Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Davis (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: UC Davis Arboretum, United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, and Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. Also, be sure to include Mondavi Center in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Davis (California).
Table of Contents
UC Davis Arboretum
The Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, located in Davis, California, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the areas of grape growing and wine making. Located just 45 minutes from Napa Wine Country the department has strong connections with wine producers in California and elsewhere. The department has produced many of the notable winemakers of the California wine industry.[1]
Address: Harold H Cole Facility for the Study of Biology of Large Animals, Davis
United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
Museum in Davis, California. The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private 501c3 non-profit organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling. The organization was founded in 1986 in Somerville, New Jersey and has inducted cyclists who have "achieved tremendous success in racing or have enhanced the sport" since 1987. It has operated a museum in Davis since 2009.[2]
Address: 303 3rd St, 95616-4590 Davis
Manetti Shrem Museum of Art
Museum. The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at the University of California, Davis in Davis, California. Its full name is the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
The museum opened on November 13, 2016. According to the New York Times, the museum includes "trailblazing contributions by the school’s renowned art faculty, which contributed to innovations in conceptual, performance and video art in the 1960s and 70s".[3]
Address: 254 Old Davis Rd, Davis, CA, 95616 Davis
Mondavi Center
Theater in Yolo County, California. The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue located on the UC Davis campus in unincorporated Yolo County, California. It is named for arts patron and vineyard operator Robert Mondavi, who donated US$10 million to help with the building costs, and who also helped finance The Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on the same campus. The current annual operating budget is approximately US$7.3 million, 58% of which comes from earned income.
Mondavi Center opened on October 3, 2002, for the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra and today serves as a venue for musical concerts, theater, dance, lecturers and other entertainers. The façade is a large glass-panelled lobby that is surrounded by sandstone that also lines the interior walls.[4]
Address: 1 Shields Ave, 95616-5270 Davis
Shields Library
Library in Yolo County, California. The Peter J. Shields Library, or Shields Library, is a four-story library named after Peter J. Shields. It is located in the eastern part of main campus of UC Davis in unincorporated Yolo County, adjacent to Davis. The library is an essential study and resource location for many UC Davis alumni.[5]
Address: at UC Davis, 95616 Davis
Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the University of California
Universities and schools, Museum, Specialty museum, Garden, Park
Address: Bee Biology Road, 95616 Davis
The Artery of Davis
Museum, Art gallery, Shopping, Arts and crafts
Address: 207 G St, 95616-4516 Davis
UC Davis Research
Universities and schools
Address: 1850 Research Park Dr, Davis
Dresbach-Hunt-Boyer House
The Dresbach–Hunt–Boyer House is a historic house located at 604 2nd Street in Davis, California. Built in the early 1870s, the house is the only extant example of a Stick style Italianate house in Davis. The house's design features wood siding, a cornice with decorative brackets, a front porch topped by a balustrade, and a three-sided bay on the right side of the front facade. William Dresbach, the home's first owner, was a wealthy local merchant who served as Davis' first postmaster. Dresbach lost the house to bankruptcy in 1879, and the house passed through two owners before Frank Hunt purchased it in 1899. Hunt's brother John moved into the home in 1902; after 1920, his daughter Mary Boyer owned the home until her death in 1973.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1976.[6]
University of California
Arboretum in Yolo County, California. The University of California, Davis Arboretum is an approximately 100-acre arboretum along the banks of the old north channel of Putah Creek on the south side of the University of California, Davis campus in unincorporated Yolo County, California, in the United States.
The arboretum was founded in 1936. It is free to visit and the gardens are open 24 hours a day every day of the year; visitor parking is free Saturdays and Sundays and $10 per car every other day. The Arboretum contains 3.5 miles (5.6 km) paved path loop for pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists. The collection includes some "22,000 trees and plants adapted to a Mediterranean climate." The collection may be searched through the Arbortetum's online database, which includes detailed information about the plants and geographic information system data linked to plant records. The Arboretum is an important source of information on horticulture in California's Central Valley.
The arboretum is used for research both by UC Davis faculty and students and by others. The arboretum also supports teaching at UC Davis, with courses in many different disciplines using the arboretum each year.[7]
Baggins End
The Baggins End Domes, also known as The Domes or the Davis Domes, are a student housing cooperative at the University of California, Davis built by students in 1972. They are part of the Sustainable Research Area which includes the Student Farm and the Experimental College Gardens. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller, there are 14 domes, featuring painted fiberglass-shell exteriors, the insides of which were coated with sprayed polyurethane foam, and "core-walls" with a kitchen on one side and a bathroom on the other. On January 25, 2011, an announcement was made by Student Housing that no new leases will be granted for the following academic year. The Sustainable Living/ Learning Task Force with faculty and students was initiated to investigate options.
Domes residents, also known as Domies, ended up collaborating with the Solar Community Housing Association (SCHA) cooperative in Davis, California. SCHA and Domies raised money to repair the domes and lobbied the university to transfer management of the Domes to SCHA. A community build event was held on November 3–6, where hundreds of volunteers performed the majority of the work, which included creating wheelchair accessible pathways and gardens, building new railings, and patching foam.
SCHA signed a ground lease with UC Davis at the end of December 2011, 14 new Domies moved into 7 of the domes at the start of January. The work was continued through July 2012.[8]