Los Banos, CA

Los Banos is a city in Merced County, California, near the junction of State Route 152 and Interstate 5. Los Banos sits on the southwestern edge of extensive national and state game refuges; wetlands that support waterfowl and other wildlife habitat along a stretch of the San Joaquin river that still carries water and the Grasslands Ecological Area, home to rare California Grasslands habitat.The name los banos derives from a natural water spring that feeds natural wetlands in the western San Joaquín Valley. The original Spanish spelling was Los Baños, meaning "the baths," in reference to the adjacent water source.