UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery

I love this place! It’s definitely one of my favorite ways to spend the day when I’m in Davis. Beautiful flowers & foliage everywhere! Great way to meditate with your eyes open. So therapeutic!🙏🏽☺️

What an amazing and beautiful park in the UC Davis area. Totally had fun here. Found the trail here on AllTrails App and was definitely impressive with the atmosphere and all the activities around me. We ended up doing 3 loops around the lake. It's a safe and family friend area. Parking was free.

The UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery may be free, but that’s about the only defense it has. It functions more like a decorative prop for campus tours than a serious educational resource. The “teaching” aspect is thin, the organization is sloppy, and the whole thing feels designed to look good from a distance rather than deliver anything meaningful. It’s ornamental, not useful—window dressing for the UC Davis brand. That emptiness mirrors UC Davis more broadly. The place is saturated with nonsense, posturing, and people who confuse affiliation with competence. Too many students come off as performers rather than thinkers—great at bragging, signaling, and repeating approved narratives, but with little practical skill or real-world effectiveness to show for it. The institution rewards noise over substance, image over outcomes, and churns out graduates who talk a big game while struggling to translate that into actual work or value. Strip away the reputation, and what remains often feels shallow, inefficient, and intellectually lazy.

Great little walk that can take you right into downtown. Now that the water has filled, you can see lots of cool water fowl. Only problem is that 50% of the people absolutely disrespect the trail by dropping trash and leaving their dog poop. Cyclists also act shocked when they have to slow down for pedestrians.

Beautiful and peaceful place to walk! The UC Davis Arboretum offers clean, well-maintained trails surrounded by beautiful plants and fresh air — perfect for a relaxing walk, jog, or family outing. You can enjoy nature, ducks, and scenic views all around. The only downside is that there are no restrooms along the trail, so plan ahead before you start your walk. Overall, a great place to unwind and enjoy nature in the heart of Davis! 🌿