Solving Sacramento, December 2024

Project Manager Sena Christian gives a nod to DRT public art, Janet Zweig's work.

What's going on

A student journalist who interviewed me for a story recently asked me why I like going for walks:

Is it for exercise or connecting with nature? The answer is not really either. I enjoy walking mainly as a way to clear my head. It’s where I do some of my best thinking. I also appreciate walking as a way to get to know an unfamiliar place.

There are some cities I've walked all over — Florence, Italy during my semester abroad in college, Berkeley because I preferred that over taking the bus, Washington, D.C. during an internship to learn all about its historical offerings. But despite decades of living in Sacramento, I’ve never been much of a wandering walker in my own hometown.

I see that changing now that I’ve finally explored the 4.8-mile inner-city Del Rio Trail on a beautiful afternoon in late November. Though I can hardly say that walking with two young kids and an untrained dog pulling on his leash effectively clears one’s head, I did get exercise and a connection to something resembling “nature.” We started our walk from the LaBou parking lot and went to slightly past 35th street before we decided to turn back (our elderly dog was looking a little down and out, and I could tell meltdowns for the rest of us were imminent).

For that time on the trail, I felt deeply appreciative of this relatively new Sacramento amenity, which runs along the old Sacramento Southern Railroad. Constructed in 1909, the railroad passed through rural farmland until neighborhoods developed around it in the 1950s (one being the very subdivision where I grew up and where I live once again); the railroad ceased operations in the 1970s. Now we have a way for pedestrians and cyclists to traverse a portion of the city without a car, for friends to go on pleasant “walk and talks,” and for dogs to get outside with their human companions.

There's also the opportunity to view public art, with 18 permanent art installations along the trail. The City of Sacramento calls this an “outdoor museum” for residents. One of the pieces I encountered was “Two Collectors,” a bronze artwork by Janet Zweig, which incorporates acorn seeds and pods she had collected from local trees over the decades.

I counted about 40 people during my walk, including a dad and son who live in a house adjacent to the trail and were raking leaves to clear the path for others. I saw people of all ages, including one pack of preteen boys riding on their bikes — seemed like a fun and safe way to independently get from one kid’s house to another. I imagined this same feeling of freedom and adventure for my own kids one day.

As 2024 comes to an end, I invite my fellow Sacramentans to take a walk along this path, whether to enjoy some art on a chill winter’s day or to clear your head in preparation for what a new year will bring. Or for some different reason