Visit Us!

Sign up for an in-person walking tour of our beautiful campus, or take a Self-Guided Tour! See our Santa Cruz Area page for more information about our area. For a complete visitor guide, including information on accommodations, dining, activities, and more, see the Visit Santa Cruz County homepage.

For families who can’t travel to campus, we continue to offer many virtual options to experience our extraordinary campus environment (see below).

Campus Tours

Join us for a student-led, small-group tour of campus! Our S.L.U.G.s (Student Life and University Guides) are excited to take you and your family on a walking tour of campus. Use the links below to see your tour options.

General Walking Tour

Register here for a tour led by one of our Student Life & University Guides (S.L.U.G.s). The tour will take approximately 90 minutes and includes stairs, and some uphill and downhill walking. Appropriate walking shoes for our hills and forest floors and dressing in layers are highly recommended in our variable coastal climate.

Please note that from April 1 through 19, admitted students and their families will be prioritized for tours. If you are unable to make a reservation during that time, please consider a virtual tour or a self-guided tour. Parking is likely to be highly impacted during the spring season. For a smoother arrival, plan to arrive early, and download the ParkMobile app in advance.

See our frequently asked questions for more information.

Sammy greeting visitors on the bridge in the forest

Self Guided Tour

VisiTOUR is an app that you can download to your phone for either an in-person or virtual UC Santa Cruz experience! Take a general walking tour, or select your interests to have a route customized just for you! Either way, you can check out videos and photos of different spots on campus along the way. Just text UCSC to 58052, or use the link below.

Group of students outside enjoying the day

Group Tour

In-person group tours are offered to high schools, community colleges, and other educational partners. Please contact your admission representative or the tours office for more information.

If your group would like to visit before we can accommodate you or you have a group larger than 75, please utilize our VisiTOUR tour for your visit.

sammy-drives

S.L.U.G. Video Series and 6-minute Tour

For your convenience, we have a playlist of short topic-focused YouTube videos featuring our Student Life and University Guides (S.L.U.G.s) and lots of footage showing campus life. Tune in at your leisure! Just want to get a quick overview of our campus? Try our 6-minute video tour!

ucsc

Virtual Tour

Take a campus tour from the comfort of your own computer! Our interactive program is narrated by our own student tour guides, is available in five languages, and includes 360-degree photos.

photo of quarry plaza