UC Merced

The University of California, Merced, is the newest and smallest of the ten UC campuses, opened in 2005 and still expanding. The campus is notable for being designed from the outset to meet LEED Platinum sustainability standards — one of the first university campuses in the country built with such specifications — and for its location on the edge of the San Joaquin Valley with views toward the Sierra Nevada foothills.

The campus grounds are open to visitors and the walk around Lake Yosemite, which borders the northern edge of campus, is pleasant. For those interested in California's ongoing project of providing higher education access to the Central Valley's predominantly Latino and working-class population, the campus itself represents an interesting piece of recent history. The surrounding area has a bike path network and the lake has kayak and canoe rental in season.

things to do sight
A story
UC Merced, which opened in 2005, was the first new University of California campus in 40 years and was designed to serve the Central Valley — one of the most economically disadvantaged regions in California, with historically low rates of four-year university attendance. The campus sits on a former cattle ranch at the edge of the San Joaquin Valley, with Lake Yosemite immediately to the north.