The campus I am most familiar with is UC Davis.
The on-campus hotel is the Hyatt Place and they offer bicycles so you can explore campus on your own time.
Some impressions of Davis and Student Life:
UCD is a biking campus and has a great bus system which gets you around campus and town. The quintessential small town feel but only 20 min to Sacramento airport and about 1 1/2 to 2 hours away from Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay Area and Napa/Sonoma wine country.
UCD is large campus surrounded by rural farmland and Wildlife wetlands near by. They have a huge arboretum with bike and walking paths throughout the flat campus. The arboretum is located behind the Hyatt Place hotel. The walking/bike paths will take you into downtown.
Socially, UCD is more earthy, laid back and friendly but there are students who drink and party if you like that scene. It also has four seasons so rain and cold during the winter, a beautiful spring and then a hot summer. UCD students work hard but tend to be more collaborative vs. competitive. Undergrad research is available especially if you find a professor with your area of interest.
Downtown Davis has many specialty shops, plenty of restaurants and cafes. Costco and Big Box stores (Home Depot, Best Buy, Target, etc.) are in Woodland which is 15 minutes north of town, by car or bus, so everything you need is relatively close. There is a Target just east of campus and some kids bike over to that shopping center. Some restaurants to check out is Crepeville and Sophia’s Thai along with Mishka’s Cafe.
Campus sites of interest: The Egg Head sculptures, the Raptor Center and the “Death Star” Building
https://localwiki.org/davis/Social_Sciences_and_Humanities_Building
https://crc.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/
I recommend the student walking tour which will give you a good overall view of the campus then plan to explore on your own.