Explore your Valley - Day Trips

There are a number of natural, cultural and recreational resources within a 1-4 hour drive of the campus. Windsurfing, hiking, major sports events, ski slopes, beaches, giant sequoias and even subterranean gardens are all within driving distance. Some possibilities are listed below, but there are many more for you to discover on your own!

Columbia State Historic Park
The Columbia State Historic Park, located in Sonora, is one of the most well-preserved gold rush towns. There are opportunities to ride a 100 year-old stagecoach, hire a "fine steed" for a horseback ride through the "diggins," pan for gold, or tour an active gold mine.
2 hours form Merced.

Devil's Postpile
The Devils Postpile formation is a rare sight in the geologic world and ranks as one of the world's finest examples of columnar basalt. Its columns tower 60-feet high and display an unusual symmetry. Another wonder is in store just downstream from the Postpile at Rainbow Falls, once called “a gem unique and worthy of its name”. When the sun is overhead, a bright rainbow highlights the spectacular Falls.
4 hours from Merced.

Don Pedro Lake
Offering 160 miles of shoreline with nearly 13,000 surface acres of water (at maximum lake level), there is plenty of water on which to enjoy your favorite water sport. Boating, fishing (for bass, trout, salmon, crappie, bluegill and catfish), swimming, water-skiing, jet-skiing, windsurfing, sailing and house boating are some of the major water oriented activities enjoyed at the lake.
1 hour from Merced.

Forestiere Underground Gardens
The Forestiere Underground Gardens were designed and hand-sculpted by Baldasare Forestiere, a Sicilian immigrant. A vineyardist and horticulturalist, Forestiere began in the early 1900s to carve and sculpt a thoroughly unique underground retreat to escape the San Joaquin Valley's heat. Full of subterranean citrus trees and arches, the Gardens are on the National Register of Historic Places.
1 hour from Merced

Lake McClure & Lake McSwain Recreation Areas
Whether you like to fish, boat, swim, camp or just want to enjoy a picnic day at the lake, Lake McClure and Lake McSwain offer your family some of California's best water-oriented recreation areas. Whatever your favorite great escape, Lake McClure and McSwain have it in a wide variety of recreational opportunities.
1 hour from Merced.

Pinnacles National Monument
Rising out of the chaparral-covered Gabilan Mountains, east of central California's Salinas Valley, are the spectacular remains of an ancient volcano. Massive monoliths, spires, sheer-walled canyons and talus passages define millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic plate movement. The monument is renowned for the beauty and variety of its spring wildflowers.
2 hours from Merced.

Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon
Ranging from 1,500' to 14,491' in elevation, these two adjoining parks protect immense mountains, deep canyons, huge trees, and stunningly diverse habitats. The Generals Highway climbs over 5000 feet from chaparral and oak-studded foothills to the awe-inspiring sequoia groves. From there, trails lead to the high-alpine wilderness which makes up most of these parks. Beneath the surface lie many beautiful caverns.
2 hours from Merced.

Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.
1.5 hours from Merced.

Coastal Cities
Monterey - 3 hours from Merced.
Carmel - 3 hours from Merced.
San Francisco - 3 hours from Merced.
Santa Cruz - 2.5 hours from Merced.