Sherwood Forest, Modesto, CA

Sherwood Forest runs along Coffee Road in northern Modesto and feels older than the subdivisions around it. Its homes come from several eras, mostly medium to large single-family houses on lots with mature trees, which is the clearest sign you have left the newer north end. Sherwood Park, Standiford Park and Revard Manor Park provide neighborhood green, and the Virginia Corridor Trailway is within reach for longer rides. The Peggy Mensinger Trail along Dry Creek begins near Coffee Road and Scenic Drive, where there is parking, and passes through eucalyptus and oak groves. The creek is the easiest way to see the area at its best, especially in the quiet morning hours with oaks and eucalyptus overhead and few cars in earshot. The parking lot at Scenic Drive makes it simple to fit a walk into a lunch hour. Bella Italia on Coffee Road has long served classic Italian dinners. Al Carbon Pollos a la Brasa, a newer arrival at the same end of the road, sells Peruvian rotisserie chicken, and Caffettino is a small roaster with an Italian-leaning espresso counter. Cornucopia Natural Foods and Spice of India supply specialty groceries, Chopping Block Butcher Shop and Deli handles meat, and Sprouts sits just beyond the boundary. Coffee Road and McHenry Avenue organize the day, and most errands are short drives. Coffee Road collects the commercial frontage, so strip-mall stretches mean steady traffic and plenty of signs. Behind that frontage the residential blocks are calmer, and the older trees help show where one ends and the other begins. North Beyer Park and Sylvan sit on its other sides, which makes the area a middle ground between the newer streets and the older center of the city. Morning espresso, a rotisserie dinner and an Italian supper all line up along one road, and that is how Sherwood Forest spends its day.