Considering it serves a metropolitan area population of 2.2 million, Sacramento International Airport (SMF) seems as if it is plopped out in rural farm country, miles away from the city. That was the case when it opened in 1967. Despite the impression, the airport is just 11 freeway miles northwest of downtown Sacramento, a drive that usually takes only about 15 minutes.
The freeway system puts most of the metro area within about 35 minutes drive from the airport. That includes larger population suburban cities of Elk Grove, Roseville, Rancho Cordova, Davis, Citrus Heights and Woodland. Going to Auburn or Folsom add another 10-15 minutes. Stockton, a metro area of more than 700,000, is an hour’s drive south.
The airport’s original 1967 facilities have been replaced by two modern terminals. Terminal A, opened in 1998, has 13 gates and Terminal B, opened in 2011, has 19 gates. The two terminals are separate from each other and self-contained with TSA security and passenger amenities.
For ground transportation, a car remains the most popular choice. Rental cars are in a remote consolidated facility that requires a shuttle ride from the terminals. App-based ride services are available at the terminals as are taxis, shuttles and reserved car services. The only public transportation is provided by Yolobus, which has two routes departing from the airport once each hour; one going to downtown Sacramento and the other to Woodland and Davis.
Sun Country Airlines flights arrive and depart at gates in Terminal B.
Passengers with checked bags who are connecting to any other airline must exit the TSA secure area to reclaim and then recheck their bags with the next airline. Passengers connecting to an airline in Terminal A have two options to get there: 1. About a 15-minute walk through a parking garage. (Read directions here.) Or 2. Take a parking shuttle, which departs about every 10 minutes from the front of the terminal. (The parking shuttle goes through the parking lots before it reaches Terminal A but on the return the shuttles go directly from Terminal A to Terminal B).
Often overshadowed by San Francisco 1½ hours to the west and Lake Tahoe 2½ hours to the east, Sacramento is embracing what it has to offer visitors, most of it centering on being America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital or its historic place as the focal point of the 1849 California Gold Rush. There’s also the State Capitol.
With more than 1.5 million acres of land actively being farmed growing more than 150 crop varieties, agriculture supports a $7.2 billion industry in the five-county Sacramento region of California’s Central Valley. Visitors can’t get it much fresher than visiting one of the 40 weekly farmers markets in the area.
Gold Country, where gold was discovered in 1848, is about 1½ hours’ drive southeast from Sacramento – and is now also an important wine-growing region. In the seven years following the discovery of gold about 300,000 people moved West and, being at the intersection of overland trails, rail and river boat traffic, Sacramento developed as a transportation hub. In 1850 California was admitted as the 31st state and four years later Sacramento became its capital.
Visit Sacramento has more about visiting the area here.
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