Davis, CA Road Trips

Davis Wiki: for more information about what to do and see in Davis, including event listings and reviews of local restaurants. 1 Bohart Museum of Entomology, 455 Crocker Ln, ☏ +1 530-752-049, [email protected]. Tu W 1-4ː30PM. See website for weekend events. (updated Aug 2025) UC Davis California Raptor Center. An educational centre that rehabilitates injured and orphaned birds of prey found in the surrounding counties. Large displays are present at the facility that allow visitors to see many of the birds up close. 2 UC Davis Arboretum, [email protected]. A 100-acre tract of land running along the banks of the Old North Channel of Putah Creek, on the UC Davis Campus. The arboretum is home to plant species that range from Mediterranean to South African and even includes somewhat smaller examples of California's North Coast Redwoods. It is the main source of horticultural information for inland California. The arboretum is a popular place for Davis students for walk, jog, bike, study, or just relax in the sun. Public art. Can be found all over town. It is difficult to go anywhere or do anything without encountering sculptures, mosaics, paintings, or stenciled designs. An art enthusiast could be kept busy for days. Toad Tunnel. A nationally infamous example of civil engineering gone horribly wrong. Located in southeast Davis near the Post Office and the Sudwerk brewery, the Toad Tunnel was designed to assist the local population of toads cross an I-80 overpass. Arguably, it has caused more problems for the toads than it solved.

Become a student. Davis is ranked as the second most educated city in the United States according to CNN Money Magazine and it shows. The downtown area is very youthful and is peppered with bars, coffee shops, and restaurants that are popular among the college crowd. The city of Davis is very conducive to college and graduate school lifestyles. Mondavi Center. On campus. A wide variety of performances can be seen year round, ranging from music to theatre to puppetry. Farmers Market. Open twice a week on Saturdays and Wednesdays, the Davis Farmers Market takes place in Central Park and offers fresh, locally grown foods. Much of the produce is grown organically. From March through September, the Wednesday evening Farmers Market becomes the Picnic in the Park, offering several restaurant stands, live music, and various other events geared towards a wide variety of ages. Picnic Day. If you want to experience the single largest student-run event in the United States, visit Davis in late April and revel in Picnic Day. The day consists of over 150 free events, most of which take part on campus, including dog races, food tastings, exotic animal shows, the notorious Battle of the Bands, and an exciting fashion show displaying unique student work. As one might expect, a good amount of drinking takes place throughout the day and by late afternoon there tends to be intoxicated people everywhere, but the mood of the event is very positive, and arrests are very few relative to the meeting than 50,000 attendees. Whole Earth Festival.

One thing Davis is not short on is restaurants. Whatever your taste, Davis has a means to at least attempt to satisfy your hunger. Most restaurants are in the downtown area, with the majority being within a few square blocks. Fast food restaurants are clustered near the Mace Blvd and Richard Blvd exits off of the freeway. There are also several restaurants in the shopping centers that ring the town. Other notable restaurants that are not in downtown include Osteria Fasulo, a fancy Italian restaurant located in the Village Homes neighborhood. 1 Dos Coyotes Border Cafe, 1411 W. Covell Blvd (At The Marketplace shopping mall), ☏ +1 530 753-0922. A very popular and excellent cafe serving up delicious south-western style cuisine, with inventive specials like corn quesadillas and monstrous salads. Started here in Davis, it now has several locations in the Sacramento area. A second location in Davis at Oakshade Town Center, 2191 Cowell Blvd. 2 Tres Hermanes, 805 2nd St (Across from the train station), ☏ +1 530 756-8737. Mexican food and margaritas. 3 Thai Canteen, 117 E St, ☏ +1 530 231-5465. Popular Thai restaurant serving authentic dishes; order at the counter. 4 Preethi Indian, 715 2nd St, ☏ +1 530-759-2040. Indian restaurant serving south Indian specialties; comprehensive lunchtime buffet on weekdays and weekends. Davis is right in the middle of farm country and has access, as you might expect, to a variety of farm stands. 5 Ikeda's Markets, 26295 Mace Blvd (Off the Mace Blvd exit). Open all year round and is a source of fresh vegetables, pies and tamales.

There are multiple hotel options in Davis. There are several hotels in downtown, a cluster of hotels off the Richards Blvd exit, a cluster of hotels near the Mace Blvd exit (on Chiles road), and one hotel actually on campus (the Hyatt), which is directly across from the Mondavi Center. All of the hotels in downtown are within walking distance of campus. 1 Best Western Palm Court Hotel, 234 D St, ☏ +1 530 753-7100, fax: +1 530 753-8761. 2 Best Western University Lodge, 123 B St, ☏ +1 530 756-7890, fax: +1 530 756-0245. 3 Hilton Garden Inn Davis Downtown, 110 F St, toll-free: +1-800-753-0035. 4 Aggie Inn, 245 1st St, ☏ +1 530-756-0352. La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Davis, 1771 Research Park Dr, ☏ +1 530 758-2600. Hyatt Place UC Davis, 173 Old Davis Rd, ☏ +1 530 756-9500.

Davis is on Interstate 80, which runs between the Bay Area and Sacramento and beyond. Headed west from the Bay Area you will want to take Highway 80 heading East to Sacramento. From Sacramento or the Lake Tahoe area take 80 West towards San Francisco. Take the UC Davis Exit to get to campus and the Mondavi Center, or Richards Blvd or Olive Drive to go downtown. 1 Davis station, 840 Second Street. Built in 1914, this historic station is within walking distance from campus and downtown. (updated Oct 2023) Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates train service around the United States of America. (updated Mar 2022) Routes stopping in Davis: Coast Starlight operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Stops include Tacoma, Lacey, Centralia, Kelso, Vancouver, WA, Portland, Salem, Albany, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank. California Zephyr operates between Chicago and San Francisco Bay Area, and the Coast Starlight route between Los Angeles and Seattle. Capitol Corridor trains run several times per day between Sacramento, San Francisco Bay area and San Jose. Tickets from the Bay Area cost approximately $50 round trip. If you are flying into San Francisco, Amtrak is the best way to get to Davis. From SFO airport, take the BART subway to Richmond. Exit BART and then take the stairs or elevator up to the Amtrak platform.

Davis has the highest per capita number of bikes of any city in the U.S. It's the preferred method of transportation for most students and locals due to the prevalence of bike paths and the relative flatness of the area. Downtown is also very pedestrian friendly. The UC Davis campus and the heart of the downtown area run alongside one another and it's easy to stroll through both in a couple of hours. Unitrans, the local municipal bus system, also runs quite frequently. For undergraduate students riding is free, for everybody else (including graduate students) a single journey costs $1. Probably the worst way to experience Davis is by car. The huge numbers of bikers and pedestrians make driving slow and tedious at many times throughout the day.