Santa Cruz California

For some fun in the sun, Santa Cruz California makes a great day trip from the Monterey Peninsula. Though Monterey has its beautiful beaches too, Santa Cruz is usually sunnier and warmer.
About a 40 mile drive up to the northern end of
Monterey Bay,
you'll find this popular beach community. It's also about an hour and a half's drive south of San Francisco. In summer,
Santa Cruz weather
draws people here from the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas.

The
Santa Cruz beaches
are a big draw for Northern California surfers and beach lovers. Families and teens also come for the
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk,
with its colorful carnival atmosphere and variety of rides and other amusements.

The University of California Santa Cruz sits up in the hills amongst the redwoods. There are several colleges on campus, tucked away amongst the trees. The pine filled air smells fantastic. It's a beautiful campus to walk around and explore.
Santa Cruz California is the largest city on the central coast, though it's still quite small compared to San Francisco. There are tons of motels and hotels to choose from.
For shopping and dining, there is the Pacific Garden Mall, filled with a variety of restaurants and shops. But there are also restaurants all over town.

For something different, take the kids to The Mystery Spot, at 469 Mystery Spot Road, where mysterious gravitational forces make everything seem off-kilter.
If you or someone you love is into trains, check out the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Guage Railroad up in Felton in the Santa Cruz mountains. You can take one of their trains all the way down to the Beach Boardwalk and back. Shorter rides up in the redwood forest are also offered.
Like to go wine tasting in the Santa Cruz mountains? See about the
Santa Cruz wineries
on our sister site,
www.experience-wine-country.com.
Just a little south of Santa Cruz is the cute little beach town of
Capitola California,
a perfect place to spend a few hours by the sea.
To find accommodations, see
Santa Cruz hotels.
There are also many
Santa Cruz motels
to choose from in this fun beach town, including two
Santa Cruz Super 8 motels.
Traveling by RV? Prefer sleeping in the great outdoors in a tent? Whether you enjoy the mountains, the beach, tall redwoods or sand dunes, check out these
Santa Cruz camping
options.
But if you're thinking of buying a house here, see
Santa Cruz real estate.
Back from the Santa Cruz California page to the Monterey Getaway home page.

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