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Santa Cruz
Located on the north end
of Monterey Bay in California, is the quintessential
beach town Santa Cruz! A surfer’s paradise, the town
presents an interesting potpourri of stunning beaches,
sublime redwoods and the finest wineries. The star
attraction at Santa Cruz is the seaside amusement park,
the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk which attracts nearly 3
million visitors every year!
Santa Cruz History
Gaspar de Portola, a
Spanish explorer stumbled upon this area on his way to
Monterey in 1769. He named the river San Lorenzo after
Saint Lawrence and the hills above the river 'Santa Cruz
' meaning 'holy cross'. In 1796, Captain Pere d'Albeni
established the town of Villa Branciforte in honor of
the Viceroy of New Spain. Later on these two towns
merged together to form what is known as Santa Cruz
today.
Things to do
First place to head to in
Santa Cruz is the charming Downtown area. There is never
a dull moment with the colorful shops, wonderful
restaurants, great coffee shops and some pulsating
street performances. This is also a great place to just
chill out and watch people .When relaxing tires you out,
move on to the mystery spot , a fun tourist ‘trap’
replete with an anti gravity cabin and a stupefying
hillside illusion! The next stopover should be the Beach
Boardwalk which promises to be fun unlimited with
archways, recreational rides , restaurants and the
historical Looff Carousel and Giant Dipper. If amusement
parks don’t amuse you much, you can check out Surf
Museum to familiarize yourself with the history of
surfing or pay a visit to Seymour Marine Discovery
Center to gain insight into the fascinating world of
marine life.
Walking and biking are the
best ways to get around in Santa Cruz with
pedestrian-friendly streets aiding strolls and bikes
making it easier to navigate through the heavy traffic.
Of course, since it is a coastal city , a drive is the
best way to take in the picturesque surroundings. Cruise
along the Pacific Coast Highway which is an absolutely
breathtaking stretch of shore and stop at Julia Pfeiffer
Burns State Park along the way. The park offers
magnificent views of the ocean, lush woods, a
resplendent 80 foot waterfall that drops down from
granite cliffs and a massive underwater reserve that can
be explored via scuba diving!
This beach town has an
astounding number of beaches to suit every purpose. The
Cowell beach and the main beach attract huge crowds
owing to their proximity to the Boardwalk. It’s beach
and Mitchell’s Cove are the two beaches where dogs are
allowed. The Natural Bridges State beach is well known
for windsurfing as well as the annual migration of the
exquisite monarch butterflies. Steamers Lane ,north of
the main beach is a renowned surf break.
Santa Cruz is an ideal
hiking destination enveloped by open spaces. A number of
inland parks also make for interesting visits. Wilder
ranch offers panoramic views of the Santa Cruz mountains
and Monterey Bay. Henry Cowell State Park and Pogonip
are great getaways with abundant natural beauty. The
University of California has a resplendent campus at
Santa Cruz adorned with dense redwood forests. Mountain
lions are a rare sight in some of the undeveloped campus
parts!
Santa
Cruz has a lively art, music and literary scene. There’s
an annual Blues festival, a book fair every spring where
you can meet local authors, Open Studios Art Tour and
Salsa by the sea! You can run out of time but not out of
things to do at Santa Cruz!
Related websites and additional information:
Santa Cruz County
Conference and Visitors Council
http://www.santacruzca.org/
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
http://beachboardwalk.com/
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