The opening is this Saturday. On October 10, the California Museum at 1020 O Street in Sacramento unveils Sendero de las Almas Luminosas — a path of Día de los Muertos altars that winds through the museum’s galleries from October 10 through November 15, 2026. It is one of the quieter, more thoughtful ways to mark the holiday in Sacramento, and admission is under ten dollars for most visitors.
What the Exhibition Actually Is
Unlike a single-room display, Sendero de las Almas Luminosas — which translates roughly as “Path of the Shining Souls” — integrates its altars directly into the California Museum’s permanent galleries. Each altar is built to reflect the theme of the exhibit it sits inside. A community altar, available for the full run of the show, invites visitors to honor people they have lost. Downloadable lantern templates are available on the museum’s website so visitors can prepare at home; craft materials are also set out on-site for those who prefer to create something in the moment.
The effect is cumulative. Moving from one permanent collection to the next and encountering an altar in each room turns an ordinary museum visit into something different — more personal, and more focused on the specific Sacramento-area communities represented in the building’s holdings.
Opening Night Fiesta
The exhibition opens with a Día de los Muertos Fiesta on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 6 p.m. This is an evening event separate from regular museum hours. Anyone who wants to see the exhibition during regular daytime visits can start Sunday, October 11 at noon.
The California Museum is closed on Mondays. Tuesday through Saturday it is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday hours are noon to 5 p.m. The exhibition runs through November 15, which gives visitors several weekends after Día de los Muertos itself (November 1–2) to see it.
How It Differs from Sacramento’s Other Día de los Muertos Events
Sacramento has several ways to celebrate Día de los Muertos. El Panteón de Sacramento at The Latino Center and the other community events are outdoor, crowd-forward gatherings with music, food, and processions. The California Museum is the indoor, arts-forward version — a place to slow down, read the context around each altar, and spend time at the community ofrenda without navigating a large crowd.
For families with younger kids who want the visual richness of the tradition without the late evening format, the museum during daytime hours works well. For visitors who want to go deeper into the cultural history behind what they’re seeing, the permanent collections surrounding each altar — California Indians, Gold Mountain, Women Inspire — provide that context built in.
It is also a manageable add-on to a downtown Sacramento day. The museum sits one block from the State Capitol at 1020 O Street, within walking distance of Old Sacramento and the light rail system.
The Details
- Exhibition: Sendero de las Almas Luminosas: Día de los Muertos 2026
- Dates: October 10 – November 15, 2026
- Opening Fiesta: Saturday, October 10 at 6 p.m. (evening event)
- General admission access begins: Sunday, October 11 at noon
- Museum hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. / Sunday, noon–5 p.m. / Closed Monday
- Address: 1020 O St., Sacramento, CA 95814
- Phone: (916) 653-7524
- Admission: Adults (18+) $10 / Students and seniors 65+ with ID $8 / Youth 6–17 $8 / Children 5 and under free / Military with ID $8
- Members: Free with California Museum membership
What Else Is in the Museum Right Now
The Sendero de las Almas Luminosas altars move through all of the museum’s signature galleries, which means a visit covers a lot of ground. Current permanent collections include California Hall of Fame, California Indians, Gold Mountain (on the history of Chinese immigrants in California), Uprooted (Japanese American incarceration), and Women Inspire. A temporary exhibition, Help Wanted: Leave Now, is also currently on view. Plan on 90 minutes for the full circuit.
For visitors interested in other cultural programming at Sacramento museums this fall, the Crocker Art Museum opens two new exhibitions simultaneously in November, including work from contemporary Maya painters. And if the walk through the California Museum’s historical galleries gets you thinking about Sacramento’s deeper history, the Sacramento History Museum’s ghost tours are running through October just a few blocks away in Old Sacramento.
Bottom Line
The California Museum’s Día de los Muertos exhibition is one of the most substantive ways to engage with the holiday in Sacramento. It is not a festival — it is a deliberate, room-by-room experience built around the museum’s existing collections, with a community altar at the center. Admission is $10 for most adults, the museum is walkable from the Capitol and light rail, and it runs for five weeks, so there is no urgency to show up on the opening weekend if that does not work. That said, the October 10 Fiesta is worth knowing about if an evening event fits your schedule.
The California Museum is at 1020 O Street in Sacramento. For the lantern templates and any updates on the Fiesta ticketing, check californiamuseum.org or call (916) 653-7524.
