If you’re heading to NCCNA 48 in Sacramento, California, March 25–28, 2027, the convention gives you a pretty good reason to make more than a quick in-and-out trip.
NCCNA is a big one. The Northern California Region says the convention now draws roughly 6,000 to 8,000 people each year, a long way from the approximately 350 people who attended the first NCCNA in San Jose in 1979. NCCNA 48 brings that gathering back to Sacramento, with the convention centered in the downtown area.
And Sacramento works especially well for this kind of trip.
You don’t have to build an elaborate vacation around convention weekend. History, museums, restaurants, the riverfront and several of the city’s best-known neighborhoods are concentrated around downtown. That makes it easy to spend most of your time at NCCNA while still getting out for a few hours and seeing where you are.
Start with Old Sacramento Waterfront
If you only have time for one distinctly Sacramento stop, Old Sacramento Waterfront is an easy choice.
The historic district covers about 28 acres along the Sacramento River and combines Gold Rush-era buildings, museums, shops, restaurants and riverfront scenery. The district has more than 125 businesses and attractions, so you can spend an hour wandering around or turn it into half a day without needing much of a plan.
The wooden sidewalks and historic storefronts give this part of town a completely different feel from the modern downtown just a few blocks away.
It’s also a good option for a group. People can grab food, shop, walk along the river or split off to see a museum and still meet back up without everyone having to agree on the same activity.
Check Out the California State Railroad Museum
Right in the Old Sacramento area, the California State Railroad Museum is one of the easiest substantial attractions to work into the weekend.
The museum has about 225,000 square feet of exhibits, restored locomotives and railroad cars covering the history of rail travel in California and the West. Even if you aren’t somebody who normally seeks out railroad museums, the full-size trains make this a lot more interesting than staring at display cases for two hours.
It’s particularly useful if Sacramento gives you a rainy afternoon in March and you want something indoors between convention activities.
Walk the Capitol Area
Sacramento is California’s capital, so the State Capitol area is worth seeing even if you don’t make an entire attraction out of it.
The Capitol, Capitol Park and surrounding government district are part of the central city, making them relatively easy to combine with lunch, coffee or a walk through downtown and Midtown. Visit Sacramento lists the Capitol among the central city’s major attractions.
This is the kind of sightseeing that works well during convention weekend because it doesn’t necessarily require reserving half your day.
Go walk around. Take a few pictures. Get some air. Then head back.
Spend an Hour or Two at the Crocker Art Museum
If art is more your thing, the Crocker Art Museum is another strong option near downtown.
The museum combines its historic Victorian building with a modern pavilion and includes California art along with collections spanning multiple periods and cultures. The Crocker is at 216 O Street, close enough to the downtown core that it can be worked into the trip without turning into an expedition.
For a convention weekend, that flexibility matters.
You don’t necessarily need eight hours of sightseeing. Sometimes you need one interesting place to go between the afternoon and evening parts of your day.
Walk the River and See Tower Bridge
Sacramento’s Tower Bridge is one of those landmarks that immediately tells you where the picture was taken.
The bright yellow bridge crosses the Sacramento River beside downtown and Old Sacramento, making the riverfront an easy place for an evening walk. It’s especially good around sunset when the bridge and downtown skyline light up.
This is another low-commitment stop: no ticket, no schedule and no need to plan your entire day around it.
If NCCNA weekend gets busy, this might be exactly the kind of break you want.
Eat Your Way Through Sacramento
Sacramento has leaned heavily into its identity as America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital, and food is one of the better reasons to explore beyond the convention center.
The surrounding agricultural region feeds a restaurant scene that puts a lot of emphasis on fresh and locally grown ingredients. Downtown and Midtown have especially dense clusters of restaurants, cafes and coffee shops.
You don’t need a list of ten restaurants before you arrive.
Pick a neighborhood, walk around and see what sounds good.
Midtown is particularly useful for that. It has restaurants, coffee shops, galleries and a more neighborhood-oriented feel than the office-heavy parts of downtown.
Convention travel is often better when you leave some room for that kind of spontaneity.
Getting Around During NCCNA 48
One of the big advantages of this particular NCCNA is its downtown location.
The NCCNA site lists the convention center at 1401 K Street, and the convention’s partner hotels currently include the Hyatt Regency Sacramento, Sheraton Grand Sacramento and Residence Inn Sacramento, all in the same central part of the city.
That creates the possibility of doing much of the weekend on foot depending on where you stay.
Old Sacramento, the riverfront, Capitol area, Midtown and several museums are all in or around the central city. Sacramento also has buses and light rail for trips that are a little farther out.
If you’re flying into Sacramento International Airport, SacRT currently operates Route 142 between the airport and downtown. Schedules and fares can change before March 2027, so check the current information before you travel.
A Simple NCCNA Weekend
You don’t need to turn NCCNA into a sightseeing marathon.
A simple trip could look something like this:
Thursday: Arrive, get settled, check into the convention and grab dinner downtown or in Midtown.
Friday: Spend most of the day around NCCNA, then walk through the Capitol area or explore Midtown when you have a break.
Saturday: Convention first. If you have a few open hours, visit Old Sacramento and the Railroad Museum, or head to the Crocker Art Museum.
Saturday evening: Take a walk along the river and Tower Bridge before heading back into the convention.
Sunday: Grab breakfast or coffee, attend the parts of NCCNA you don’t want to miss, and head home—or add another day to Sacramento if you have the time.
The point isn’t to squeeze every Sacramento attraction into four days.
The convention is the center of the trip.
Everything else is there when you have room for it.
If You Have an Extra Day
If you decide to stay through Monday, Sacramento gives you more options.
The American River Parkway offers trails and outdoor space if you want something quieter after a busy convention weekend. Visit Sacramento also points visitors toward the historic Gold Country towns east of the city, many roughly a 45-minute drive away.
Or you can do something even simpler:
Sleep in.
Find breakfast.
Walk around Sacramento without worrying about what time the next meeting starts.
There’s something to be said for giving yourself one day after a large convention before jumping straight back into normal life.
Make NCCNA 48 a Trip
With thousands of people expected to come together in Sacramento, NCCNA 48 is already a destination event.
The bonus is that the convention lands in a city where you can actually experience quite a bit without traveling far from it.
Spend your weekend surrounded by the fellowship. Hear some speakers. Catch some meetings. Reconnect with people you haven’t seen in a while.
Then, when you have a little free time, go see Sacramento.
That’s what While You’re in Town is all about.
Official NCCNA 48 information
NCCNA 48 directory listing
Â
Photo by Stephen Leonardi via Pexels.