Visalia

We live here, and we love it. Visalia has so much to offer!  Saturdays start at the Farmer’s Market, browsing local produce alongside baked goods and handmade crafts from neighbors. Throughout the year, the community turns out for the Renaissance Festival, car shows, gem and mineral shows, and the Candy Cane Lane Parade each December. Downtown's Brewery District keeps growing, with live music most weekends, and the historic Fox Theater brings touring shows and local performances to Main Street. First Friday Art Hop and regular events at Garden Street Plaza give downtown a reason to gather almost every month.

Parks and community trails make it easy to get outside — for a run, a bike ride, or just a walk with the Sierra Nevada foothills on the horizon. Several city parks have stocked ponds for kids to fish, and our dog parks are some of the best-loved spots in town. Arts Visalia and the city's Parks & Recreation department run classes for just about any hobby, and there's a club or league for nearly everything else — plus longtime community groups like the Elks, Lions, Rotary, and Soroptimist clubs staying active with service projects and events, and The Source, a gathering place and resource center for the LGBTQ+ community.

Friday nights mean football, with a serious rivalry between our four high schools — and that same hometown pride carries through band, cheer, theater, and dance programs alongside the usual fall, winter, and spring sports seasons.

Downtown and our two malls cover everything from favorite chain restaurants and stores to one of the largest antique markets in the state, plus a strong lineup of thrift shops for treasure hunters. Dining ranges from taco trucks to fine dining, so there's something for every night of the week. Visalia has its own regional airport, with expansion in discussion, plus V-Line bus service to Fresno — including Fresno State, Fresno Yosemite Airport, and downtown — and a connecting bus to the Amtrak station in Hanford. A new government complex now under construction is set to become a civic showplace for the city. Catch a game with our minor league baseball team, or watch the drone show light up the sky over the sports park every Fourth of July.

Housing here ranges from character-filled older homes near the downtown core to newer subdivisions on the edges of town, with rural and acreage parcels just a short drive beyond the city limits — and outside of a stretch of hot summer days and some fog in the winter, the weather cooperates nearly year-round.

Visalia sits in the heart of California's agricultural San Joaquin Valley — about 230 miles southeast of San Francisco, 190 miles north of Los Angeles, 43 miles south of Fresno, and just 36 miles from the entrance to Sequoia National Park. As the county seat of Tulare County, one of the most productive agricultural counties in the country, Visalia serves as the region's economic and governmental hub, with a population just over 140,000 and growing. Three of the country's most celebrated national parks — Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon — sit within reach in the nearby Sierra Nevada, the highest mountain range in the continental United States.

We are always happy to chat with you about all the things we love about Visalia.  Feel free to reach out to learn more about our wonderful city!