Home2 Suites by Hilton West Sacramento

A café in a garden yard under old fruit trees, with picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and room for kids to wander. It's a short walk over the Tower Bridge from Old Sacramento.

A riverside beer garden with a big lawn, lawn games and fire pits, plus wood-fired pizza. Kids eat free on Mondays; they just have to stay at your table.

A rebuilt neighborhood park with a playground climbing wall, a summer spray ground and a walking loop with a labyrinth.

An old-fashioned burger and soft-serve stand from 1963, still family run, for burgers, shakes and floats.

Sleep on a 1927 paddlewheel riverboat in Old Sacramento, a short walk from the Railroad Museum. Staterooms are small and most sleep two, so it works best with one kid (book one of the queen-plus-twin rooms).

The easy pick for Old Sacramento: every room has its own bedroom door (bedtime solved), and you're across the street from the boardwalks.