Get in

Highway 17 south from San Jose is the most direct route when driving from the more populated parts of the Bay Area. It is a winding road over the mountains, shared during the week with heavy gravel trucks, so heed the speed limits; accidents were once common, but the road is much safer since the addition of concrete barriers some years ago. A much more beautiful, but slower, approach to Santa Cruz is on Highway 1, either from San Francisco and Pacifica to the north (about 65 miles), or from Monterey   More...