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Push for wayfaring signs to Manteca attractions
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The directional sign to the museum located along on Union Road at Yosemite Avenue.

You might know where Woodward Park, Big League Dreams, the golf course, Delicato Vineyards, the museum, the BMX track or even downtown is located but often times tourists and travelers don’t.

That is why the Manteca Economic Development Committee is advocating the placement of wayfaring signs around the city.

The signs are aimed to take advantage of a major shift in Manteca’s local economy toward tourism that started in 2008 and will gain momentum in mid-2020 with the projected opening of the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park resort that will have a 500-room hotel. Bass Pro Shops receives more than 2.4 million visitors a year while Big League Dreams has more than 450,000. Great Wolf anticipates an annual draw of 500,000.

Great Wolf representatives have made it clear that based on their other locations Manteca would be wise to promote other local and area attractions. Although Great Wolf is a self-contained resort with restaurants, spa, and health club style facilities along with recreational offerings besides the water parks guests often venture to nearby attractions during their stay.

Installing wayfaring signs is just a part of the puzzle. Another is to work with a local entity — possibly the Manteca Chamber of Commerce — to establish a robust “Visit Manteca” website for quick access to what to do and see in Manteca and nearby. The now defunct Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau originally had such a website but in the past four years a redesign made it user unfriendly and it wasn’t updated for more than a year before the plug was pulled on the organization.

The goal is also to get other visitors besides those heading to Great Wolf or BLD who often stay overnight in motels, easy directions to reach other places in town where they may be willing to spend money. 

There are a few existing signs offering directions to the museum, hospitals, the civic center, and golf course but they lack uniformity as they are of different sizes and colors and are often placed in areas where they are hard to see.

The proposed signs will be uniform in color, size, and markings to make them easy for motorists to see.

Wayfaring signs were proposed before back in 2008. But an ongoing argument between the chamber and the CVB about what color and what logo would be on them ended four years later when the city dropped the project.

The chamber wanted their colors — red, white and blue. The CVB wanted their colors — blue, gold, and red — along with their “Hook, Wine & Sneakers” logo representing Bass Pro Shops and nearby fishing, Delicato Vineyards and other area wineries, and amateur sports venues such as the BLD complex, soccer, and golf. 


To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com