This campus was made for walking, and that’s just what we’ll do — on four 1-mile loops newly marked with colorful buttons on pavement and concrete, one loop in each campus district: Quad, Pavilion, Health Sciences and Gateway.

The loops are courtesy of Healthy UC Davis, which coordinates efforts among units that promote health and well-being on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. The Healthy UC Davis steering committee comprises staff, faculty and student representatives.

Healthy UC Davis also has projects of its own, like the walking loops: two on the Sacramento campus, four in Davis — with the Stride for Aggie Pride 5K route thrown in for good measure (3.1 miles, to be exact).

Learn more about Healthy UC Davis and its subcommittees: Food and Nutrition, Mental and Emotional Well-Being, Physical Activity, and Smoke and Tobacco-Free.

The walking loops emerged from the Physical Activity subcommittee, which aims to foster a campus environment and culture that promote physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior. “We can see this as a way to increase energy levels, improve cognitive abilities and help promote better sleep,” the subcommittee declares on its webpage.

Promotional cards tout the Davis campus loops as a way to “get free exercise,” “connect with campus,” “plug into nature” and “take a mental break.”

You call see all the loops (Davis and Sacramento) and the Stride for Aggie Pride route on this map.

The Sacramento campus has the ACC Loop, 1 mile, between the medical center and the Ambulatory Care Center; and the Moore Path, ½ mile, between the medical center and Betty Irene Moore Hall.

UC Walks

This annual event, now in its ninth year, takes place at all UC campuses and the Office of the President, too. This year’s “official” UC Walks date was May 16 — but some locations moved the event to avoid conflicts with other events, such as UC Davis’ Thank Goodness for Staff.

The Sacramento campus held its UC Walks event May 17 and the Davis campus will hold its event this Thursday (May 31).

Here’s where to meet up for walks at noon:

• Gateway Loop — Shields Library, main entrance
• Health Sciences Loop — Valley Hall Courtyard
• Quad Loop — South end of Centennial Walkway on the Quad
• Cousteau Place — Back of the cul-de-sac
• Drew Circle — Front desk in 1460 Drew Ave.
• Research Park — Between UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education (UC Davis Extension) and Accounting and Financial Services

Be sure to sign in for prize drawings and pick up UC Walks T-shirts (while supplies last). Walks will last for 30 minutes.

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