Recreation and Leisure
Modesto has an abundance of year-round indoor and outdoor recreational opportunities. Visitors and residents can enjoy a quiet picnic at one of the 66 parks, play a round of golf at one of the three municipal courses, or catch a Modesto A's baseball game. Also, the Annual Coca Cola Modesto Relays is the home of 34 world records, the first of which was set in the inaugural Modesto Relays in 1942 by Cornelius Warmerdam in the pole vault.
The City is also the home to the oldest professional sports franchise in the Western United States. The Modesto Nut's of the National Association of Professional Baseball have served as the launching grounds for such former and present major league stars as Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and many others.
Modesto also offers shoppers a regional mall and hundreds of specialty shops, boutiques and shopping centers scattered throughout the city. The Vintage Faire Mall is made up of 120 specialty stores and 5 major department stores and is considered Modesto’s premier shopping mall. Another shopping locale, the McHenry Village, holds the distinction as being one of the oldest outdoor shopping malls on the west coast. Antique lovers can enjoy over 20 antique shops. Many treasures can be found from furniture to porcelain and home décor items.