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This frisbee golf course is very challenging. Saturdays are busy, especially in the morning. The course is awesome and the hikes in the area are spectacular, even if you don't play. Beware of the Poison Oak. Free.
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The famous ('as seen on TV') tourist trap, complete with anti-gravity cabin and amazing hillside of illusion.
Classic rollerskating experience in this roller arena that is over 65 years old.
The original Mission Santa Cruz was dedicated by Fermin Lasuen in 1791 as the 12th California mission. In its early years, the mission suffered due to violence among the Indians. The original mission buildings (save one) fell down in an 1857 earthquake, and in its place was built a Catholic Church with the anglicized name Holy Cross Church. However, a replica of the old mission was constructed nearby at half-scale in the 1930s by a wealthy benefactor. This exists today as Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park. The remaining original mission building now hosts a small museum with displays depicting the history of the site.
Founded in 1907, it is the only original boardwalk amusement park still operating on the West Coast. It features one of the oldest wooden rollercoasters still in use in the US as well as numerous modern attractions. Entrance is free, rides cost between $2–4 each (but less than $1 on selected summer evenings). Day, month, and yearly passes available.
Restaurants, gift shops, sea lions and pelicans, and great views.
UCSC
This UC campus has a smaller student population (except for the brand new campus in Merced), with about 15,000 students. The main part of campus is spread over half of 2001 acres (8.1 km²), mostly covered with redwood forests with the occasional stunning view of the bay. There is an UCSC Arboretum specializing in native plants and plants from Australia. Mountain bike and hiking trails criss-cross the upper part of campus, connecting Wilder Ranch State Park to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (get a trail map and a parking permit from the kiosk as you enter campus). The Bay Tree Bookstore sells clothes with the UCSC mascot – the banana slug. The critters themselves are fairly common in the surrounding redwood forest - their bright yellow color tells would-be predators that their skin secretes a foul-tasting poison. Keep your eyes open for mountain lions seen (but rarely) in undeveloped parts of the campus.