Activities and Recreation Center | UC Davis - Davis, California

Ryan G.

I literally never see the staff do anything to encourage their policies. People take forever, don’t clean equipment, never fix equipment in a timely manner, and never say anything of hoards of friend groups using one machine loudly and obnoxiously. The one thing they do decide to do, is to tell people to wear unsafe shoes when lifting because wearing socks ONLY while lifting - not walking around or anything, isn’t allowed even though it is not explicitly stated. If they want to say it’s unsanitary to wear socks on the ground that no one is working out on, how about the policy to wipe down your equipment? How about those people leaving their sweat on equipment where our body parts and intimate body parts are touching? The spills from outside drinks that are never cleaned up? But no. Socks are their concern.

Kara G.

So why am I in the middle of my workout and an employee from the arc comes up to me while i’m squatting to ask me to put on shoes when literally every other standard gym allows you to lift in socks because it’s more optimal while working out? It’s the floor too so I do not see how it would be an issue? I looked it up and arc policy literally says you can do idk if this girl was told to interrupt people MID workout or what but I saw her do it to like three other people. Not everyone has money to buy proper lifting shoes, my money is going towards tuition to fund this gym that is always busy, has lazy workers, limited equipment, and right now only one functioning in gym bathroom.

Edit: It’s ironic that the Arc’s response is about their current policy of close heeled shoes but they don’t stop people pulling up in slides or crocs.

Edit: No bags allowed, but taking everything out of the bag to carry it around is allowed? What type of gym is this? What am I allowed to do?

chanlee K.

On top of paying tuition and the gym membership itself, the parking is charged by the hour. At the time of writing this review, an hour costs 2.75. If you frequent the gym enough and you live far, expect to pay at the minimum for the membership itself, 50 dollars, and 110 for parking if you go all weekdays for 2 hours for 4 weeks of the month. A grand total of 160 if you are a dedicated weightlifter. TAPs routinely tickets so you cant get away with it unless you know someone who works in that department personally to void it just because you know someone. The equipment is good but it’s always crowded so expect to work in with someone here and there. No sauna or steam room sadly. The app used for scanning into the gym is outdated and requires you to sign in every time you use the app. They recently did some upgrades but it definitely is not worth your time and money to go here if you are a more experienced lifter. Go here if you get it for free, or go to a gym in sac or woodland. Edit: i recently found out the gym is not in charge of the parking situation, so il retract one star but keep it at three stars.
Edit: I went here for a day pass, I was doing a leg day and I didn’t have the proper shoes for barbell squatting, if you have any knowledge on weightlifting, going shoeless with socks is an effective measure you can do in this instance. I was told to not do this by some employees at this gym. Wearing improper shoes for squats can cause injury and muscle imbalances. Furthermore, I noticed some trainers giving improper form to people doing half ass squats that moved an inch; terrible form and terrible trainers that don’t know what they are doing.

Suvham D.

They have been making changes that seem to just make things worse. There used to be dividers to separate the courts which was useful since a stray ball from another basketball court or volleyball court can cause injuries like a sprained ankle but now there is none so if your stray ball has a potential to roll across 4 other courts. They also take a while to do repairs on machines and currently the lockers are closed for renovation so you have to change in one of the 2 bathrooms available. They also have no volleyballs you can borrow while you are at the arc. The ARC overall feels like it has just gotten a lot worse over the past few months and I hope it gets better.

Yi-Chang S.

I had a very terrible experience at ARC today. The locker room is currently under renovation, leaving no proper changing facilities available. The only restroom (located on the 2nd floor) was extremely dirty and had an unpleasant odor this evening, making it virtually unusable for changing or as a bathroom. Staff were not proactive in offering assistance or alternatives, which is frustrating . There's also an insufficient number of daily lockers available. These conditions will continue for the next six months according yo their announcement, which is concerning. At minimum, members need access to CLEAN AND ENOUGH facilities for changing and using the bathroom.

Forest G.

Well. The gym itself has a good spread of equipment and is pretty much the only decent gym in Davis, which is what led me to getting a membership here. But for non-students, a membership is $50 a month, and on top of that you’ll need to pay $15 a day for parking (if you don’t pay you’re basically guaranteed a parking ticket). When you’re at the gym, good luck actually getting to use any equipment because the place is swarmed with hundreds and hundreds of people. The thing that pissed me off the most about my experience here though, was when I finally went to cancel my membership I was informed that I would still be charged for the next month, because you have to cancel your membership more than 10 days in advance of the start of the month to avoid being charged. I won’t even be in town next month, so I’m getting charged $50 for something I won’t even be able to use, and I went to cancel like 5 days beforehand specifically to avoid that. This policy is buried in their website and they do not inform you of it u too you cancel.

I would only recommend this gym if you’re a student and get in for free, or have no other options. Otherwise, it’s worth it to just drive to woodland or sac and go somewhere else.

Alex X.

Best gym I’ve ever been to. Huge, clean and good vibe. Just avoid the crowded periods

Ivan M.

The ARC is my happy place.