Merced

Fifty miles north of Fresno, Merced is a city of 90,000 framed by fertile orchards producing almonds, pistachios, apricots, and peaches. Highway 99 rolls through Merced’s ranches and suburbs, but its rising star lies a few blocks northeast on West Main Street. You can experience hip new hangouts and artsy hotspots in this friendly, spiffed-up downtown.

Restaurants in Merced

Community-focused fun happens nightly at the 1938 Mainzer theater, a retro-cool space where locals and visitors gather to watch films and big-screen sporting events or belt out a few karaoke songs. Competitive types take turns at Skee-Ball, foosball, and ping-pong while beer tasters seek out their new favorite brew. The “beer wall” holds 21 pour-your-own taps, and Mainzer’s kitchen serves enticing pub fare: flatbreads, tacos, chicken wings, burgers, and mac-n-cheese.

At the El Capitan Hotel, Mainzer’s sister property, 114 refurbished rooms deliver a stylish night’s sleep, and in-house restaurant Rainbird capitalizes on the region’s agricultural bounty. Artisan cocktails and a curated wine list compliment a menu of foraged wild mushroom risotto, roasted beet salad, and Muscovy duck confit. The hotel’s more casual eatery, Native Son, serves espresso drinks, baked goods, soups, salads, and charcuterie boards.

Also on Main Street, Bella Luna serves classic Italian dishes—zuppa Toscana, caprese salad, shrimp arrabiata, and margherita pizza. Hi-Fi Wine pours West Coast wines alongside fresh-baked breads and small bites—and you can register online for special tasting events. The Tioga-Sequoia Taproom, a satellite of the popular Fresno brewery, hosts game nights and paint-and-sip parties on the ground floor of a repurposed 1928 hotel.

Arts and Culture in Merced

West Main Street buzzes with creativity too. The landmark 1931 Merced Theatre—with a 100-foot-tall, neon-lit tower you can see from miles away—presents live shows in a Spanish-courtyard setting. Reserve tickets for comedy acts, tribute bands, interactive theater shows, and performances by the Merced Symphony. Two blocks away, Playhouse Merced’s nonprofit community theater group performs one-act plays and classic musicals and teaches classes in acting, voice, and dance.

Next door to the Mainzer, the Merced Multicultural Arts Center displays works of regional, statewide, and national artists in four exhibit rooms. The onsite Arbor Gallery is owned and operated by local artists, and the Merced County Arts Council sponsors special events like fashion shows, theater camps, and art classes for all ages.

Merced’s history is honored at the Merced County Courthouse Museum, a 10-minute stroll north on N Street. It’s worth a stop just to admire this 1875 Italian Renaissance building with its grand columns, ornate moldings, and a stately cupola topped by the Goddess of Justice. Inside, exhibits depict the history of Merced County and the Central Valley. See Yokut Indian artifacts, an 1859 fire engine, early farming equipment, and a turn-of-the-century schoolroom.

Merced’s brightest minds gather at the University of California at Merced, a top-100 research university and the nation’s fastest-growing public university. Under its roof, more than 9,000 students study engineering, natural sciences, humanities, and the arts and take part in groundbreaking research in artificial intelligence, health, and renewable energy. The LEED-certified campus, opened in 2005, hosts the Health Sciences Research Institute, the UC Solar Institute, and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute.

Best Day Trips from Merced

Merced has long been known as a “Gateway to Yosemite.” In less than two hours, you can zip over to California’s most famous national park to see its stunning river-cut valley and admire its granite peaks and gushing waterfalls.

For a closer day trip, drive through the tranquil beauty of Merced National Wildlife Refuge’s wetlands, native grasslands, and riparian areas. A 5.2-mile auto route tours the refuge, with stops at observation decks and short walking trails. From November to February, thousands of lesser sandhill cranes and Ross’ geese stop here on their migrations along the Pacific Flyway.

Human-engineered marvels are on display at Castle Air Museum, eight miles north in Atwater. Sixty-plus restored aircraft from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War line the tarmac. Among the gleaming flying machines is the SR-71 Blackbird, which was the world’s fastest jet throughout the Cold War era.