About Davis
Davis is a unique college town with a welcoming community. With just over 10 square miles (nearly 17 square kilometers), Davis’s landscape and climate are ideal for year-round biking—even during the winter if you don’t mind a little rain. Biking is a common mode of transportation, and Davis is considered the bike capital of the USA. Greenbelt bike paths connect various areas to town, and there are many community parks throughout the city to enjoy.
What to Do on Campus
UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden
With over 100 acres of beautiful gardens, the Arboretum is ideal for active recreation or peaceful contemplation. It’s also a perfect place for a quick run, a quiet study session, or just a walk to think or have a chat.
Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
The Mondavi Center presents musical concerts, dance performances, plays, and lectures, many featuring world-renowned
artists. All UC Davis students receive one free ticket to the Mondavi Center event of their choice, as well as half-off all ticket prices and $10 student rush tickets on performance days.
Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art
The Manetti Shrem Museum cultivates transformational art experiences to inspire new thinking and the open exchange
of ideas. Serving both the public and our university community with a dynamic artistic program, the museum presents exhibitions and events that advance students’ understanding of their place in the world, connects to faculty teaching and research, and creates a lively forum for community engagement and creative practice.
Bohart Museum of Entomology
The Bohart Museum is dedicated to teaching, research, and service. It also hosts the seventh-largest insect collection in North America, worldwide in coverage. The collection holdings total more than seven million specimens of terrestrial and freshwater arthropods.
Carl Nelson Gorman Museum
Dedicated to the creative expressions of Native American and Indigenous artists, and artists of diverse cultures and histories.
Memorial Union Games Area
Enjoy PC and console games, bowling and billiards in the basement of the Memorial Union. The Games Area is open Sundays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m.
Campus Events to Mark on Your Calendar
Picnic Day
Picnic Day is a campuswide open house and a revered generations-old tradition that brings thousands of visitors to
experience all that UC Davis has to offer through exhibits, shows, demonstrations, a parade and more. International
students, scholars, and their families are invited to march in the parade with UC Davis Global Affairs and I-House Davis,
and participate in globally inspired exhibits while exploring the fun throughout campus.
Whole Earth Festival
What began in 1969 as a small art class project on the UC Davis Quad evolved into a weekend celebrating activism, wellness and environmental sustainability. It is a free, student-run, family-friendly event that attracts over 30,000 visitors, typically held in May on Mother’s Day weekend.
UC Davis Postdoc Appreciation Day/Week
Since 2009, the National Postdoc Association has championed a National Postdoc Appreciation Week in mid-September. UC Davis celebrates our Postdoc Appreciation Week in mid-October, with events across campus to recognize and celebrate the many contributions of postdocs to research and discovery.
On-Campus Activities
Activities and Recreation Center (ARC)
The ARC is a gymnasium on campus available to UC Davis students at no additional cost. They offer cardio and weight machines, an indoor track, and multipurpose rooms that can be used to practice dance, martial arts and other physical activities like basketball and badminton.
Craft Center
The Craft Center is an on-campus studio where they offer year- round arts and crafts, ceramics, flame-working and jewelry classes.
Campus Recreation
There’s so much to explore through campus recreation. Whether you’ve played a sport before or just want to try it, this is a great way to make friends, learn something new or reconnect with a game you love.
What to do Off Campus
Explore Davis, Sacramento and Beyond
Davis, Sacramento and the surrounding areas boast history and culture–from museums and movie theaters to world-class bike trails and delicious restaurants. There is too much to list it all, but look online for some ideas. Here are a few good places to start:
- For ideas in Davis, search The Davis Enterprise, The California Aggie, or the UC Davis Calendar
- For things to do in Sacramento, visit sacramento365.com, Sacramento Bee, Sactown magazine and Sacramento News and Review
- For restaurant reviews and other recommendations, visit yelp.com
Outdoor Adventures
Outdoor Adventures is a program by UC Davis Campus Recreation that offers classes and trips around California that take you rock climbing, kayaking, outdoor rafting and backpacking. These classes are offered several weeks of the quarter and have an additional fee. Learn more at memorialunion.ucdavis.edu/events.
Visit Oxford Circle Park (known as “Big People’s Park”) and Slide Hill Park in Davis to pretend you’re a kid again!
International House Davis
International House Davis (I-House) is a non-profit community-based organization located at 10 College Park Drive, across the street from campus. Though it is not an official part of UC Davis, you will often find collaborations with campus. With a mission to promote respect and appreciation for all people and cultures, I-House encourages a global community by providing opportunities
for cross-cultural interaction and exchanges through events programs, activities and services. Learn more at internationalhousedavis.org.
What to do in...
Davis
Every Saturday morning and Wednesday evenings in season, enjoy the Davis Farmers Market in Central Park. You will also find street fairs or festivals hosted in Central Park throughout the year. Downtown Davis boasts many cafes and restaurants, as well as retail shops to browse and buy. Students will find student discounts all over town, so look for them or ask if there are any available. Catch a movie at one of two theatres downtown and enjoy one of the many parks, tennis and pickleball courts, and walking and bike paths all over town.
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of California, located about 20 minutes from Davis. With more than 25 historical museums and other attractions, including a zoo, Sacramento is a city worth exploring. It’s also known as America’s “Farm to Fork capital,” which is an integral part of all the cuisine offered in Sacramento. Sacramento Broadway and Music Circus brings nationally touring musical and theatrical performances to the capital city. Look for concerts, comedians and seminars visiting large and small venues throughout the Sacramento area. Additionally, Sacramento is the perfect place to watch live professional sports. Catch a Sacramento Rivercats baseball game (and temporarily, beginning in 2025, the Athletics will share a ballpark with the Rivercats), a professional Sacramento Kings basketball game at Golden 1 Center or a Sacramento Republic professional soccer game.
San Francisco and the Bay Area
As the center of the Gold Rush, San Francisco is one of California’s most historic cities—it’s also one of the most recognizable. Some iconic sites include the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz Island. San Francisco is the hub of entertainment in the Bay Area, where you can enjoy beautiful Golden Gate Park, museums, restaurants, and events, including performances and
professional sports such as San Francisco Giants baseball and Golden State Warriors and Golden State Valkyries basketball. Just under 100 miles from the Davis and Sacramento areas, it’s a great day trip. Cities within the Bay Area also have a lot to offer. For example, Sausalito and Half Moon Bay have beaches and hiking opportunities, and cities in the East Bay, such as Oakland and Berkeley, host concerts, events and festivals.
Napa
Napa Valley is known as one of the best wine regions in the world. Located only an hour away from Davis, Napa offers more than 400 wineries to visit and a great selection of family-friendly restaurants.
Tahoe
Tahoe is a good weekend getaway for those who love the outdoors. With breathtaking landscapes ranging from Lake Tahoe’s beaches to the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains, Tahoe is a year-round destination. Tahoe is the area’s most popular place to experience snow, skiing, and snowboarding in the winter. During other seasons, hiking, kayaking, canoeing and fishing are popular.
