Santa Cruz is a small coastal city in Santa Cruz County, on the north end of Monterey Bay in California, about forty miles south of San Jose. It is best known for the Beach Boardwalk with one of the oldest wooden rollercoasters still in use in the U.S., the Mystery Spot, where you can see an antigravity cabin and an amazing hillside of illusion, and the University of California. It also includes one of the worlds best Disc Golf Courses at Delaveaga.
Head to the beach, explore the majestic redwood forests and vibrant cityscapes, taste fresh cuisine and fine wines, and experience the arts and year-round events in Santa Cruz, California. Try kayaking, sailing, fishing, kiteboarding or windsurfing, then mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, or a game of golf. If you enjoy surfing, visit the Surf Museum located in the lighthouse at Lighthouse Point, West Cliff Drive, it contains memorabilia from the origins of surfing in California.
Santa Cruz's diverse habitats attract a rich array of wildlife. See the birds along the Pacific Flyway and at Elkhorn Slough. Wintering monarch butterflies, migrating whales, elephant seals, dolphins, sea otters and other marine life can also be seen. State Parks include Natural Bridges State Park, a beach park with nature trails, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the oldest state park in California featuring redwood groves and the Tree-to-Sea Trail (hike from Big Basin Park headquarters to Waddell Creek Beach), the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, with a nature center and trail with old growth redwoods (right next door to Roaring Camp Railroads where you can ride either the beach train to the Boardwalk or the steam train to Bear Mountain), and Año Nuevo State Park, which has one of the largest populations of elephant seals.
Explore the quaint neighborhoods of Santa Cruz, antique havens of Soquel and Aptos, the boutiques of Capitola, and the charming shops in the San Lorenzo Valley towns of Felton, Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek. There are many restaurants to choose from, such as Café Mare Italian Restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz, Aldo's Restaurant offers seafood with a beautiful view, and Stagnaro Bros. Restaurant at the outer end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf has everything from sandwiches to lobster tail. Santa Cruz also includes everything from Irish pubs to nightclubs, with many of the bars located along Pacific Avenue.
You'll find an array of talent year-round at an art fair, music celebration, film festival, historical re-enactment or ethnic celebration. The Open Studios Art Tour includes approximately 275 artists. The tour runs for three consecutive weekends each fall. Don't miss the annual Santa Cruz Blues Festival and the dancing at Salsa By The Sea. Every Sunday year round (weather permitting), locals come to the Boardwalk to dance in the open air by the beach.
The nearest major airport is in San Jose, but San Francisco and Oakland aren't much farther away and may have cheaper flights.