things to do in santa cruz

You might recognize the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk from the movies. This iconic amusement park has been the backdrop to countless cinema scenes.

The old-fashioned funfair fronts the beach and features classic rides like a big dipper roller coaster and a spinning carousel.And don’t forget to try all the typical boardwalk treats, like kettle corn, saltwater taffy and deep-fried Twinkies. It’s the top Santa Cruz attraction.

The boardwalk is open daily from late May to late August, plus most weekends and holidays throughout the year. You can check the opening hours here.

It’s free to enter the Santa Cruz boardwalk and you can still walk around even when its closed for business. During the off-season, the arcades, laser tag, miniature golf and laser tag are still open.

Driving along the California coast is the stuff of dreams and the stretch along West Cliff Drive is a good example of the waves, mist and cliffs that have come to epitomise that journey.

Take it slow, stopping to take in the viewpoints and basking in the ocean air. It’s one of the most beautiful and top places to visit in Santa Cruz.

Roaring Camp Railroads 

One of the most unique things to do in Santa Cruz is to head to Roaring Camp Railroads in the Santa Cruz mountains where you can take a steam train through the redwoods, offering a perspective like none other.

The 19th-century logging steam train and tracks were originally used to haul giant redwood logs off the mountains. And the 1-hour-15-minute trip takes you up Bear Mountain while the conductor tells the story of Roaring Camp.

It’s a fascinating experience and one that can be enjoyed by all ages, from baby to grandparent.

You can also catch a steam train from Roaring Camp all the way to the boardwalk during the high season. 

 Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is an easy place to take a walk through a 40-acre grove of towering redwoods. The tallest tree in the park is 277 feet tall and there’s another tree where the inside has been hollowed out, so you can step right inside!

The redwood grove is part of a much bigger park of 4,650 acres where you can enjoy hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, swimming, and camping. One particularly popular spot is the Garden of Eden, a natural swimming pool hidden beneath the trees. 

 Surfing Santa Cruz is a world-famous surf spot, attracting surfers from all over the world. Whether or not you can surf yourself, be sure to spend some time watching them catch the waves. It’s a mesmerising scene and will likely have you lusting after a board yourself. 

Great places to watch surfers include Pleasure Point (home to the Hook surf spot) and West Cliff Drive, which is home to a well-renowned surf spot called Steamer Lane (just next to the surfing museum). This is a must on the list of what to do in Santa Cruz.

 The teeny tiny surfing museum, detailing 120 years of surfing history, is housed inside a quaint little lighthouse along West Cliff Drive. The hours are limited, so check to make sure it’s open. 

Outside the museum is a good spot to watch the surfers from (at Steamer Lane). And not far from it, is a statue of a surfer that celebrates the city’s surf culture.The museum is about a 15-20 minute walk from the pier.Bring your furry friend along on your next adventure and stay in one of our pet-friendly vacation rentals.

Penny Ice Creamery

I’m always on the lookout for excellent ice cream and Santa Cruz did not disappoint. The Penny Ice Creamery serves freshly made ice cream with seasonal flavours and organic ingredients. It’s up there with the best we’ve ever had. 

There are four shops: in Pleasure Point, downtown Santa Cruz, Aptos Village and Scotts Valley. And they also have a stall at the farmers market. 

 Santa Cruz has five different farmers markets, showcasing the best of the region’s produce. We went to the downtown market, which had a decidedly hipster bent, including fresh bone broth and other on-trend health foods.

There’s also live music and it’s a fun place to spend the afternoon. 

Santa Cruz has exceptional sunsets, and a couple of good spots to catch them from are the Santa Cruz wharf or Natural Bridges State Beach (especially good from the carpark above the beach or the beach itself)

 The 65-acre national park has an iconic rock arch that makes for gorgeous photo opportunities and is a hub for Monarch Butterflies, birds, including pelicans.

Set on West Cliff Drive, it’s a beautiful place to go at any time of day, ideal for taking a break and soaking it all in. And in late November/early December, you can see thousands of butterflies in the eucalyptus trees at Monarch Grove (November/December is the best time to see them, but they’re normally there from around October – January).

It’s also a good spot for seeing whales from April-November. And you also might spot otters, dolphins and seals throughout the year. For more wildlife viewing, walk along the beach to find tide pools with starfish, sea anemones, crabs and more.

 Wilder Ranch State Park is another beautiful option just north of Santa Cruz It’s set over 7,000 acres with 35 miles of trails where you can hike, bike and horseback ride. the blacksmith shop, farmhouse, old time kid games, and small animals make it a fun visit for the family.  Don't get lost in the enormous aloe vera plants! The ocean views are spectacular. And there’s a visitor centre where you can learn more about the park, its culture and history.

 University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) has one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, with ocean views and a library set amid the redwoods. And don’t miss the 145-acre arboretum and botanical gardens, featuring plants from around the world.  Highlights include the eucalyptus grove, a butterfly garden and all sorts of birdlife, including some spectacularly bright hummingbirds 

Downtown Santa Cruz is a sweet place to while away an afternoon, exploring the local cafes, shops and restaurants.

For coffee, go to Lulu Carpenters if you’re looking for a friendly, homey cafe, or Verve if you want something hipster.

A great place for food is Abbot Square Market, a buzzy marketplace with lots of food outlets and a popular cocktail bar.

If you’re arriving to Santa Cruz from the north or heading that way after, be sure to stop at Swanton Berry Farm, an eccentric little farm shop selling a delicious array of strawberry products and pies. 

It operates on an honor system and also has lots of boardgames and books to enjoy while you take a break from your car journey. In the strawberry season, you can also pick your own from the Swanton Farm.

Santa Cruz is home to many sea lion colonies. You can spot them at the end of the Santa Cruz wharf, in Ano Nuevo State Park, and along the coast north of Santa Cruz. 

The easiest place to see them is on the wharf where they reside all year round. Plus the view from the end of the wharf is stunning. This is a great Santa Cruz activity for families.

 The Mystery Spot calls itself a gravitational anomaly where the laws of physics go haywire. Others will call it a tourist trap. Either way, the lighthearted optical illusion attraction can be a fun way to spend an hour, taking improbable photos of your friends in mid-air.

Buy tickets in advance online to avoid disappointment. It’s a really popular place!

There are some beautiful coastal hikes in Santa Cruz. One favourite is the Old Cove Landing Trail at Wilder Ranch State Park which takes you on a magnificent 7.5 mile coastal track. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot dolphins, seals and humpbacks.

Other good options are West Cliff Drive, East Cliff Drive and Seascape Beach Resort. And locals love the trails at DeLaveaga Park.

Just 15 minutes outside of downtown Santa Cruz is the charming village of Capitola. It’s famous for its colourful houses that front the beach, and is a sweet place to spend some time, grabbing a bite to eat, browsing the shops and walking the pretty beach.

Don’t miss Gayle’s Bakery and Rosticceria (just over a 10-minute walk from the beach). It’s a winning combination of a French bakery and Italian espresso bar, and is home to the area’s best pastries

 Big Basin is California’s oldest state park and some of the redwoods there are over 2,000 years old! It’s definitely one of the most beautiful things to see in Santa Cruz.

Two of the most beautiful hikes in Santa Cruz County are the Berry Creek Falls trail and Skyline to the Sea trail at Big Basin State Park. There are over 80 miles of trails and many waterfalls, including Berry Creek Falls, which can be reached by an 11-mile track that climbs 1000 feet. 

 Santa Cruz isn’t short on gorgeous beaches. The two most popular (and busy) beaches are Main Beach, which is right in front of the Boardwalk, and Cowell Beach, on the other side of the wharf. Main Beach is best for families, and Cowell Beach is a classic surfing spot, perfect for beginners.

For a quieter, local beach, try Seabright State Beach, Sunny Cove and Twin Lakes State Beach.

We also loved Natural Bridges State Beach where we saw a gorgeous sunset (it’s also where the butterflies are in November).

For surfing, Pleasure Point Beach and the Hook is the most popular Santa Cruz spot, as well as Four Mile Beach at Wilder Ranch State Park and Steamer Lane on West Cliff Drive.

 Whales migrate past Santa Cruz all year round and there are plenty of whale watching tours you can do.

There are different species to look out for at different times of year, including humpbacks and grey whales. And you might also spot some sea lions, dolphins, otters, sharks and seals.

 You know we love a good bookshop, and Bookshop Santa Cruz is the best in the city. It has a huge selection of books, plus they also hold regular events. It’s a cozy spot to while away some time in the company of books.The Mystery Spot calls itself a gravitational anomaly where the laws of physics go haywire. Others will call it a tourist trap. Either way, the lighthearted optical illusion attraction can be a fun way to spend an hour, taking improbable photos of your friends in mid-air.

Buy tickets in advance online to avoid disappointment. It’s a really popular place!

One of the best free things to do in Santa Cruz is to catch a concert at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which puts on free concerts on Friday nights from June to the end of August. It features mostly local bands, but also some big names too.magnificent 7.5 mile coastal track. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot dolphins, seals and humpbacks.

 The Del Mar is a classic American theatre that was built in 1936 as a vaudeville theatre. Nowadays it shows movies. Try to catch a showing on the main screen for the full retro experience. It also has a very hippy snack bar – you can even get nutritional yeast flavoured popcorn!

We’re big fans of California wine, and loved our trip to Sonoma. A lesser known region is the Santa Cruz Mountains, which is right on the doorstep of the city. It has a laidback feel and the mountain views from the wineries are stunning. Some of the most popular wineries are Regale Winery, MJA Vineyards and Beauregard Vineyard.

From June-August, you can catch a show by Santa Cruz Shakespeare at the Grove, a gorgeous forest location in DeLaveaga Park with views of Monterey Bay. Bring a picnic and a bottle of wine, and I’m not sure you could find something more romantic.

If you’re intrigued by the legend of Big Foot, don’t miss this museum dedicated to his story. The Bigfoot Discovery Museum has all the info on this elusive creature.

The Walton Lighthouse is at the end of popular Seabright Beach. You can’t go inside the lighthouse, but it’s a gorgeous spot for photos. While there, take a walk around the Santa Cruz Harbor. 

 Santa Cruz is situated alongside the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of the USA’s largest national marine sanctuaries. Although the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most famous on the California Coast, in Santa Cruz, you can visit the Monterey Bay National Marine Discovery Center. The center is just steps away from the Santa Cruz wharf (at 35 Pacific Avenue) and has exhibitions on conservation, tidal pools, kelp forests and all the marine life found in the sanctuary.

It’s an informational place rather than a aquarium, so we also recommend Santa Cruz’s Seymour Marine Discovery Centre. It teaches a lot about marine conservation and has large aquariums as well as hands-on exhibits – you can even touch a shark!

 We’ve already mentioned Santa Cruz Wharf as an excellent place to catch the sunset in Santa Cruz. But it’s also worth visiting any time of day. The wharf stretches out over half a mile and is the longest timber pier in the USA. 

You can sometimes spot whales and dolphins. And you’ll certainly see sea lions. 

It also offers a good view of the world renowned Steamer Lane surf spot. There are nine restaurants on the wharf, which would make a good choice for a sunset meal or sundowner drink.

We’re big fans of California wine, and loved our trip  

he Santa Cruz Harbor has over 1,000 slips to Monterey Bay and is a popular spot for sailing.

You can join public or private cruises with boats such as Chardonnay Sailing Charters and O’Neill Yacht Charters. Or Pacific Sail offer sailboat hire for certified sailers, or lessons for beginners.

If you don’t fancy sailing, you could also try SUP (lessons, tours and rental from the SUP Shack), kayaking (rent kayaks or join tours with Kayak Connection) or a fishing trip.

Or you could also just stay landside and explore the beaches and waterfront restaurants on the harbor. The walk along Seabright Beach to Walton Lighthouse is a good option

 The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) showcases the culture and lives of the people of Santa Cruz County. A highlight is the rooftop sculpture garden. And it’s also right next to the Abbot Square Market, so good to combine a visit to both.

Other smaller, local galleries are Radius in Santa Cruz; Lumen and Many Hands in Capitola; the Mountain Arts Center in the Santa Cruz Mountians. There are also two galleries in the University: Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery and the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery.

 We know the value of a good playground when travelling with kids, perfect for letting them run off some steam and have a bit of playtime in between sightseeing. Santa Cruz has some great ones, including: Ocean View Park, Twin Lakes and Anna Jean Cummings Park.

Younger kids may also enjoy the Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery – it’s located in the Capitola Mall, and while quite small, it’s a fun and friendly place to let toddlers run off some energy.