South Turlock, Turlock, CA

South Turlock runs along Lander Avenue and Golden State Boulevard on the south side of the city, a compact district where markets, taquerías and a handful of small parks share space with older single-family streets. Just south of downtown, the Wright area has ranch and Spanish-style houses built mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, set on roughly quarter-acre lots, with newer pockets on streets whose names end in wood. Those lots are larger than the bungalow blocks near Main Street, so South Turlock homes tend to have more yard and driveway room. Dinner trends toward Lander Avenue. Tesoro Fine Mexican Restaurant has a bar with a cocktail menu and a happy hour, and Mariscos Culiacán a few blocks down Lander is a seafood stop locals mention for its tacos and aguas frescas. Save Mart is the main grocery, and La Perla Tapatia adds a Mexican market. Frank Raines Park gives the area its main patch of green, with a few smaller neighborhood parks around it. The Quaile Rand Norton Dog Park on South Berkeley Avenue and the Columbia Park splash pad are short drives away. A car makes the most sense here, with Highway 99 close by. Turlock Transit buses run along Linwood Avenue for anyone who prefers not to drive, and Golden State Boulevard connects back to downtown. Further southeast, the Morgan Ranch master plan covers a large stretch of southeast Turlock, a large planned area with a school site and smaller lots, but building there has waited on infrastructure. Downtown's Main Street restaurants and Saturday market are a short drive north, which makes South Turlock an easy base for both errands and a night out. Lander and Golden State carry the traffic and the signs, so the quiet streets are the ones set back from them. Lander Avenue is where nearly everything on this side of town gets done, from groceries to dinner.