Destination Guides: Santa Cruz, United States - Attractions

Santa Cruz, CA

831-429-964

Museum Hours: Tuesdays - Sundays 11am - 5pm

Admission Charged.  Free for children under 12.
This quaint little museum in downtown Santa Cruz focuses on contemporary and historical visual culture with a series of rotating exhibitions. The permanent collection displays historical artifacts that illustrate the unique history of Santa Cruz. The museum also offers docent-led tours of the historic Octagon building, the Evergreen Historic Cemetery, and the Davenport Jail Museum.

Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park
144 School Street, Mission Plaza

Santa Cruz, CA

831-425-5849

Call for days and hours of operation

Admission Charged

Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park is the site of a complex of buildings erected around the original Santa Cruz Mission. Part of the cluster, the Neary-Rodriguez Adobe, was built in 1791 and is the last of the mission’s many buildings to survive. The lovely, single-story adobe has been restored to its original appearance. Misión la Exaltacion de la Santa Cruz was the 12th mission built in California. It was completed during the 1790s. Damaged by several earthquakes, it collapsed in 1857.

 

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
400 Beach St.

Santa Cruz, CA 95060

831-426-7433 or831-423-5590 (boardwalk calendar)

Open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, weekends fall through spring.

Admission Free to boardwalk, Admission Charged for rides.
California's oldest amusement park is about as original--and memorable--as boardwalks come. The park has two national landmarks -- a 1924 wooden Giant Dipper roller coaster, a 1911 carousel with hand-carved wooden horses, and a 342-pipe organ band. The only major seaside amusement park on the Pacific Coast, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk blends old-time nostalgia with modern thrills. You can buy a bag of salt-water taffy, get your fortune told in the old-style arcade, take a road rage-releasing ride on the bumper cars, or test your mettle on the giant wood-framed roller coaster, The Giant Dipper, whose unforgettable dips rival any extreme adventure in new theme parks. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk features a carousel and little cars and airplanes for the kiddies as well. Bring a swimsuit and a towel, as you'll be steps from a sandy, beautiful Santa Cruz beach.

Neptune's Kingdom

400 Beach St. on the Boardwalk

Santa Cruz, CA

831-423-5590

Grand Arcades opens at 11am and stays open late every day except December 25th.

Admission Free, Charges apply for golf, arcade games and other activities.

Neptune’s Kingdom is a nautical-themed indoor family recreation and entertainment center
located on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk whose main feature is a two-story miniature golf course. Test your skills inside Smuggler's Arcade playing video games and pinball. Visit the Captain's Game Deck upstairs for more fun and games including eight pool tables, air hockey, fosse ball, snacks, and beer.

Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf

Intersection of West Cliff Dr. and Beach St.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-420-5273

Open daily 5 am–2 am

Admission Charged

Enjoy interpretive displays along this half-mile pier, including an aquarium.

On weekends, watch the sea lions, and stop by the Sanctuary office at 55-D, Upper Level.

You can also crab and fish from the wharf. 

Santa Cruz Mystery Spot
465 Mystery Spot Rd., off Branciforte Dr.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-423-8897

Hours: Summer: 9:00am to last tour @7:00 pm, Winter: 9:00am to last tour @ 5:00pm, (After Labor Day up to Memorial Day)

Admission Charged.

The Mystery Spot is an area about 150 feet in diameter located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California. Within the Mystery Spot you will be baffled as the laws of physics and gravity cease to exist; balls roll uphill, chairs sit on walls and people lean over so far they can't see their shoes, yet they don't fall down. Discovered in 1939 and opened to the public in 1940, the Mystery Spot has amazed and perplexed hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. Many return again to experience the puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more.

Pacific Garden Mall
Pacific Avenue

Santa Cruz, CA

831-429-8433

Call for days and hours of operation

Admission Free
This outdoor mall is the heart of downtown Santa Cruz. Filled with eclectic shops selling one-of-a-kind jewelry, clothes and art, as well as plenty of books, music and a dearth of quirky thrift stores. Street performers lend the mall its unique bohemian character, and a wide variety of restaurants, bars, clubs and movie theaters keep visitors entertained into the wee hours.

L. H. Selman Ltd. Glass Gallery
103 & 123 Locust Street

Santa Cruz, CA

800-538-0766 or 831-427-1177

Monday - Friday 9:00 - 5:00, Saturday - 10:00 - 4:00, Sunday - by appointment

Admission Free, donations accepted.
In addition to some of the finest glassware, sculptures and jewelry around, the Glass Gallery features one of the only museums in the country devoted entirely to paperweights. The gallery is on a mission to educate the world about these glorious relics, and to see that paperweights receive the recognition and representation they deserve in the art world.

Pasatiempo Golf Club (public)
20 Clubhouse Road

Santa Cruz, CA

831-459-9169

Open daily, call for hours of operation

Admission Charged.
Designed by world-renowned golf architect Alister MacKenzie (who also designed Augusta and Cypress Point), this 6,439 yard, par 70 course was rated as one of the top 100 courses by Golf Digest. The course is nestled in the rolling hills above Santa Cruz, offering scenic vistas of the beautiful Monterey Bay. Enjoy breakfast and lunch at the MacKenzie Bar & Grill, and relax into the evening with fine Santa Cruz dining at the elegant and historic Hollins House.

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
1305 East Cliff Drive

Santa Cruz CA;

831-420-6115

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am to 5pm

Admission Charged, Youth under 18 free
Tour the many habitats of Santa Cruz simply with a stroll through the exhibit area; visit woodlands, chaparral, grasslands, and a variety of marine environments. Pound acorns the Ohlone way, excavate sand dollars, tickle a sea star, or get up close and personal with a living bee hive. Great for all ages, although the children particularly enjoy climbing on the cement whale which is located on the front lawn.

 

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
West Cliff Drive

Santa Cruz CA

831-420-6289

Winter Hours: Thursday through Monday, noon – 4:00pm, Summer Hours: Wednesday through Monday, noon – 4:00pm

Admission Charged

The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is housed in the small, brick Mark Abbon Memorial Lighthouse overlooking Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz's internationally renowned surf spot, as well as Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay. Focusing on Santa Cruz's surfing history, the Surfing Museum displays Antique surfboards, videos, photographs, and other memorabilia depict the history and evolution of surfing around the world.

University of California at Santa Cruz
1156 High Street

Santa Cruz, CA

831-459-0111

Call for additional information

Admission Free to Visit
Since 1965, UCSC has been expanding into what is now a sprawling campus amongst the majestic redwoods above Santa Cruz. Enrollment now exceeds 14,000 students (comprised mostly of undergraduates), giving Santa Cruz a decidedly college-town flavor. UCSC hosts many events throughout the year, adding a diverse range of music, dance and theater from countries around the world to Santa Cruz's cultural mix.

Center's Farm and Alan Chadwick Garden

Santa Cruz, CA

UCSC Farm and Garden Tour

831-459-3240 to schedule

Open to the public daily from 8 am to 6 pm, with a self-guided tour brochure available at the Farm entrance.

Admission Charged

Specialized tours for professional groups, visiting farmers and researchers are available by arrangement.  The Farm and Garden offer thriving examples of organic agriculture and horticulture on both a hand-worked garden scale and medium-sized farm scale. Whether you're a gardener interested in what plants do well in the Central Coast region, a farmer looking for production information, or you just want to take a walk and enjoy the views, the Farm & Garden have something to offer. 

During their tours, visitors can see first-hand how to build fertile soil and control pests, recycle yard and kitchen waste, conserve water, and encourage biodiversity.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center

Long Marine Laboratory, 100 Shaffer Rd., at the northwest end of Delaware Avenue

Santa Cruz, CA

831-459-3800

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from noon to 5pm

Admission Charged.

Visit a working marine laboratory. Exhibit halls, aquarium, touch tanks, tours to marine mammal research overlook, Ocean Discovery Shop, and unsurpassed vistas of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Hold a sea star - marvel at the world's largest whale skeleton - think like a scientist!

Surfing/Beaches/Parks

Beaches with Lifeguard Service in summer:

(Hours vary from beach to beach.)

Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz

Cowell Beach, Santa Cruz

Main Beach, Santa Cruz

Seabright State Beach, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Harbor Beach, Santa Cruz

Twin Lakes State Beach, Santa Cruz

For further information on beach or ocean conditions contact:

State Beaches

831-427-4868

Santa Cruz City Beaches

831-420-6015

Steamer Lane

West Cliff Drive

Santa Cruz, CA

A favorite surfing spot where you can watch pro surfers shredding the waves. A classic name for a classic California surf spot, Steamer Lane is geo-strategically placed to sweep up just about everything moving within or just above the surface of the Pacific Ocean and put it to some use. Because Santa Cruz faces straight south, Lighthouse Point points almost directly south, and that geography is the secret to Steamer Lane's success. Swells from the west and northwest that ravage the coast north of Santa Cruz are evened out and groomed as they bend into Monterey Bay.

Steamer Lane is maybe a little too irresistible, because it is now one of the most crowded surf spots in California. At any given hour, there is probably a wider range of people surfing Steamer Lane than anywhere else in the world.

Natural Bridges State Beach

2531 W. Cliff Dr.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-423-4609

Park open daily 8am-sunset, Visitor Center open Fri–Sun 10–4 in summer, more in winter & spring.  Call for exact hours.

Parking Fee

A large sandy beach with nearby tide pools and hiking trails. It's also home to a large colony of monarch butterflies that cluster and mate in the nearby eucalyptus grove. 

Bonny Doon

Bonny Doon Road and Calif. 1

Santa Cruz, CA

An uncrowded sandy beach and a major surfing spot accessible by a steep walkway.

Pleasure Point Beach

East Cliff Drive at Pleasure Point Drive

Santa Cruz, CA

Twin Lakes State Beach: 

Ideal for sunning and also provides access to Schwann Lagoon, a bird sanctuary.

Wilder Ranch State Park

2 miles north of Santa Cruz, immediately west of Highway 1, just a mile or so past the Western Drive stoplight.

831-423-9703

Park open daily 8 a.m. to sunset, Interpretive Center open Thurs–Sun 10–4

Parking Fee

The park has 4,505 acres, with 34 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian rails winding through coastal terraces and valleys. Several restored buildings once belonging to the Wilder family are preserved. The park has tours and living history demonstrations to help visitors explore the history of early ranchers and farmers along the Central Coast. The site was originally the main rancho supplying Santa Cruz Mission. It later became a successful and innovative dairy ranch. Surrounding grounds include Victorian homes, gardens, and historic adobe.

Surfing Lessons & Surfboard Rental

Arrow Surf Shop

2324 Mission St.

Santa Cruz, CA.

831-423-8286

Call for days and hours of operation

Surfboard rentals & sales.

Club Ed Surf School & Camps, Inc.

On Cowell Beach

Santa Cruz, CA

800-287-SURF (7873)

Call for additional information

Surfing lessons private & group, surfboard & wetsuit rentals, 7-day surf camps.

Open year round

Cowell’s Beach ‘n Bikini Surf Shop

30 Front St.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-427-2355

Call for additional information

Complete surf rentals, lessons.

Shoreline Surf Shop

125 Beach St.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-458-1380,

Call for additional information

Surfboard rentals.

Whale Watching, Boating, & Fishing

Santa Cruz Sportfishing

Santa Cruz, CA

831-426-4690

Call for additional information

Ocean fishing trips for salmon, rock cod, albacore. Whale watching & Sanctuary tours.

Shamrock Charters & Fisherman’s Supply

In the Santa Cruz Harbor

Santa Cruz, CA

831-476-2648

Call for additional information 

Monterey Bay Sanctuary tours, sport fishing, whale watching, charters, fishing gear.

Stagnaro’s

On the Santa Cruz Wharf

Santa Cruz, CA

831-427-2334

Call for additional information

Fishing trips, whale watching, scenic bay cruises, private charters.