weekender.
Weekend trips from UC Merced
Hidden spots near Merced, day trips and weekend road trips from UC Merced in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from UC Merced →Local finds near campus
Merced Wildlife Refuge
Free: sandhill cranes and snow geese by the tens of thousands, roughly November to February.
Day trips
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Columbia State Historic Park
Pan for gold and ride a stagecoach in a preserved 1850s mining town.
Millerton Lake
A foothill lake half an hour from Fresno, with bald eagles in winter and swimming in summer.
Sacramento
Gold Rush boardwalks in Old Sacramento and the farm-to-fork capital's food halls.
San Francisco
Mission burritos and murals, cable cars, the Castro and fog rolling over Twin Peaks.
Half Moon Bay & Pescadero
Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and warm artichoke bread in tiny Pescadero.
Weekend trips
Monterey & Carmel
Sea otters on kelp, 17-Mile Drive and Carmel's fairytale cottages.
Big Sur
McWay Falls dropping onto a beach, Bixby Bridge and the purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach.
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Pinnacles National Park
Crawl through talus caves with a flashlight while California condors circle above.
Sacramento
Gold Rush boardwalks in Old Sacramento and the farm-to-fork capital's food halls.
Long weekends
Death Valley
Salt flats below sea level, rainbow-colored hills and the darkest night sky in California.
Big Sur
McWay Falls dropping onto a beach, Bixby Bridge and the purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach.
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Bishop & the Buttermilks
World-class bouldering, Keough's hot springs and Erick Schat's famous bakery.
Palm Springs
Midcentury pool motels, palm oases in Indian Canyons and a rotating tram up the mountain.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
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