Events & Shows

Events & Shows: Back to the Future Musical Sacramento 2026: Where to Stay

Back to the Future: The Musical plays Sacramento's SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center May 14–16. Stay 10 minutes away at a private home with a hot tub and game room.

Back to the Future: The Musical Comes to Sacramento — May 14–16, 2026

If you grew up watching Marty McFly reach 88 miles per hour in a DeLorean, you already know you want to see this show. Back to the Future: The Musical is the Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of the beloved 1985 film — with a flying DeLorean, wall-to-wall classic songs, and a production that critics have called the most technically spectacular musical of the decade. It's playing Sacramento's SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center for three nights only: May 14, 15, and 16, 2026.

We're Ryan and Ashley, your hosts at City of Trees House in West Sacramento. Our house is about a 10-minute drive from the Performing Arts Center, and we've hosted theater-goers, concert fans, and show weekenders since 2017. Here's how we'd plan the trip around this one — including where to eat before the show, what to do the rest of the weekend, and why a private home beats a downtown hotel for this kind of trip.

About Back to the Future: The Musical

The show originated at the Manchester Opera House in 2020, transferred to London's West End at the Adelphi Theatre, and won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical — the British equivalent of a Tony. It arrived on Broadway in 2023 and earned universal praise for its stagecraft: the DeLorean actually flies, the special effects are genuinely cinematic, and the score blends the original Alan Silvestri film themes with new original songs. Audiences have called it "the most fun you can have in a theater" and "exactly what a blockbuster adaptation should be."

The North American tour is playing select cities, and Sacramento is one of them. Three nights at SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, 1301 L Street in downtown Sacramento. Tickets are available at the venue box office and through Ticketmaster. If you haven't locked in your seats yet, go now — touring productions of this caliber sell out fast in mid-sized markets like Sacramento.

Where to Stay for Back to the Future Musical in Sacramento

Why City of Trees House Works for a Show Weekend

Downtown Sacramento hotels will charge a premium for a big touring show weekend — and you get one room, a lobby breakfast, and a valet line. City of Trees House is a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom private home in West Sacramento, available for your entire group. It's about 10 minutes from SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center by car or rideshare, and the price difference between one hotel room downtown and the entire house is often surprisingly small once you factor in the Airbnb service fee.

What the house actually gives you: a full gourmet kitchen for pre-show dinner prep, a private backyard with a hot tub waiting for you when you get home from the show, and a neon game room for a full evening of post-show fun before bed. That's a theater weekend that feels like a real experience rather than a hotel checkout.

What's at City of Trees House

• Private hot tub — Heated to 104 degrees and ready from check-in. After a two-hour-plus show, nothing lands better than sitting in a hot tub in a private backyard, replaying the flying DeLorean scene. The hot tub holds 6 people and the backyard is fully fenced, with string lights and an outdoor speaker system.
• Neon game room — Retro arcade games, pool table, ping pong, and darts. If you're doing a Friday night show and have Saturday open, the game room is where Saturday evening ends up. We've had guests discover they'd rather play pool than go back out — and that's exactly right.
• 3 bedrooms and 2 baths — Primary king suite, queen bedroom, and bunk room. Groups, couples, families — everyone sleeps comfortably, and you're not squeezing into a double-queen hotel room wondering who takes the rollaway.
• Full gourmet kitchen — Cook a real pre-show dinner instead of waiting 45 minutes for a table at a packed downtown restaurant on show night. Our kitchen has a KitchenAid stand mixer, Caraway cookware, and a Fellow Aiden coffee maker with beans stocked.
• Tesla EV charger — Level 2 charging in the driveway. If you're driving in from the Bay Area or beyond, you'll appreciate arriving to a charger that has you topped up by morning.
• 7-minute walk to Sutter Health Park — The home of the Sacramento River Cats and the Oakland A's. If there's a game during your stay, the walk is easier than any parking lot.

Pre-Show Dinner: Where to Eat Near SAFE Credit Union PAC

The Performing Arts Center is in downtown Sacramento, surrounded by excellent restaurants. Our recommendations for a pre-show dinner on a theater night:

• Grange Restaurant & Bar — Inside the Citizen Hotel, two blocks from the PAC. California farm-to-fork at its most polished. Excellent cocktails, a menu that rotates with the seasons, and a room that feels right for a special evening out. Reservations recommended.
• The Kitchen Restaurant — Not walking distance, but Sacramento's most celebrated dining experience — a multi-course theatrical event where the chefs narrate from the open kitchen. If you want the show to be the second theatrical experience of your day, book here for lunch.
• Waterboy — Midtown European bistro, 15 minutes from the PAC. Quieter than the downtown corridor, excellent wine list, and a menu that rewards people who actually care about what they're eating.
• Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. — R Street Corridor, converted firehouse, strong craft beer selection and a menu built for a good time. Great for a group that wants to keep things relaxed before the show.

Our honest advice: if you're cooking at the house, leave by 7 PM for an 8 PM curtain. Downtown Sacramento parking is manageable, and the PAC is well-served by rideshare — a Lyft from West Sacramento runs under $15 each way and avoids the parking puzzle entirely.

The Rest of the Weekend in Sacramento

Saturday: Old Sacramento and the Waterfront

Old Sacramento is a 10-minute drive from the house and one of Sacramento's most distinctive neighborhoods — cobblestone streets, Gold Rush-era brick buildings, the California State Railroad Museum (one of the best rail museums in the country), and a riverfront promenade with the Tower Bridge as the backdrop. If the show is Friday or Saturday night, Saturday afternoon at Old Sacramento gives the weekend real texture beyond the theater.

Saturday Afternoon: The Crocker Art Museum

California's oldest art museum, in a stunning Victorian mansion connected to a modern wing downtown. The permanent collection spans centuries, the rotating exhibitions are genuinely excellent, and the museum shop is worth the stop. Admission is $15 per adult. Plan 90 minutes and you'll leave satisfied — it's the right scale for a casual afternoon during a show weekend.

Sunday Morning: Midtown Farmers Market

Sacramento's Midtown Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 8 AM to 1 PM at 20th and J Street. If you're doing a Saturday show, Sunday morning is for the house — slow coffee with the Fellow Aiden, backyard, and checkout at 10 AM. Drive home before the weekend traffic builds.

A's Baseball at Sutter Health Park

If the Oakland A's have a home game during your stay — and May has a full home schedule — you can walk to Sutter Health Park from City of Trees House in 7 minutes. The ballpark experience is warm and affordable, and walking home after a night game through a quiet West Sacramento neighborhood is one of the genuinely pleasurable things about staying where we're located.

Book Direct and Save

Show weekends are exactly when Airbnb service fees sting the most. When a stay is already elevated for a big touring production, the 14–17% Airbnb fee on top becomes a meaningful number. Book at City of Trees House directly and skip it entirely. Use promo code DIRECT5 for an additional 5% off your direct booking — that's money better spent on show tickets, pre-show dinner, or an Ace Hardware trip for better marshmallows to toast over the fire pit.

We're Ryan and Ashley — Superhosts since 2017, 4.94 rating, 721+ reviews. We're nearby, we answer fast, and we want your Back to the Future weekend in Sacramento to be genuinely memorable — from the flying DeLorean on stage to the hot tub at midnight when you get home. Book at City of Trees House for May 14–16 before dates fill up.