James Marshall is a pretty but smallish and busy park on the edge of midtown across from some very popular eating, drinking and nightlife establishments. If you're in the area, it's a nice place for a short dog walk or lunch/reading on a bench.
What I like best about the park is the large number of shade trees. It's actually one of the more overall shaded parks in downtown Sacramento, giving a welcome respite from the heat in the long, hot summer months. That shade can also attract quite a few homeless who use it as a semi-camp/place to snooze, so keep that in mind. Not my first choice for a picnic, but definitely doable. There's a Senior Center in the center of the park that I've actually never seen in operation.
One thing to note is that a lot of the park traffic might be spillover from the bars on a Friday or Saturday night. Also, the meter maids are ruthless around here, so definitely keep your meter full. I spent an afternoon here and they came around every hour like clockwork. read more