Santa Cruz
THE AMERICAS · BEACH · CALIFORNIA
A surf town with a university on the hill and a 1907 boardwalk on the sand, ninety minutes from San Francisco and a world away from it. Steamer Lane is one of the best right-hand point breaks in the state, the redwoods start ten minutes inland, and monarch butterflies overwinter in a eucalyptus grove at Natural Bridges. Determinedly unpolished, and better for it.
The plan
Steamer Lane
Watch from the cliff by the lighthouse — this is where Californian surfing was popularised, and the surf museum is right there.
The Beach Boardwalk
The Giant Dipper wooden coaster from 1924, still running, and the last old-fashioned seaside amusement park on the West Coast.
Henry Cowell and Big Basin redwoods
Ten and thirty minutes inland to 500-year-old coast redwoods, and the Roaring Camp steam railway through them.
Natural Bridges and the monarchs
A sea arch, tide pools, and tens of thousands of monarch butterflies in the eucalyptus from October to February.
West Cliff Drive
A 5km path along the cliff top from the boardwalk to Natural Bridges, with surfers below the whole way.
Book before you fly
Beach Boardwalk
Free to enter; ride wristbands are cheaper online, and Friday summer nights have free concerts.
Roaring Camp railroads
Steam through the redwoods to Santa Cruz; weekend trains book ahead.
Getting there
Fly San Jose (SJC)
Forty-five minutes over Highway 17, the closest airport, with good domestic coverage.
Fly San Francisco (SFO)
Ninety minutes north, with far more flights. The coastal Highway 1 route down takes longer and is much better.
Getting around
The town centre and beach are walkable. A car helps for the redwoods; Highway 17 is genuinely dangerous in rain, so take it slowly.
When to go
Best time to go
September and October — the fog clears, the water is at its warmest, and the students haven't taken over yet.
Cheapest months
January to March, when it's quiet, cheap, and the surf is at its biggest.
Priciest & busiest
July and August at weekends, when the whole Bay Area drives over Highway 17 and parking becomes impossible.
If you've got one day
Morning
Steamer Lane
Late morning
The Beach Boardwalk
Lunch
Shadowbrook
Afternoon
Henry Cowell and Big Basin redwoods
Evening
Dinner at Bantam, then Natural Bridges and the monarchs
If you've got a week
Day 1
Arrive, settle in around Chaminade Resort, and take it slowly — Shadowbrook for dinner.
Day 2
Steamer Lane.
Day 3
The Beach Boardwalk. Dinner at Bantam.
Day 4
Day trip — Monterey and Carmel.
Day 5
Henry Cowell and Big Basin redwoods. Verve Coffee Roasters at some point.
Day 6
Natural Bridges and the monarchs.
Day 7
West Cliff Drive. Finish with Tacos Moreno.
Staying longer?
Nearby & day trips
Monterey and Carmel
Forty-five minutes south for the aquarium and 17-Mile Drive.
Two hours south where the coast turns vertical.
Ninety minutes north.
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