Must see in Santa Cruz:
- Westcliff drive and lighthouse/surf museum: this beautiful stretch of road runs along the cliffs in Santa Cruz, it is a nice place to walk or bike. Don't miss the iconic Santa Cruz lighthouse, it's also the perfect overview to watch surfers at the world class surfing spot: Steamers lane.
- Santa Cruz wharf: the Santa Cruz wharf is the biggest wooden wharf in north America. It is filled with restaurants and shops, towards the end there are spots to watch the sea lions (just follow the barking). Next to it there's the main beach and the Santa Cruz boardwalk, an seaside amusement park featuring the only running wooden big dipper in north America.
- Capitola beach: Is a beautiful small touristy village next to Santa Cruz, the beach is small and nicely kept. Next to the water there are several restaurants and art studios.
- Natural bridges state beach: this small beach at the end of Santa Cruz features a natural rock bridge home to many sea birds. From the beach there are several hikes that go into the canyon, during the winter season a large amount of monarch butterflies stops by the eucalyptus trees in the park.
- Henry Cowells redwoods state park: this park features several costal redwoods and it's a short drive from Santa Cruz. A short loop will allow you to observe all the natural features of the coastal rainforest. Next to the park there's roaring camp where you can ride a working steam train and take a diesel train to the Santa Cruz boardwalk.
Activities in Santa Cruz and nearby
- Santa Cruz is a surfing city, if you have the time and the waves are good you should try surfing in Cowells bay. Surfboards and wetsuits can be rented at the Cowells beach surf shop. There are many surfing spots in town, you can ask the workshop organizers to point you to the right ones given the waves conditions.
- Drive on HWY 1 up to San Francisco: it's a beautiful 1:30h drive to San Francisco along the coast. You can stop at the small towns of Davenport, Pescadero and Half moon bay (where you can also visit Mavericks point) along the way.
- A sea kayak or SUP can be rented at the Santa Cruz harbor (kayak connection) or at the Santa Cruz wharf (venture quest). Another great place to do ocean kayaking is the Elkhorn Slough State Marine Conservation Area (kayaking).
- Visit Monterey's cannery row and aquarium. From the Monterey fisherman's wharf you can depart for a whale watching tour, there are many companies (one, two) organizing them: whales are guaranteed in the tours. You can also scuba dive in Monterey. Another beautiful town next to Monterey is Carmel, a nice park for hiking in the region is point lobos.
- There are sunset sailing tours organized everyday from the Santa Cruz harbor with O'Neill's Catamaran or the Chardonnay.
