Laguna Grande, Seaside, CA

Laguna Grande in Seaside is built around its lake, which gives the neighborhood a center most of the city lacks. Canyon del Rey Boulevard and Fremont Boulevard both run through it, and between them sit the park, a handful of restaurants and a small grid of houses. The lakeside park dates to 1950, when the county set it aside, and it has been managed as a regional park since the mid-1970s. A paved path loops the water and carries on past Roberts Lake to the sand at Monterey State Beach, where it joins the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, an 18-mile route that starts in Castroville. Pacchetti Dog Park is inside the neighborhood too, so the lakeshore is a daily stop for a lot of leashes. Homes are few, fewer than nine hundred in the whole neighborhood. The single-story houses that come up for sale date to around 1950 and sit on lots near five thousand square feet. Breakfast is the neighborhood's best meal. The Breakfast Club, at 1130 Fremont, is a family-owned diner that serves from 7 in the morning until 2, with new specials on weekdays. The Creperie Cafe, at 1123 Fremont, makes crepes on a batter that can be vegan and gluten free, and pours fresh coffee alongside in a cozy, rustic room. On Thursday afternoons the nonprofit Everyone's Harvest runs a certified farmers market on Canyon del Rey Boulevard, sometimes with live music. Chain restaurants line Canyon del Rey, which makes errands a quick loop in the car. Del Rey Oaks and the Casanova Oak Knoll area of Monterey share the borders, so the next town's stores are close. The blocks nearest Canyon del Rey hear the traffic, and the housing stock is thin, so choices are limited when something comes up for sale. As a regional park, Laguna Grande belongs to the whole peninsula, and its paths are shared with everyone who drives in for a loop.