Santa Cruz is a small coastal city (population about 55,000) on the north end of Monterey Bay in California, about forty miles south of San Jose. While it gained some tech jobs during the boom, it is still best known for fun weekend tourist attractions like the Beach Boardwalk and the Mystery Spot, and its University of California campus.

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 and Big Sur to the south (about 35 miles). If you take public transportation, there is a commuter shuttle, the 17x, that runs from the Caltrain station in San Jose 7 days a week. Those are scheduled to transfer with certain Amtrak trains.

There are also multiple lines that go east to Watsonville 7 days a week. Greyhound also runs buses to the city. All these lines go to, or next to, the Santa Cruz Metro Center, which is conveniently located in the downtown area. The nearest major airport is in San Jose, but San Francisco and even Oakland aren't much farther away, and sometimes have cheaper flights. There is a small regional airport in Monterey, but in most cases San Jose is the best choice. Scheduled airport shuttles provide service every few hours to San Jose, and less often to San Francisco. Caltrain also provides a route to the San Francisco airport, through a transfer with BART in Milbrae.

Attractions

 • The Beach Boardwalk. A historical amusement park that has been around since the 1900s, the Beach Boardwalk 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.
 • Mystery Spot. Take Branciforte Drive to the famous ('As Seen on TV') tourist trap, complete with antigravity cabin and amazing hillside of illusion.
 • Natural Bridges State Park, Open daily, sunrise to sunset. State beach park with nature trails. Yearly monarch butterfly migration. Entrance free. Fee for parking. From Highway 1, take Swift Avenue west
 • Surf Museum Located in the lighthouse at Lighthouse Point, West Cliff Drive. Memorabilia from the origins of surfing in California (a statue (often mistaken for?) Hawaiian Duke is a few yards from the museum) to the present day. Thursday through Monday, Noon-4:00 p.m.
 • UC Santa Cruz Up on the hill at the north end of town. This is a smaller UC campus (except for the brand new campus in Merced), with about 15,000 students, but it is spread over almost a thousand acres, mostly covered with redwood forests with the occasional stunning view of the bay. There is an 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 -- but keep your eyes open for the mountain lions rarely seen on campus.

Lodging

Santa Cruz offers everything from cheap drive-up motels along Ocean Street to cute B&Bs to one somewhat shabby high-rise hotel on the beach.
 • Adobe on Green Street Bed and Breakfast, 103 Green Street, (831) 469-9866 - Historic adobe lodging three blocks from downtown Santa Cruz, Located in the Mission Hill Historic District.
 • Best Western All Suite Inn, 500 Ocean Street, (831) 458-9898, Fax: (831) 429-1903
 • Best Western Inn, 126 Plymouth Street, (831) 425-4717, Fax: (831) 425-0643
 • Best Western Torch Lite Inn, 500 Riverside Avenue, (831) 426-7575, Fax: (831) 460-1470
 • Hinds Victorian Guest House, 529 Chestnut Street, (831) 423-0423 - Weekly lodging in an 1888 Victorian mansion in downtown Santa Cruz. European style lodging with private and shared baths. Full kitchen and laundry.
 • Santa Cruz Hostel (HI), 321 Main Street, on Beach Hill - Two blocks from the beach, housed in some of the city's oldest and most famous dwellings (the Carmelita Cottages). Three night maximum stay.

Camp

For our bohemian friends passing through (Keep Santa Cruz Weird!), sleeping on city beaches cannot be recommended. Try the more chill beaches along the cliffs northwest of town, or along the sandy banks of the San Lorenzo, upriver in the gorge, along Highway 9.
 • New Brighton State Park - Camping, south of Capitola (the town directly south of Santa Cruz), with some cheaper, primitive sites available.
 • Red White and Blue Beach - Camping, west of Santa Cruz. Please note that this is a clothing optional beach.