The Merced Vernal Pools & Grassland Reserve offers a unique opportunity to explore one of California’s most biodiverse and ecologically important landscapes a 6,500-acre reserve featuring vernal pools and grasslands, just minutes from campus. Access is by reservation only, ensuring protection of sensitive habitats and species. Whether you’re a researcher, educator, student, or community member, we encourage you to apply through our online system to schedule your visit. Please review the following Reserve guidelines carefully, and be aware: only approved activities aligned with our mission are permitted.
Research, Education, and Public Service
The Reserve is not open to the general public, and is only open on a limited basis by reservation only for allowable activities including university-level research, education, and public service that fulfill the UC Nature mission. The Reserve includes sensitive habitats, endangered species, and cattle, and is managed primarily for university-level research and education. Therefore, an application and reservation system is in place which visitors must follow.
To Visit the Reserve
If you are unclear whether your proposed visit meets Reserve use criteria for allowable activities, or if you are planning an event that will be advertised, please be sure to first contact the Reserve Director ([email protected]) prior to requesting Reserve use access.
If you feel confident your proposed visit meets Reserve use criteria for allowable activities, and you are not planning an event that will be advertised, please go to the Reserve Access Management System (RAMS) and submit an application and reservation for the dates you wish to visit (all requests made less than 48 hours in advance will be declined). The Reserve Director is responsible for approving all Reserve use.
All visitors must read and abide by the Reserve-specific access and safety policies. For additional questions, please contact Reserve Director Joy Baccei: [email protected].
Evaluation of Applications & Reservations
Requests to visit the Reserve will be approved if the allowable activities are consistent with the mission of the UC Nature and they pose no harm to the ecosystem or to native biodiversity. The numbers of visitors in your group, the duration of the stay, and the specific areas you wish to visit may be restricted to protect the ecosystem. Reserve lands are also environmental mitigation lands and are subject to federal and state permit conditions and regulations. In addition, environmental easements serve to protect the lands in perpetuity from damage or development. Planned research activities may need to comply with additional requirements because of this federal and state oversight.
All visitors must read, sign, return, and abide by the Reserve-specific access and safety policies form. For additional questions about access, please contact the Reserve Director.
Waivers
Some visitors are required to sign a liability waiver, but others are not. A waiver IS needed for a non-required, non-academic activity (e.g. a field trip that is not a required part of the course), for public school groups, and for members of the general public. UC affiliates (employees, faculty and students) participating in an official field trip or work-related activity, or university contractors/consultants DO NOT need to complete a waiver. Waivers should be presented to Reserve staff before or at the time of the visit. For more information about waivers, see Waiver Guidelines.
- UCM Campus Map & MVPGR Gate Location
- MVPGR Safety Map
- MVPGR Roads and Stock Ponds Map
- MVPGR Trails Map
- MVPGR Regional Location Map
- MVPGR Emergency Response Map
- MVPGR Zone Map
- High-Resolution Digital Grid Map
Directions to the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve (MVPGR)
1. Navigate to UC Merced Campus (5200 Lake Road, Merced, CA 95343)
2. Turn right onto Ranchers Road (north of the main entrances) and follow it until it makes a 90 degree turn to the south (right).
Options:
a) Park at one of the campus parking areas, and walk to the corner of Rancher’s and Ansel Adam’s Roads.On weekdays, the FLOWBIRD parking mobile app can be used to purchase parking (for use 12 days per month or less). On weekends, parking is free of charge. Closest parking lots to the MVPGR are the LeGrand Lot and North Bowl Lots.
b) If prior approval has been grantedwith the Reserve Director, enter/meet at Ranchers Road Gate access entrance to the MVPGR. A locator map is shown below for reference.
Applicants for non-educational or non-research may be charged reasonable rates based on prevailing rates for similar situations. An appropriate in-kind fee or service, such as artwork relating to reserve use, may be considered on a case-by-case basis in lieu of a fee. These fees and materials will be used to support the research and educational programs of the reserve.
Each campus has established a fee structure for research and instructional use and public outreach programs that is appropriate to the particular situation at each reserve. At present (June 2015), fees are not required to visit the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve.