The popular beach resort and college town of Santa Cruz (pop. 54,593) sits at the north end of Monterey Bay, a 90-minute drive from San Francisco, at the foot of a 3,000-foot-high ridge of mountains. Best known for its Boardwalk amusement park, which holds the only surviving wooden roller coaster on the West Coast, and for the large University of California campus in the redwoods above, Santa Cruz takes its name from the ill-fated mission settlement begun here in 1777 but wiped out by an earthquake and tidal wave in 1840. Modern Santa Cruz was all but leveled by another earthquake in 1989 but has since recovered its stature as one of the most diverting stops on the California coast.
The downtown area lies a mile inland, so from Hwy-1 follow the many signs pointing visitors toward the wharf and the beach, where plentiful parking is available. Walk, rent a bike, or drive along the coastal Cliff Drive to the world’s first Surfing Museum (Wed.–Mon. noon–4 pm; donations), which is packed with giant old redwood boards and newer high-tech cutters, as well as odds and ends tracing the development of West Coast surfing. Housed in an old lighthouse, it overlooks one of the state’s prime surfing spots, Steamer Lane, named for the steamships that once brought day-tripping San Franciscans to the wharf.
A large part of the Santa Cruz economy still depends upon visitors, and there are plenty of cafés, restaurants, and accommodation options to choose from. Eating and drinking places congregate west of Hwy-1 along Front Street and Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz, which has a number of engaging, somewhat countercultural book and record shops along with cafés like Zoccoli’s (831/423-1711) at 1534 Pacific Avenue, which has great soups and sandwiches. The best burgers, veggie burgers and fries are a block west of Pacific at Jack’s Hamburgers (831/423-4421), 202 Lincoln Street.
Motels line Hwy-1, and older, funkier ones stand atop Beach Hill, between the Boardwalk and downtown, where you can also avail yourself of the HI Santa Cruz Hostel (831/423-8304) at 321 Main Street, with dorm beds in an immaculate 1870s cottage for less than $20 per person. Another characterful old place is the Capitola Venetian Hotel ($180 and up; 831/476-6471), a 1920s mission-style complex right on the beach at 1500 Wharf Road in Capitola, three miles east of Santa Cruz. Among the many nice B&Bs is the rustic Babbling Brook ($189 and up; 831/427-2437 or 800/866-1131) at 1025 Laurel Street.
For more-complete listings or other information, contact the Santa Cruz Visitors Council (831/425-1234 or 800/833-3494), with an office at 1211 Ocean Street.
