Ceres, California in Stanislaus County straddles CA99 highway between Modesto (5 miles north) and Turlock (9 miles south) in California's Central Valley.
Ceres is primarily an agricultural based economy. The name, Ceres, originates from the Roman goddess of agriculture.
If it was possible to drive directly west toward the Pacific Ocean and beach towns, Ceres would be in line with Pacifica, California. However, San Francisco's bay and waterways tend to divert the straight path, making a trip to the beach about 108 miles and taking around 2 hours when traffic is flowing for arrival at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica.
To the east of Ceres is Mammoth Lakes in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Due to the mountain terrain and roads, there is no direct path for this meandering trip which may be only 180 miles distance, but can take 4 hours of driving when weather is on your side. Kings Canyon National Park is a 3.5 hour drive and the closest, well known mountain destination, Yosemite National Park is only 116 miles away from Ceres or 2.5 hours by car.
As you can see, residents of Ceres have so many national treasures not far from home. Even California's state capitol, Sacramento, is within reach at 83 miles distance and an easy 1.5 hour drive.
Now, for life in Ceres, the hub of community activity is the Community Center on 2701 4th Street. It is operated by the City of Ceres Recreation Department (ci.ceres.ca.us). Ceres provides all the necessities of life with a great swim program, soccer, baseball, football and wrestling clubs for kids, and dozens of programs for adults.
Concerts in the Park, Community Campout, National Night Out and Halloween Festival are a few of the fun things for the public to participate in.