Lakewood Estates, Lakewood, CA

Lakewood Estates lines up along the San Gabriel River on Lakewood's east side, and a lot of open space runs through it. A string of parks, a riverside bike path and a working horse stable sit within a few minutes of most homes, with Cerritos just across the border. Most houses in Lakewood Estates are 1950s ranch homes, one story and modest in size, with the garage-and-lawn street pattern the whole city is known for. A smaller pocket of larger two-story homes sits on the north side, which gives those blocks a different scale. Rynerson Park is the centerpiece, about 40 acres on the east bank of the river with Little League diamonds, fitness equipment, picnic areas and paved paths. Home Run Dog Park is right next door, and the park doubles as a trailhead for the San Gabriel River trail, which runs for miles in both directions along the channel. The Lakewood Equestrian Center on Carson Street is the surprise. It boards and trains horses and gives riding lessons, and its Barnyard Buddies program runs pony rides and a petting zoo. Riders use a horse trail near Rynerson Park and the paths along the river. Food here is spread along the big roads. Cassidy's Corner Cafe on Del Amo Boulevard bakes its bagels fresh every morning and loads them up with egg sandwiches and flavored cream cheeses. Daily life runs by car, with on-ramps to the 605 at Del Amo Boulevard and South Street making trips north or toward the beach quick. Step onto the river path at Rynerson on a weekend morning, though, and the draw is plain to see, with cyclists, dog walkers and the occasional horse sharing the same stretch.