UCSF Fresno | Fresno Living

Fresno is located in the middle of California’s great San Joaquin Valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. With its convenient location, Fresno is about three hours driving time to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Big Sur, the Monterey Peninsula and Morro Bay. Famed Yosemite National Park, as well as Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks, are all less than 90 miles from Fresno.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Fresno is unparalleled and offers year-round sports including golf, tennis, fishing, kayaking, biking, camping, water skiing, rock climbing, skiing and snowboarding. Numerous lakes and two major rivers-including one of California’s finest whitewater rafting rivers-are all in Fresno’s backyard.

The City has a population of about 500,000, the largest in the Valley, within the greater county area which nears one million. The median age in Fresno County is 30, five years below the national average, with 32% of the residents under the age of 18. The population in the San Joaquin Valley is richly diverse, with approximately 90 different cultures represented.

The area has a thriving K-12 education system with public and private options, a well-developed community college network and general universities including California State University, Fresno, Fresno Pacific University, National University and the new University of California, Merced campus.

In-town activities include excellent local theater, a wonderful variety of music and ballet, a night life as vibrant as any major city, and a superb philharmonic orchestra. In addition, outstanding museums include the Fresno Art Museum, Arte Americas, the African American Museum and the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, which attracts world-class touring exhibits.

Fresno’s historic Tower District hosts many eclectic events such as the popular Mardi Gras; while there one can enjoy browsing among its many boutiques, galleries and coffee houses. In mid-Fresno, for over 75 years, Valley residents have enjoyed the splendor of Christmas Tree Lane. Across town, the Old West is celebrated in the neighboring City of Clovis, famous for the annual Clovis Rodeo, held on the last weekend in April, since 1914. Old Town Clovis is a quaint shopping district full of antique and specialty shops as well as an historical museum.

In addition, there are local gardens, parks, zoos and exciting water theme parks, as well as a strong sports presence. CSUF’s football, basketball, baseball and women’s softball and soccer teams, along with Pacific University’s volleyball team are among those that have enjoyed national championship level teams receiving broad community support.

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Area Links:

National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/yose/yo_visit.htm)
Sierra Summit Ski Resort (http://www.sierrasummit.com)
Kings River Rafting (http://www.kingsriver.com)

City of Fresno (http://www.ci.fresno.ca.us)
Fresno Convention and Visitors Bureau (http://www.fresnocvb.org)

Creative Fresno (http://www.creativefresno.org/)
Chaffee Zoo (http://www.chaffeezoo.org)
Central Valley Information (http://www.centralvalley.com/)
Fresno Grizzlies Minor League Baseball (http://www.fresnogrizzlies.com/)
Fresno Philharmonic   (http://www.fresnophil.org)
Fresno Metropolitan Museum   (http://www.fresnomet.org)

California State University, Fresno (http://www.csufresno.edu)
Fresno County Schools   (http://www.fcoe.k12.ca.us/)

Fresno Bee   (http://www.fresnobee.com)
Weather   (http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USCA0406)

Housing information:
Guarantee Real Estate (http://www.guarantee.com/)
London Properties (http://www.londonproperties.com)
Realty Concepts   (http://www.realtyconcepts.com)
Home Fair   (http://www.homefair.com)

(UCSF Fresno provides the above-listed links as a convenience. We do not exercise any kind of control over their content.)