The train is how I do Davis. I ride the Amtrak Capitol Corridor in, step off at the Davis station downtown, and walk to my hotel and to campus. The weekend starts on the train, with coffee from the cafe car and my bag in the rack, and it ends the same way on Sunday. For parents visiting UC Davis, this is the calmest version of the trip I have found, and this guide covers the whole run: where to board, what the ride feels like, what happens when you arrive, and where to stay when your feet are your transportation.
Westbound parents have a long list of boarding stations. From south to north, the Capitol Corridor stops at San Jose Diridon, Santa Clara, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland Coliseum, Oakland Jack London Square, Emeryville, Berkeley, Richmond, Martinez, Suisun-Fairfield, and Fairfield-Vacaville before it reaches Davis.
A few of these stations do extra work for a Davis trip:
My routine from the Bay Area is simple. I board with time to spare, take a seat on the upper level for the water views along the bay, and use the ride to read the weekend schedule my student sent me. The cafe car covers coffee and a snack, and the free Wi-Fi covers the last few messages home.
Ride times in this guide come from the Capitol Corridor timetable and run approximate. Build a cushion into any plan that has a campus event at the end of it, and check your train again the week you travel.
From the east, the trip is short. Trains leave Sacramento Valley Station and reach Davis in about 15 to 20 minutes. For parents flying into Sacramento International Airport, staying with family in Sacramento, or pairing the campus visit with a night in the capital, this hop is the easiest leg of the whole weekend.
A small number of trains continue past Sacramento to Roseville, Rocklin, and Auburn, per the Amtrak Capitol Corridor route listing. If your people live up that way, check whether your train is one of them before you plan around a Sacramento start.
The Davis station also sees two long distance Amtrak trains, the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight, per the Capitol Corridor station page. Those trains run once a day in each direction and follow their own schedules and baggage rules, so this guide stays with the Capitol Corridor, the train parents actually ride for a Davis weekend.
The Davis station is a staffed station, and Capitol Corridor lists a station agent on site from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, plus two ticket kiosk machines. The station has indoor and outdoor seating, bathrooms, an ATM, and vending machines. If you drove to the station at the other end of your trip, this end is easy: you walk off the platform and you are downtown.
What sits within walking distance, per the Capitol Corridor station page:
The walk itself is flat Davis the whole way. From the station, 2nd Street takes you into downtown, and the campus paths begin a few blocks south. With a small rolling bag, I walk everywhere from the moment I arrive.
Two bus systems serve the station area, and both accept Capitol Corridor transit transfers, per the Capitol Corridor station page. Capitol Corridor also runs a free transfer program with connecting transit providers, per its rider pages.
For a standard parent weekend, my pattern is train, walk, and one bus ride at most. I save the bus for the Mondavi Center end of campus and for any trip with a heavy bag. Check the current Unitrans and Yolobus schedules for your weekend, since campus bus service changes by academic quarter.
Capitol Corridor keeps luggage simple, and the rules shape how you pack. The official Capitol Corridor baggage policy says:
What this means for a Davis weekend: pack for the walk. A rolling carry-on and a tote cover a parent weekend with room to spare, and they roll from the platform to a downtown hotel with no trouble. Gifts for your student, a game day layer, and the good dinner outfit all fit. Big suitcases get awkward in the racks and on the station steps, and they slow down the part of the trip that feels best, the walk into town.
Bikes deserve one line, since Davis is a bike town and some parents bring one. Capitol Corridor welcomes bikes on board in the marked bike cars, and space is first come, first served, per Capitol Corridor rider guidance. The Davis station lists 199 bike rack spaces and 36 BikeLink eLockers for riders who leave a bike at this end.
Your hotel choice changes when the train is your ride. Parking stops mattering. The walk from the station starts mattering a lot. Here is how I rank the Davis areas for train riders, with the full comparisons in our hotel guide.
Downtown hotels sit closest to the station, and downtown is where I point train riders first. Best Western Plus Palm Court Hotel on D Street, Aggie Inn on 1st Street, and Best Western University Lodge on B Street all sit within an easy walk of the platform, with dinner, coffee, and the farmers market on the same blocks. You can arrive at noon, drop your bag, and be on campus with your student by lunch.
Hyatt Place UC Davis sits on the campus grounds near the Conference Center and the Mondavi Center, on the far side of campus from the station. The walk crosses campus and runs longer, about 1 mile to the Mondavi end, and a Unitrans bus or a short taxi ride from the station loading zone handles the luggage leg well. Pick this end for a Mondavi performance or a conference weekend, and let the bus do the first trip with your bag.
La Quinta Inn and Suites by Wyndham Davis sits off Richards Boulevard near Interstate 80, about 0.4 miles from the station in lodging listings. I rank it last for train riders and I will say why plainly: the property is outdated and sits at the low end of the Davis hotel spectrum. The location near the station is the draw, along with the price. Families who pick it usually pick it for the bill, and they go in knowing the trade.
The full hotel guide on this site covers all five Davis hotels and the overflow towns, with booking timing for each big weekend.
Trains and hotels fill on the same weekends, so I book the train with the room. A few habits from riding this line on busy weekends:
One more event weekend point: the Davis station lot tells the story of this town. Capitol Corridor lists free validated parking for Capitol Corridor riders at the station lot, with a permit from the station agent, and it notes the lot fills up around 6:00 a.m. Families drive in early and fill this town on big weekends. The train lets you skip that whole contest.
Board at the station closest to your home, ride to 840 2nd Street, and walk. Book a downtown hotel, pack a rolling carry-on, and let campus come to you one block at a time. The train turns the travel day into part of the visit, and by the time you step onto the platform in Davis, you are already on your student's turf.