Explore the Sierra foothills, forests, parks, and waterways from the heart of the Central Valley.
In the heart of California’s Central Valley, Turlock offers dozens of parks within its city limits, as well as easy access to numerous bodies of water, recreation areas, parks, and forests nearby. Cool off and enjoy boating, fishing, and water recreation at several lakes and reservoirs, including Lake McClure, Lake Don Pedro, Lake Tulloch, Turlock Lake, Modesto Reservoir, Woodward Reservoir, and New Melones Lake, with private and public camping options for tents, RVs (with and without hookups), boats, and cabins. For off-highway vehicle (OHV) adventures with camping, head to the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area near Tracy or the Frank Raines Regional Park near Modesto. Head to Yosemite National Park for waterfalls, grand vistas, hiking, rock climbing, and camping, or explore the trails, wilderness in Stanislaus National Forest and Sierra National Forest, with more than 100 developed campgrounds and plentiful backcountry options for camping.