Santa Cruz

How to Get There

Overview

Santa Cruz is a laid-back beach city of about 62,000 residents at the northern edge of Monterey Bay, about 75 miles south of San Francisco. It is known for its surf culture, redwood forests, university and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California's oldest surviving amusement park.

Visitors come to Santa Cruz for the Boardwalk and its 1924 Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster, for surfing at Steamer Lane, for the redwoods of Henry Cowell and Big Basin, and for a quirky, creative downtown on Pacific Avenue. It is a popular day trip from Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, and it is home to the University of California, Santa Cruz, whose campus is in the hills above town.

History

The Ohlone lived here before the Spanish founded Mission Santa Cruz in 1791. The city incorporated in 1866 and grew with lumber, limestone and leather tanning, and with tourism after the railroad arrived. The Boardwalk's Looff carousel dates to 1911, the Giant Dipper to 1924, and UC Santa Cruz opened in 1965. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged downtown, which was rebuilt.

Sightseeing and Popular Landmarks

The Boardwalk, the Municipal Wharf, the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse and Walton Lighthouse, and West Cliff Drive are the main waterfront sights. Natural Bridges State Beach, with its tide pools and monarch butterflies in winter, and the Mystery Spot are other popular attractions.

Culture and Museums

The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is in the lighthouse at Steamer Lane, and the Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center covers local culture. The Seymour Marine Discovery Center at UC Santa Cruz displays marine science, the Rio Theatre and the Del Mar host films and concerts, and the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park preserves the old adobe.

Parks

Wilder Ranch State Park has coastal trails and a historic dairy, and Natural Bridges offers tide pools. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Roaring Camp's steam train are in the mountains, and Lighthouse Field State Beach is a popular spot for watching surfers.

Sports

The Santa Cruz Warriors, the NBA G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, play at Kaiser Permanente Arena, and UC Santa Cruz's Banana Slugs compete in college athletics. The city is better known for surfing, which has been popular here since the 1880s, and for its surf contests at Steamer Lane.

Seasons and Weather

Santa Cruz has a mild coastal climate, with highs in the 60s to low 70s°F. Summers are often foggy in the mornings, early fall is typically the warmest and clearest season, and winter brings most of the 31 inches of annual rain. The water is cold year-round, so surfers wear wetsuits.

This article uses material from Wikipedia as well as information from official tourism and institutional sources. Key references include Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council, City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, University of California, Santa Cruz, and National Weather Service Bay Area. Wikipedia material is from the article "Santa Cruz, California", released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.