She was recommissioned on 10 June 1866 and operated along the United States East Coast, in the Caribbean, and in the Gulf of Mexico.

She also served as a training ship at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, before decommissioning at Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 December 1868.

Recommissioned on 22 July 1870, Saco departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 6 August 1870 and steamed to European waters.

She cruised in the Mediterranean for over a year before getting underway from Naples, Italy, on 14 December 1871 and heading for the Suez Canal and the Far East.

She was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California on 13 July 1876 and remained in ordinary there until she was sold to William E. Mighell on 20 November 1883.