Downtown Oakdale, Oakdale, CA

Downtown Oakdale is where the cowboy identity stops being a slogan. Two museums share the blocks: the Cowboy Museum at 355 East F Street tells the rodeo and ranching story behind the town's nickname, and the Oakdale Museum & History Center occupies the oldest building in town, with displays on the early homes and shops that built the place. Yosemite Avenue crosses F Street here, and the rest of the neighborhood is arranged around that corner. Houses are smaller and more modest than the newer subdivisions toward the edges of the city, and they sit close to the storefronts. Walking is realistic in the core, which is not true for most of the city. Breakfast usually means Cahoots Corner Cafe on East F Street, which serves breakfast and lunch and closes by early afternoon, or Refuge Coffee, open weekday mornings and Saturday until one. Last Call Brewing runs a taproom on North First Avenue, and House of Beef and Bistro 120 are the sit-down dinner options. Alamosa Hat Works, a custom cowboy hat shop, is the kind of store most downtowns never get. Green space is small and scattered. A gazebo park sits right at F Street and Yosemite Avenue, William Meyer Park is a picnic-table stop on South Second Avenue, and the Oakdale Morning Market takes over Third Avenue on Saturday mornings from spring through September. For river time, locals drive over to Valley View Park, where paths lead toward the Stanislaus. Oakdale Market handles specialty groceries downtown, but a full shopping run usually means Raley's in Burchell Hill or the Save Mart on the east side. Highways 108 and 120 cross at Oakdale, and Modesto is about fifteen miles off, so regional trips start with a drive. Evenings in Downtown Oakdale go quiet once the cafes close, and the taproom and a couple of restaurants carry what is left of the night. On a Saturday, though, you can see the museum, pick up a coffee and wander the market without moving the car.