I miss Sacramento so much and wish I could move back, but I’m stuck in Georgia. I left about 10 years ago, so some of my recollections might be a little out of date.

The better school districts tend to be in the upper middle class suburbs that are generally more expensive, less diverse, and somewhat more right-leaning, at least by California standards. The areas that come to mind are Rocklin, Roseville, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Folsom, Loomis, El Dorado Hills. I grew up in Lincoln when it was semi-rural, but it has mostly been taken over by people moving out of the more expensive bay area and prices have gone way up. Davis is a major college town that might be more liberal.

If you are willing to make a longer drive, Auburn, Grass Valley, Colfax, Placerville, and various small towns in the foothills would likely suit your outdoor and hiking preferences.

There are some great areas in the core, like Land Park and East Sacramento, but they tend to be very expensive and in some cases there are really bad areas a few blocks away.

West Sacramento and Woodland both seemed nice to me, but I’m not that familiar with either. I lived in North Natomas for several years and really liked it, but you have to keep an eye on the school boundaries. Where I lived, my kids would have been sent to some unsafe middle and high schools in a neighboring area, even though the Natomas schools were closer. Also, my wife says the area has gotten worse since we left, but I don’t know in what way.