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A walk beside the Stanislaus River, lunch on Santa Fe Street and a movie on Patterson Road: Riverbank makes an easy change of scene from Turlock. Its railroad-era downtown and busy Claribel Road shopping centers are only parts of the story. There is also a little Carnegie library that became a museum, and a remarkable photograph of the town taken by Dorothea Lange.
Riverbank sits northeast of Modesto, on the south side of the Stanislaus River. It incorporated on August 23, 1922. The Census Bureau estimated 26,557 residents in July 2025, up from 24,865 counted in 2020. It is a separate city with its own downtown, parks and traditions, rather than just another shopping stop on the edge of Modesto.
Jump to: Downtown · Jacob Myers Park · Food · Shopping & movies · Local traditions · History · Getting there
Downtown: Santa Fe Street, Third Street and a small Carnegie
Start around Santa Fe and Third streets. The street names give away the railroad connection; the broad streets have a more particular explanation. Riverbank’s historic-resources study says the downtown laid out in 1911 allowed room for mule-drawn wagons to turn. That detail is easy to miss when you are looking at storefronts rather than thinking about how goods once moved through town.
The Riverbank Historical Museum occupies the former Carnegie library at 3237 Santa Fe Street. Expect a small Craftsman building with a porch and exposed architectural details, rather than a grand stone library. It opened in 1921 and served readers until 1978. The city’s museum listing currently gives Tuesday and Saturday hours of 10 a.m.–noon. If the museum is the reason for your trip, call 209-345-5656 before setting out.
There is a good Valley rivalry behind that little building. Both Riverbank and Patterson received $3,000 Carnegie grants in 1917, but World War I delayed construction. When Patterson asked for Riverbank’s unused grant money, Riverbank residents stepped up to secure a site. Carnegie Libraries of California tells the story, including the later effort to save the building from sale.
Nearby, Plaza del Rio at 6702 Third Street is a public gathering space with a stage. The working Riverbank Library is a different building, at 3442 Santa Fe Street. It has Wi-Fi, mobile printing and a community room; the county’s branch directory lists current hours and services. For an ordinary family visit, the library can be a useful indoor stop between lunch and the park.
Jacob Myers Park: the river is the main attraction
Jacob Myers Park is Riverbank’s largest park, with a mile-long paved walking trail, playground, picnic areas and a dog park. It also has boating and fishing access to the Stanislaus River. The entrance is at 23655 S. Santa Fe Road.
The railway bridge gives the river setting a connection to the town’s working past. In this 1995 engineering photograph, the park lies to the right of the bridge. For a visit today, the paved trail makes the park useful even when you have no plans to launch a boat or get in the water.
- Parking: April–September, the city charges $12 per vehicle for nonresidents and $7 for residents on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Identification is checked. Entrance staff can issue a free one-hour walking pass to visitors who say they are there to walk the trail.
- Wednesday matters: the McRitchie Trail and dog park are closed Wednesdays. That is a trail-and-dog-park closure, not a statement that the entire park closes.
- Winter closes earlier: October–March, front gates close at 6 p.m.; the trail and dog park close at 5 p.m. Summer closing times are later. The city’s park page has the full seasonal schedule.
For a birthday or larger picnic, use the city’s reservation information. Reservations need at least a week’s lead time, and guests still pay any applicable parking fee. The McRitchie group campground is for organizations and nonprofits, with reservations and insurance required; it is not a walk-up campsite for an individual overnight stay.
Treat a river outing differently from a pool visit: wear a life jacket on the water. In June 2025, a woman on an inflatable pool float drifted from near Jacob Myers Park several miles downstream before being found at McHenry Recreation Area, according to the Modesto Bee’s report.
Where to eat: a few downtown starting points
There are enough downtown choices to build lunch into a museum or park trip without defaulting to the larger shopping centers. These are specific places to look at, with links to menus and directions:
- Black Sheep Kitchen & Cocktails: 3319 Santa Fe Street. A full-service New American restaurant with beer, wine and cocktails. It advertises weekend brunch, live music and special events; its menu includes burgers, tacos, salads and larger plates.
- El Jacalito: 3203 Atchison Street. A Mexican restaurant with a food-truck operation as well. Its own website has menus and contact details.
- Pizza Plus: 3327 Santa Fe Street. Riverbank is one of the towns covered in our Pizza Plus guide. Older references sometimes give 3308 Santa Fe, its former location; use 3327 for directions.
A downtown meal and a river walk are a manageable two-stop outing. If you are arranging a meal for a group, check the restaurant’s own reservation or ordering options rather than assuming it can accommodate everyone after an event.
Crossroads shopping and a movie at Galaxy
The shopping district around Oakdale and Claribel roads is a separate destination from downtown. The original Crossroads Regional Shopping Center opened in 2005. Its developer’s tenant listing includes Target, Kohl’s, Save Mart and Home Depot, along with smaller stores and restaurants. Target is at 2425 Claribel Road.
Crossroads West is on the northwest side of the same intersection. The Riverbank Costco at 2015 Claribel Road opened June 13, 2024. These shopping centers explain why someone from Turlock might make a Riverbank trip for a particular store, then add lunch or a movie. The Trader Joe’s location page still lists its planned Riverbank store as “Coming Soon”; there is no confirmed opening date to plan around here.
Galaxy Theatres is at 2525 Patterson Road. The theater’s booking page distinguishes IMAX with traditional seating from standard and DFX screenings with luxury recliners, with D-BOX available for selected showings. Choose the actual format when buying a ticket; the building having IMAX does not make every showing an IMAX screening. Captioning and listening options are also listed by showing.
Cheese & Wine, festival glasses and October nights
Riverbank’s Cheese & Wine Festival began in 1977. Beyond food and wine, there is a collecting tradition: commemorative tasting glasses have followed the festival through the years. In a Riverbank News story about a complete set of glasses, longtime attendee Alice Quayle described dividing her father’s collection with her sister and adding two glasses each year. It is a more personal piece of festival history than a list of vendors.
The 49th festival was held October 10, 2026, with downtown food vendors, entertainment, a classic-car show and family activities, plus separate ticketed wine-and-cheese tastings. That date has passed. For the next festival, use the organizer’s announcement rather than assuming the same weekend or ticket price.
Other October traditions use the town’s two main public gathering places. In 2026, the Haunted Hayride is scheduled for October 23–24, 7–10 p.m., at Jacob Myers Park, and the Día de los Muertos celebration for October 30, 5–9 p.m., at Plaza del Rio. The city calendar is the place to check later dates; our Upcoming Events page covers outings around Turlock and nearby towns.
From Burneyville Ferry to a railroad and cannery town
Before the railroad town, there was Burneyville Ferry, a crossing of the Stanislaus River associated with Major James Burney. The city’s historical fact sheet traces Riverbank’s growth through the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad and its acquisition by Santa Fe. Railroad facilities brought workers and businesses; irrigation water arriving in outlying areas in 1901 helped agriculture develop around them.
Santa Fe’s terminal included shops, a roundhouse, storage tanks and spur tracks. The city’s historic-resources study describes a rapid influx of residents after that expansion. Those facilities explain why Santa Fe is more than a convenient street name here. The station moved during World War II, and the roundhouse was demolished in the early 1950s.
Dorothea Lange photographed a different part of Riverbank’s growth on April 9, 1940. Her picture of the Blackwood family’s new store shows a gasoline pump, hand-painted signs and people outside the wooden building. The National Archives record describes a nearby settlement of about 70 families and a large tomato cannery. The Blackwoods came from Clay County, Arkansas; they were among four related families who had moved to California since 1936.
The photograph puts faces and an ordinary place of business alongside the bigger railroad-and-industry history. Wartime production then added another major employer: the plant built in 1942 initially made aluminum for aircraft and later produced ammunition and mortar shells. The city’s historical summary also records the 1912 mansion built for Santa Fe executive O. J. Hobart, later occupied by Lorenzo Zerillo as he established the Riverbank Canning Company. Railroads, farming, food processing and defense work all helped shape the town.
Getting to Riverbank from Turlock
Riverbank is north of Turlock and northeast of Modesto, along Highway 108 and the Stanislaus River. For driving, choose the destination before you leave: Jacob Myers Park, downtown and Crossroads are different trips. Live directions are more useful than one promised travel time through Modesto traffic.
You can also get there on The S, with a transfer. Route 10 links Turlock Transit Center with Modesto Transit Center; Route 60 continues through Riverbank to Oakdale. Route 10 publishes weekday and Saturday timetables, so do not assume that connection runs on Sunday. Check both the outward and return journeys, and use the current route maps to choose a stop for the part of Riverbank you want to visit.
For a first visit, try one of these combinations:
- River and lunch: walk the McRitchie Trail, then eat downtown. Pick a day other than Wednesday if the trail is your main reason for going.
- Local history: visit the museum during its limited opening hours, walk Santa Fe and Third streets, and stop for lunch nearby.
- Shopping and a film: make your Claribel Road stops, then head to Galaxy on Patterson Road. Book the screening format you actually want.
For a longer day, add Modesto’s downtown, museums or arts venues. For another river-town outing closer to the foothill routes, see our Waterford guide.
