a new foreword by William Bright and a set of maps tracing Brewer's route. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in California's history and its natural wonders.

Trains, Buses, People, Second Edition: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit is a comprehensive guide to transit systems in North America. It includes new sections on inclusivity, network typologies, guideway types, station types, and fares. Author Christof Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit and profiles 49 metropolitan areas in the US and eight in Canada that have rail transit or BRT. Spieler ranks the best and worst systems and offers analysis of how geography, politics, and funding affect transit. The book is an excellent resource for urban planners, transportation professionals, and transit enthusiasts.

The Urban Trails: Sacramento: Davis * Elk Grove * Folsom * Sierra Foothills guidebook is a must-have for walkers, runners, and hikers who are looking for the best trails, paths, and parks in the Sacramento metropolitan area. This guidebook features 35 trails in the city and nearby towns, detailed route descriptions, full-color photos and maps, and sidebars highlighting the area's history. The author, John Soares, is an experienced hiker who has explored trails all over the world and has written several guidebooks. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to explore the beautiful trails in and around Sacramento.