Our annual Club Fair is an opportunity to learn more about and join one or more of nearly 80 campus clubs and organizations.

St. Bonaventure University

Activities, Programs & Recreation


Looking for something to do at St. Bonaventure? Better call CARL.

The Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership (CARL) at St. Bonaventure is your headquarters for fun, fitness, recreation, entertainment, leadership, and lots more.

Students dancing in the university Rathskeller

Campus Activities Board


CARL's connection to entertainment on and off campus

The Campus Activities Board (CAB), part of CARL, is the driving force behind quality extracurricular programming on campus, and students are behind the wheel at CAB. You can be part of the team responsible for the planning, production, advertising and presentation of exciting, diverse and educational programming throughout the year.

CAB books award-winning artists, comedians and bands for campus appearances. It also organizes and hosts on- and off-campus events for students, such as open mic nights to showcase campus talent. Then there are the awesome road trips:

  • bus excursions to Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres games
  • trips to live stage performances at Buffalo theaters
  • shopping and sightseeing trips to New York City.


Keep active and fit in Richter Recreation Center


Three gymnasiums, weights, aerobics, cardio, walking track and so much more

Students playing basketball in the Richter Fitness Center
With more than 80 percent of our students participating in intramurals, club sports and fitness programs, it's no surprise that one of the busiest and most popular spots on campus is the Sandra A. and William L. Richter Center, our modern and well-equipped fitness and recreation facility.

Located next to our outdoor athletic fields, and a short walk from most residence halls, the Richter Center meets the demands of every self-improver, from the fitness freak to the Apple Watch step counter.

 

The expansive weight and cardio workout room at the Richter Center.


  • Love the outdoors? You'll love it here, naturally


    St. Bonaventure is situated in the Allegheny River Valley, surrounded by forested, rolling hills and plush lowlands, an area so charming and beautiful that early settlers named it the Enchanted Mountains.

    A female student running on the Allegheny River Valley Trail

    If running, hiking, walking, biking or inline skating is your thing, or all of the above, the 6.2-mile Allegheny River Valley Trail (above) includes a St. Bonaventure loop, offering quick and easy access to the trail from just about anywhere on campus.

    The asphalt pathway travels through woodlands along the north back of the Allegheny for more than two miles before bending to run through part of the city of Olean. It turns again to head back to campus, completing a closed circuit.


    Other ways to enjoy our great outdoors

    • GOLF: The St. Bonaventure Golf Course, located right across the street from campus, is a well-maintained, hilly and challenging 9-hole course that offers discounted greens fees for SBU students.

    • SKIING & ADVENTURE: Holiday Valley, a four-season resort less than a half-hour's drive from campus, is consistently ranked as one of the best downhill skiing facilities in the East. The Valley also operates the Sky High Adventure Park, an outdoor aerial park with tree-top platforms, zip lines, rope bridges and a mountain coaster ride.

    • STATE PARKS: Allegany State Park, the largest state park in the state of New York, is just 20 miles west of campus. Letchworth State Park, with its deep Genesee River Valley Gorge, is just an hour's drive north.