Riverbank, CA

Riverbank sits on the Stanislaus River just north of Modesto, in the northern San Joaquin Valley. The town grew up at a river crossing and incorporated in 1922, and the water is still its best feature. Of the city's eighteen parks, the biggest is Jacob Myers Park, where you can launch a boat, spread out a picnic or use the playground beside the current. The city's seven Houseberry neighborhoods fall into three groups. Downtown Riverbank and East of Roselle are the oldest, built around Santa Fe Street and a handful of neighborhood parks. River Cove is the riverside neighborhood. Howard and River Heights run along Patterson Road, with a steakhouse, a movie theater and a long row of drive-throughs, and Crossroads and Crossroads West are the newer retail district along Claribel Road, anchored by Trader Joe's. Homes across the city run from Craftsman and ranch-style houses near the center to stucco subdivisions and new construction at the east edge. Santa Fe Street's Get Toasted and Black Sheep Kitchen & Cocktails are the downtown dining pair. El Ranchito has been serving Mexican food and seafood on Atchison Street for years, Cool Hand Luke's is the steakhouse, and Palo Santo Cafe is the independent coffee and gelato stop in the shopping district. Every October the free Cheese & Wine Festival fills downtown. The rest of the year the farmers market, the museum and the river keep the calendar going. Daily life revolves around a car. Crossroads has the big grocery stores and chain restaurants, StanRTA runs the local buses, and a BNSF freight line cuts through town with no passenger station since 1999. Modesto is the nearest big job and shopping center. The main tradeoff is that the best things in Riverbank are spread apart. The river is on one side, the shopping on the other, and the old downtown in between, so most days involve a drive, and the trains are part of the soundtrack in the center.