River Cove, Riverbank, CA

River Cove is the part of Riverbank closest to the Stanislaus, and the water shapes how people spend their time here. Jacob Myers Park, the city's largest, sits just past the neighborhood edge off Santa Fe Road, open into the evening, with a boat ramp, a playground and picnic areas on the river. Inside the boundary, Lorenzo Zerillo Park and Hutcheson Park handle the everyday lawn and playground needs. Homes are mostly single-family, in the mix of ranch-style, Craftsman and stucco builds that run through Riverbank. The riverside streets lean older and more established than the newer tracts around Crossroads. On Atchison Street you will find a long-running sit-down meal, El Ranchito, which serves homemade Mexican food, seafood and margaritas. Sno-White Drive-In is another stop on the same street. A couple of minutes toward downtown, Santa Fe Street adds Get Toasted for brunch and the Black Sheep for dinner and drinks. Because the park is the main amenity, a typical weekday here often ends at the river rather than at a restaurant. In warm weather people float the river on inner tubes near the park, and others come just to sit in the shade by the water. Parks Department events and the downtown market fill in the rest of the calendar. Groceries and larger errands take a drive, since most of the supermarkets and chain stores are in the Crossroads district. The downtown farmers market and the library are close enough to reach without a long trip. StanRTA buses serve the town, and Modesto is the nearest big city. River Cove has fewer restaurants and shops of its own than the neighborhoods that sit along the main commercial roads, so most daily errands mean getting in the car. In return, the river is part of the neighborhood's address instead of a destination.