Las Casitas, Salinas, CA

Las Casitas in Salinas is organized around a creek more than a street. Natividad Creek Park, with wooded banks and marshy edges that echo the valley's older landscape, runs through the neighborhood, and the Natividad Creek skatepark, at 681 Las Casitas Drive, is open around the clock. Las Casitas Park is inside the boundary too, and a second skate facility listed as Salinas Skate Park sits beside the first, so wheeled sports have two spots to share. Just across the line, Upper Carr Lake recreates part of the old wetland that once covered this area. Together the two parks give east Salinas a place to walk among water and trees, which is unusual in a city built on farm fields. For housing, expect mostly single-family houses along Las Casitas Drive and nearby streets, including some four-bedroom plans. For food, Panaderia Casa Oaxaca, at 1569 North Sanborn Road, is the bakery stop. Taqueria El Grullense, at 976 Acosta Plaza, and Las Islas Marias cover lunch and dinner. El Rey Market, Calidad Market y Carneceria and La Vina No. 4 handle groceries and fresh meat. Honey Berry, just over the line in Williams Ranch, adds boba and dessert, and Taqueria Jalisco and Panaderia Ortega, just across the line in Alisal, widen the choices. Burger King, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box and Subway handle fast meals, Salinas Pizza serves pies, and Nutricion y Vitalidad is a health-food store. Daily life centers on Sanborn Road and the cross streets. Food 4 Less is next door in Williams Ranch, so a full grocery run is a short drive, and regional buses fill in the longer trips. The creek park is the draw, while shopping and eating are mostly strung along Sanborn Road, so evenings out usually involve a drive. Walks along the creek are the part of living here that most of the east side does not have.