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Travel & Lodging

Travel        Parking & Shuttle        Lodging        Meals

Travel

Travel Funding

We aim to make CUWiP accessible to everyone.  All meals and accommodation during the conference are organized and the costs are met by CUWiP. You do not need to book or arrange accommodation on Friday or Saturday night. Travel to the conference is usually paid for by your home department.  In cases where your own department, or other sources, cannot cover the cost, there are funds available to support travel to CUWiP so no one has to miss out on CUWiP for financial reasons. In order to access those funds, please email cuwip@ucmerced.edu to request travel support before (December 2, 2022), and please include a statement from your home department confirming that it cannot cover your travel costs.

 

Travel costs will typically be reimbursed after the conference. Please save receipts (paper or electronic) for reimbursement. Before you book a plane ticket, or any other travel ticket costing more than $100, you must first email the cost and itinerary to cuwip@ucmerced.edu to receive advance permission prior to incurring the cost. Significant costs which are not pre-approved may not be reimbursed.

 

By air

The closest major airport to UC Merced is the Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT). This is about a one-hour drive away from UC Merced. From Fresno Airport we recommend that you use Uber or Lyft to get to Merced, carpooling with other attendees.

  • You can take the Amtrak train from Fresno to Merced, but there are only a few trains, and you will also need to use taxi, rideshare, or bus to reach the Fresno Amtrak station. 
  • You can rent a car at the Fresno Airport and drive. UC Merced CUWiP will not be able to reimburse rental cars however.

See here for information on recommended ground transportation options from Fresno Airport.

Email us your full flight information: airlines, flight numbers, airports, flight times. We will put you in touch with other attendees arriving at similar times to Fresno Airport, to help you organize car-pools from there to UC Merced. Please save receipts (paper or electronic) for reimbursement.

By rail

Go to the Merced Amtrak station (MCD) on the Amtrak San Joaquins line. If coming from Fresno Yosemite International Airport, take the Northbound train from Fresno (FNO) to Merced. If coming from the Bay Area you can take the Thruway Bus 99 from San Francisco to Emeryville Station, or board at Oakland Amtrak Station, or go to the Richmond BART stop where BART connects with Amtrak; then you will take the Southbound San Joaquins line train to Merced.

On arrival, you can use a taxi or ride-share, trying to carpool with other attendees.

By road

If you're driving, Merced is best reached by Highway 99, the nearby state route that stretches nearly the entire length of California’s Central Valley.

Directions to the conference hotel from Highway 99

  • Take exit 186B.
  • Get onto CA-140 E (a right turn if coming from the south, or stay straight if coming from the north).
  • Shortly, turn right onto Motel Drive.
  • The Courtyard Marriott will soon be on your right.

Directions to UC Merced from Southbound Highway 99

  1. Head southeast on CA-99 South.
  2. Take Exit 187B toward Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
  3. Turn left onto CA-59 North/Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
  4. Take the third right onto West 16th Street.
  5. Take the third left onto G Street.
  6. Turn right onto East Bellevue Road.
  7. Turn left at Lake Road.
  8. Arrive at main entrance to the UC Merced campus.

Directions to UC Merced from Northbound Highway 99

  1. Head northwest on CA-99 North.
  2. Take exit 187A for G Street.
  3. Turn right onto G Street.
  4. Turn right onto East Bellevue Road.
  5. Turn left at Lake Road.
  6. Arrive at main entrance to the UC Merced campus.

 

Parking & Shuttle Information

Shuttle bus service will be provided...

  • ...from campus to the hotel on Friday evening (9:00 pm), and Saturday evening (9:30 pm);
  • ...from the hotel to campus on Saturday morning (8:00 am) and Sunday morning (8:00 am).

Parking for the conference is in the Bellevue Lot. Look for a blocked-off section with signage directing CUWiP attendees to it. Parking is free on the weekend, and will be covered by the conference as necessary for Friday. Parking is also free at the hotel. The map below highlights the Bellevue Lot and the Conference Center.

Conference Center Campus Map

 

Lodging

We have reserved a block of double-occupancy rooms at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Merced. We will arrange the rooms. Participants may specify roommate preferences on registration; otherwise, roommates will be randomly assigned by the organizing committee. The address is 750 Motel Dr, Merced, CA 95340. Free parking is provided for hotel guests, right at the hotel. Student participants can expect double hotel rooms with two students per room. Check-in time is 3:00pm.
 
For students requesting hotel accommodations, rooms will be booked for Friday and Saturday nights. The conference will cover the hotel costs for all students who registered for CUWiP by the deadline.
 
The check-out time is 12:00pm. Therefore, please check out from your hotel room on Sunday morning before traveling to campus for the last day of our meeting.
 

Meals

Meals are provided by the conference for Friday night through Sunday afternoon. We will request dietary restriction information on the registration form. If you believe your dietary needs are unusual, please contact us at cuwip@ucmerced.edu and we will work to accommodate you.