Sacramento Ghost Tours

Sacramento packed a great deal of history into a short time: a Gold Rush boomtown, a cholera epidemic, fires and floods that forced the city to raise its streets, and the railroad and politics of California's capital. That history has produced its share of ghost stories, especially around the old riverfront and the Delta King riverboat. Some stories are tied to documented events; others are local legends and accounts told by people who experienced them. Whether the city is haunted is something you can decide for yourself.

Ghosts of the Golden Frontier is our family-friendly tour for all ages, focused on Sacramento's people, the Gold Rush, the river and the railroad, and the city's folklore, with age-appropriate ghost stories. Every Fortune Has a Ghost is our adults-only tour (16+), exploring the darker chapters of Sacramento's past, from cholera, fire, and flood to the violence and desperation of a boomtown, and its reported hauntings, with mature themes. Adults-only means mature historical content, not a drinking tour, gore, or a deliberately terrifying experience.

No. Both tours stay above ground. Sacramento really did raise the streets of its business district after the floods of the 1850s and 1860s, by about 10 to 12 feet, leaving hollow sidewalks and former ground floors below today's street level, and our Ambassadors talk about that history. The underground spaces themselves are shown on the Sacramento History Museum's own Underground Tours.

No. Both are walking ghost tours on the city's streets. They don't include admission to any museum, hotel, riverboat, house, bar, or other building, and there are no cemetery visits or paranormal investigations involved.

No. The Gold Rush is where Sacramento's story speeds up, but our tours reach further: the Nisenan and Plains Miwok people who lived here first, the immigrants from China, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, and beyond who built the city, the railroad, the politics of the capital, and the ordinary families who made a life here.

Our research begins with the actual history of a place. We don't invent murders, deaths, or hauntings, and we'll always tell you which parts of a story come from the historical record and which come from legend or reported encounters.

Yes. All Ghost City Tours are walking tours led by a professional Ambassador, so you experience historic places as they were meant to be experienced.

Comfortable walking shoes and clothing for the weather. Sacramento summer evenings can stay hot well after dark, so bring water. Winter nights are cool and often damp, sometimes with thick valley fog, so bring a warm jacket.

If you complete your tour and don't love it, let us know within 24 hours and we'll give you your money back. The guarantee applies to tours completed in full; it doesn't cover no-shows, early departures, or a tour being scarier (or less scary) than expected. We also offer a Best Price Guarantee when you book directly with us.

Our tours meet in central Sacramento. You'll receive exact meeting point details in your confirmation email.