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City in California, United States
Photo: Larry Pieniazek, User:Lar, (primary), CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Santa Cruz is a coastal city (population about 65,000 in 2019) in Santa Cruz County, at the north end of Monterey Bay in California, about 40 miles (64 km) south of San Jose and 75 miles (120 km) south of San Francisco.
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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.
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.
The famous ('as seen on TV') tourist trap, complete with anti-gravity cabin and amazing hillside of illusion.
Memorabilia from the introduction of surfing to California by Hawaiians in 1885 to the present day. A statue of an early surfer is a few yards from the museum.
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.
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.
Lots to see and do here all day and night; "SantaCruz" character mixed with some great restaurants and lots of cool shops. Mostly it's a great people watching center. The nightlife is worth sticking around for. Pacific Ave is the main street downtown.
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.
Open daily, sunrise to sunset. State beach park with nature trails. Yearly monarch butterfly migration. Entrance free. Fee for parking.
Classic rollerskating experience in this roller arena that is over 65 years old.
A program of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County which was created in 1985 to give the public with an opportunity to collect art and to meet and learn from Santa Cruz County artists. Approximately 275 artists open their studios (which are usually in their homes) to the public. The tour runs for three consecutive weekends each fall.
Santa Cruz boasts a lively salsa dancing scene, with Salsa By The Sea a key attraction. Every Sunday year round (weather permitting), locals come to the Boardwalk to dance in the open air by the beach. Hours vary by the time of the year, but sometime in the afternoon, and always free. Other regular events are at the Vets Hall every Tuesday and the Palomar every Friday.
The Cabrillo Music Festival, Marin Alsop at the podium, is an internationally acclaimed celebration of contemporary orchestral music that opens during the end of July. Musicians from key orchestras around the country attend without pay for the experience of playing new works by the leading composers of our time who are usually in attendance. Many rehearsals are open and free to the public, as are workshops for new composers and conductors. The Festival, which began in 1962, lasts two weeks and is perhaps the most exciting and prestigious festival of contemporary music anywhere.
Mexican fast food. Seating is very cramped at Laurel St. location, so don't plan on being able to eat there with all your family and friends.
Tasty cheap pizza by the slice or the pie, salads. $2–5. Great Santa Cruz souvenir: slice of pizza and Pizza My Heart T-shirt for $5.
Award-winning tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Family-owned. Limited dining and parking space. A local favorite and worth a visit.
There are many taquerias in town, but this one attracts Mexican-American families, college students, and visitors from up and down the coast who come just for the huge traditional style meals.
A great taqueria with unquestionably some of the most authentic Mexican food you will find in Santa Cruz. The 49er Burrito on their menu ($6.50) is a super burrito with red sauce and cheese poured on top (like an enchillada) and is one of their specialties.
Self-serve frozen yogurt shop. The flavors are changed daily and rather than paying for a size, you pay 42 cents an ounce for all the ice cream and toppings you want. Pick from pumpkin or jasmine yogurt to cheesecake and cookie dough toppings. If you do not like the taste of frozen yogurt, this is a good place. It tastes just like soft serve ice cream. Average cup is $3–5.
Two amazing restaurants featuring menus using only the freshest produce from local farms. If you're in town on a Sunday, Chaminade's Sunset Restaurant has an award-winning Sunday morning Champagne brunch. Happy hour is every Tuesday-Thursday, 4-6PM.
An oddly small colorful building which contains a restaurant of decent inauthentic Thai/Vietnamese fusion. There is half-outdoor seating complete with heat lamps, foliage, and colorful decorative lighting. Very vegan/vegetarian friendly.
Open every day for lunch and dinner. Reservations are taken only for large parties on weeknights, and the wait can be very long on weekends. Great Mexican food in dramatic dining room, but not cheap. Brighter cantina in back is a good lunch spot that becomes a bar at night, serves some of the best tacos in town for $2.50 a pop and has specials on Tuesday nights. Lots of seafood specialties. Homemade tortillas are excellent, as are the margaritas. Strolling guitar players some evenings. Kid friendly.
This is a great downtown Italian spot. The food is quite good, and it's a very entertaining place to eat. On weekend evenings, you may even get a fully choreographed performance by the entire staff.
Excellent curried mangos and Kofta Joe. The service can be surly, but don't worry about it. Eat and be happy. Sunday night dinner is a fixed menu consisting of naan, salad, various curries and rice (in small amounts) and a dessert; however, the price is determined by what you think it is worth. Only have $5? It's okay. Feel like it's worth $20, that works too.
Innovative sushi and jazz club. Check local listings for music.
Classy Californian cuisine using organic and fresh ingredients. Reservations recommended on the weekend.
Features a plush lounge and an elegant dining room. Menu consists of happy hour bites (3-7PM) appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, salads, and nightly dinner specials. Organic local produce from the downtown farmer's market provides fresh, healthy, and delicious food. Chef Bobby Madrid. Exquisite cocktails featuring an array of house-infused liquors - you don't want to be in Santa Cruz without experiencing the Red.
Still often called "Linda's" even though the personable owner sold this cafe to her business partner Tex Hintze quite a few years ago. Often a wait on weekends but you can start your mug of coffee while you wait. Cinnamon Rolls on the weekend are a must! Best breakfast in town! Vegan-friendly, kid friendly.
Excellent sushi restaurant in a convenient downtown location. The exceptionally fresh ingredients and talented sushi staff make this some of the best sushi available in Santa Cruz County. They offer all the traditional sushis, as well as lots of variations, some of which are veggie/vegan friendly. Of particular interest is the "korokke," a potato croquette served with tonkatsu sauce, which you won't find in many local Japanese restaurants. Serves lunch and dinner through the week, dinner Saturdays, closed Sundays.
It's letting the secret out of the bag to tell you that Linda of Seabreeze Cafe fame bought this larger venue to sling her famous fabulous food. Vegan-friendly, kid-friendly.
The café serves breakfast foods, sandwiches, salads, and, of course, delectable fresh bakery items.
American breakfast and lunch. Fresh ingredients, friendly service, and a complete lack of trendiness. A favorite of Santa Cruz locals—long waits on the weekends.
Fantastic breakfasts featuring homemade bread French toasts, fruit salads, home fries, and more. Finishing Mike's Mess is a worthwhile challenge. Expect a line Saturday and Sunday.
Amazing sandwich place. It's where all the locals go. The Castroville Italian sandwich and the tiramisu are to die for.
Steak and seafood restaurant. Ocean view and full bar that's a favorite of locals. In the top three annually for "best happy hour" award from the local weekly paper.
Amazing local, organic food and great wine list.
End your pub crawl here and have a photo of your bare butt added to the lovely collage on the wall. Lots of cheap beer and college students in this dive bar.
Also known as "the meat market." Has $2 drinks on Tuesdays, attracting a huge crowd of cheap drinkers. Thursday is 1980s night drawing a large college crowd. Monday is Goth/Industrial night.
Has a reputation for allowing cigarette smoking indoors for many years after state law prohibited it.
Free WiFi access point.
Free WiFi plus computers available. Great espresso.
Free Wi-Fi. The Mug is a full service coffeehouse down the road a little, in the Soquel neighborhood east of the city proper. It's a place where you can socialize, study, and conduct business meetings in a warm friendly atmosphere. All local, all organic.
Free Wi-Fi. They roast to order so you can sample far-out blends from all around the world and not have to buy the bag just to get a taste.
Large venue with bar/restaurant in the front and music venue in the back. Pool tables. Happy hour. Check local weekly papers for line-up.
"Kuumbwa" (pronounced koo-um-ba, silent "w"), a Swahili word meaning "act of spontaneous creation." Kuumbwa Jazz is an internationally recognized nonprofit jazz venue. It's one of the longest weekly nonprofit jazz presenters on the West Coast, established in 1975. When we aren't presenting our own weekly jazz series, the venue is available for outside promoters to bring in acts such as bluegrass, folk, Celtic and world music. The venue is also available for special occasions such as receptions, private parties, and community events.
Free high-speed Internet access.
156 rooms & suites on a scenic mountain ridge, overlooking the Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Offers two restaurants, a spa, fitness center, heated outdoor swimming pool, two outdoor Jacuzzis, four lighted tennis courts, geocaching and 3 mi of hiking trails.
Weekly European style lodging in a downtown 1888 Victorian mansion with private and shared baths. Full kitchen and laundry.
This eB&B offers nine eco-friendly rooms, free Wi-Fi, bikes, parking and all rooms are ADA.
Every room has a private ocean-front balcony.
Hostelling International
Housed in some of the city's oldest and most famous dwellings (the Carmelita Cottages). 14-day maximum stay.
Just south of Santa Cruz in Capitola. Campsites sit on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Very popular site and reservations are recommended far in advance.
Just north of Santa Cruz on Highway 9, Henry Cowell sits in giant redwoods trees. Nice enough to be a destination in and of itself but also a nice central spot to use as a base of operations for exploring Santa Cruz and surroundings.
South of Santa Cruz in Aptos, this camp site offers beach side RV camping year round. Tent camping not permitted.
There are backpacking sites about 9 mi from the visitors center and 3 mi from Olive Springs Road.
High end kitchenwares catering more to the well-heeled as opposed to starving students.
Socks, shoes and hosiery.
Gifts, calendars and posters.
A large independent bookstore that has been in downtown Santa Cruz since 1966. of new, used, and sale books, magazines, cards, gifts, and toys. It has comprehensive children’s and new release sections, and strong sections in travel, politics, cooking, science, and fiction.
All about mushrooms: fresh, dried, and all kinds of mushroom derivatives and related products. The store doubles as a restaurant with mushroom-based dishes and vegetarian/vegan options.
Houseplants, scented candles, and charming, quaint home goods.
By car
from & Highway 17 south from San Jose is the most direct route when driving from the more populated parts of the Bay Area.
By bus
By train
There is no train service in Santa Cruz. The San Jose Diridon Station is the central station for Amtrak, Altmont Corridor Express (ACE) and Caltrain.
By bus
Santa Cruz Metro provides bus service within the city.
By car
While driving is certainly an option, parking is tight, so be careful to not get ticketed.
By bike
Santa Cruz can be a wonderful town for cycling, but be careful because drivers are no better here than in many other places.
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