I am taking an Amtrak trip out West to San Francisco.

 

I'll be stopping in Omaha, Denver, Boulder, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento on the way there. I have friends living in Boulder and San Francisco who can guide me and tell me where to go in SF, Denver, and Boulder. I'm looking for suggestions on what to check out while I'm in the other cities, though (if there is something that is grossly overlooked in Denver or SF you can tell me about those too). Let me know if you have any suggestions for Omaha, SLC, or Sacramento. I'm particularly interested in historic neighborhoods, music, free things, and breweries.

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Was in Sacramento a couple years back and I enjoyed:

 

Walking through the Capitol grounds;

 

Walk along K street from the Convention Center to Old Sacramento. Several breweries in the area including a Pyramid Brew Pub and the River City Brewing Company. The latter was a little odd as it's in a outdoor shopping mall. Also along this stretch is Pizza Rock which was tasty;

 

There is a lot to see in Old Sacramento including The Delta King, California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento History Museum;

 

Had some good beers at Brew It Up Brewery & Grill

^Yeah, he nailed it for Sacramento.  Old Sacramento is at least a unique tourist trap.  The neighborhoods east of the Capitol always strangely reminded me of a California-version of Portland (gridded streets, Victorian architecture, similar scales, trees, breweries, etc) so check them out.  Areas like J Street @ 23rd are an example.

 

I haven't been to Salt Lake City since the late 90's but I remember their downtown being vibrant.  Capitol Hill was a treat, architecturally, and the area just east of the capitol had some gorgeous homes.  Otherwise, can't help on that one.

 

Omaha has a surprisingly wonderful amount of neighborhoods.  The Old Market is their main "tourist" area but it is pretty neat and has great restaurants. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_of_Omaha,_Nebraska

 

And steaks!  Get a steak in Omaha.  They are fantastic.

I was just in Omaha last week.  Definitely check out the "Old Market" area.  Interesting shops and restaurants.  (And of course get a steak.)  I had dinner at Upstream, which I think is a microbrewery, and it was pretty good. 

 

Not sure how long you will be there, but one thing I did notice is that I didn't see a single cab anywhere.  I was there on business, and had to get the hotel shuttle to take me various places.  Depending on your transportation situation, that could affect what you do.  Old Market is definitely walkable from downtown. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I just arrived in Boulder and had a great time in Omaha. I checked out the Old Market area, went across the pedestrian bridge to Iowa, and went to several bars. I had people who were able to drive me around a little so it worked out perfect. I really liked Omaha and yeah there were almost no taxis in the city so I'm glad I didn't rely on that. After Boulder I'll be going to SLC and Sacramento. Let me know if you have any other advice for those cities!

 

Thanks!