Barge Canal Trail Walk Sacramento

3.4 miles (5.5 km)

Begin your walk at the Barge Canal Access lot off Jefferson Boulevard in West Sacramento, where you’ll find parking, restrooms, benches and a non-motorized boat ramp.
From here the trail heads west along the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel, first on smooth pavement beneath the Highway 50 overpass before transitioning to packed gravel for the remainder of its 3.3-mile one-way length. The route is entirely flat and wide enough for walkers, runners and cyclists to enjoy without any steep grades or obstacles.
As you follow the canal edge, you’ll pass grassy levee slopes and open marshy areas that attract great blue herons, egrets and other waterfowl. Glimpses of grain silos, shipping cranes and docked barges contrast with patches of riparian trees and wildflowers growing along the bank. Halfway along you’ll see fishing platforms where anglers cast their lines, and several seating areas with lighting and trash receptacles installed as part of recent trail improvements. The trail terminates at a locked gate near Levee Access Road, just shy of the Army Corps’ flood control levee—you can then simply turn around and retrace your steps back to Jefferson Boulevard.