University of California, Merced
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University of California, Merced

Life at UC Merced just isn't the same without making a trip to Yosemite National Park! Free for the weekend and don't know what to do? Grab your hiking gear, some friends, and get ready for an adventure that awaits just in our backyard! "UC Merced has been partnered with Yosemite National Park since before the campus opened, and each your, our collaborations with the park only grow stronger. We’re the only campus to have a research station in the park, which allows faculty, students and others to work and learn in one of the most beautiful, diverse and interesting ecosystems in the world. Students, some of whom have never been to the park before they come to UC Merced, forge their own relationships with the park, whether it’s the first-year students participating in the Week of Wilderness trip that takes them into the off-trail areas of Yosemite for hiking, camping and bonding with fellow students, more experienced students taking day or weekend trips to enjoy the park or joining the Yosemite Leadership Program and actually living and working in the park as rangers."