Planning ahead gets the most out of a trip
If you’re coming to the Lodi, the Delta and the Mother Lode areas for a vacation or even a day-tripper, it pays to plan ahead. Here then are the vitals — what you need to know about Lodi:
Transportation
Airports
Sacramento International Airport
The airport is located 12 miles northwest of downtown Sacramento. Service available from 13 major airlines and one commuter line. More than 150 departing flights daily. Several on-site car rental agencies. Passenger services can be contacted at (916) 929-5411.
This airport, located in Modesto just off Highway 99, offers connector flights to and from San Francisco four times daily through SkyWest Airlines. Passenger Service can be contacted at 1-800-241-6522.
San Francisco International Airport
SFO is the major international airport serving the Bay Area. Thirty-six airlines serve the airport, which is located in south San Francisco. The airport’s information line can be reached at (650) 821-8211.
Train and Bus Service
Lodi Station
Located at 24 S. Sacramento St. in Lodi, the station provides Amtrak service through an electronic ticket machine and Greyhound bus service. Amtrak trains make four stops a day (two going north and two going south) on the San Joaquin Valley run between Sacramento and Bakersfield. Amtrak provides bus service at Lodi to and from those passenger trains stopping at the Stockton station. Call AMTRAK at 800-USA-RAIL and Greyhound at (209) 369-1164.
Local Bus Services
This local bus service offers routes throughout Lodi and connections to regional transit lines that travel to Stockton, Manteca and Tracy.
Dial-A-Ride
This city-run service offers taxi-style door-to-door pick-ups for riders with disabilities. Call 333-6806.
San Joaquin Regional Transit Center
The center, located in downtown Stockton, is the major hub for San Joaquin regional transit. Routes between Lodi, Stockton, Manteca, Tracy and other Central Valley cities are available, as are connectors to the Bay Area, Sacramento and San Jose, and a feeder service to BART. The 23 and 24 lines provide daily service between Lodi and downtown Stockton. For more information, click on the SJRTD Web site.
Car Rental Agencies
Alamo: (888) 426-3296
Avis: (800) 831-2847
Enterprise (Lodi): (209) 369-2000
Enterprise (Stockton): (209) 462-5900
Hertz (Lodi): (209) 333-3361
Hertz (Galt): (209) 745-0391
Sanborn Chevrolet: (209) 334-5000
Silver Dollar Rent-A-Car: (209) 339-9586
Emergency services
For fire, police and medical emergencies, dial 911.
Travel tips
Location
Lodi is located in California’s Central Valley, 35 miles south of Sacramento and 6 miles north of Stockton. Lodi is less than three hours southwest of Reno and two hours east of San Francisco.
Lodi sits on top of both the Southern Pacific Railroad and U.S. Highway 99. Interstate 5 trots by less than five miles west of the city. The Mokelumne River, which starts at Lower Blue Lake in Alpine County (elevation: 8,100 feet) and stretches 140 miles to empty in the Delta, travels adjacent to the city’s northern border.
WeatherWedged between the hot Central Valley and the cool Bay Area, Lodi features cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers broken by a cooling Delta Breeze (coming off the vast Delta region with its thousand miles of waterways) which begins late most afternoons. The average high in July is 91 degrees and the average low in December is 37 degrees. The average yearly rainfall is 18.8 inches.
AttireShorts, skirts, light shirts and tank tops are entirely acceptable (and recommended) from March to October. Bundle up between November and February and prepare for rain. When packing, expect the unexpected — it could be 90 degrees and sunny or 65 degrees and raining on any given day in the early spring and late fall. Wind is common — pack a coat from September to June.
More information
Lodi
Wine & Visitor
Center
2545 W. Turner Road (west of Lower Sacramento
Road and south of Highway 12)
(209) 365-0621
California
Welcome Center — San Francisco
On Pier 39 at Beach Street and
the Embarcadero
(415) 956-3493
California
Delta Chambers & Visitors Bureau at Tower Park Marina
14900 W. Highway
12, Suite C-2, Lodi
(209) 367-9840
Calaveras County (Mother Lode) Visitors Bureau
(209) 736-0049.