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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.
The University of California, Santa Cruz is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of the coastal community of Santa Cruz, the main campus lies on 2,001 acres (810 ha) of rolling, forested hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As of Fall 2024, its ten residential colleges enroll some 17,940 undergraduate and 1,998 graduate students. Satellite facilities in other Santa Cruz locations include the Coastal Science Campus and the Westside Research Park and the Silicon Valley Center in Santa Clara, along with administrative control of the Lick Observatory near San Jose in the Diablo Range and the Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
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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.
Open daily, sunrise to sunset. State beach park with nature trails. Yearly monarch butterfly migration. Entrance free. Fee for parking.
Has exhibits focusing on ocean conservation and marine science, big tanks full of native species, a guided tour with a dolphin overlook area, and amazing views of Monterey Bay at sunset.
Classic rollerskating experience in this roller arena that is over 65 years old.
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.