48 Hours in Santa Cruz

Two days of redwoods, surf culture, a classic seaside Boardwalk, and a California beach town that refuses to choose between forest and ocean

Santa Cruz can change personalities remarkably quickly.

Stand on West Cliff Drive and you're watching surfers paddle into Monterey Bay beneath coastal bluffs.

A little farther along, a century-old seaside amusement park puts a wooden roller coaster beside the Pacific.

Head toward the harbor and Santa Cruz becomes a boating and fishing town, with boats heading out onto Monterey Bay.

Then drive inland.

Within a short time, the surfboards and roller coasters disappear beneath towering coast redwoods.

That's the Santa Cruz we're going to experience.

Not simply the Boardwalk.

Not simply the beach.

And not simply the redwoods.

Santa Cruz is where the redwoods come down from the mountains and California beach culture takes over at the edge of Monterey Bay.

At a Glance

Best for: Couples, families, friends, beach lovers, walkers, surfers, anglers, wildlife watchers, outdoor travelers, and anyone who likes destinations with more than one personality.

The pace: Active but relaxed, with substantial unscheduled time.

Stay: Two nights.

Don't miss: West Cliff Drive, Steamer Lane, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the waterfront, and a morning among the redwoods.

Good to know: Santa Cruz can be cool and foggy beside the ocean while conditions inland are quite different. Bring layers.

If you have more time: Santa Cruz Harbor opens another side of the destination—sportfishing, sailing, scenic boating, and whale and wildlife watching.

Where to Stay

For a 48-hour getaway, I'd concentrate on the beach/West Cliff area or downtown Santa Cruz.

Staying near the beach puts the Pacific immediately into the weekend.

West Cliff, the Boardwalk, Main Beach, and the Wharf are all within the orbit of your weekend, reducing the amount of time spent moving the car.

Downtown provides another option, particularly for travelers who want restaurants, shops, coffee, and evening activity within walking distance.

We would not stay in the Santa Cruz Mountains for this particular trip.

Tomorrow we'll go into the redwoods.

But Santa Cruz should remain our home.

Day 1 — Meet the Pacific

Morning — West Cliff Drive

Don't begin at the Boardwalk.

Begin with the coastline.

Head toward West Cliff Drive, where a roughly three-mile coastal route follows Monterey Bay past cliffs, beaches, overlooks, and some of Santa Cruz's most recognizable surfing territory.

Walk part of it.

You don't need to complete every mile.

Stop when something catches your attention.

Look across Monterey Bay.

Watch the birds.

Watch the surfers.

And eventually make your way toward Lighthouse Point and Steamer Lane.

Steamer Lane — Watch First

Santa Cruz and surfing have been connected for generations, and Steamer Lane is one of the places where that culture becomes visible.

You don't need to surf to appreciate it.

Find a comfortable place to watch.

Surfers paddle out.

Someone catches a wave.

Someone doesn't.

Another waits.

Then another.

Stay long enough to notice that surfing contains considerably more waiting than the photographs suggest.

If you've always wanted a surfing lesson, Santa Cruz certainly gives you that possibility.

But we're not making it mandatory.

Sometimes understanding part of a community simply requires watching the people who love doing it.

Late Morning — Follow the Coast

Continue along the waterfront.

We're gradually moving toward a very different piece of Santa Cruz history.

You'll know when you reach it.

A roller coaster beside the Pacific is difficult to miss.

Midday — Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been part of the city's beachfront since 1907.

Its historic Looff Carousel, dating to 1911, and the Giant Dipper, opened in 1924, remain enduring pieces of California amusement history.

That's how I want us to approach the Boardwalk.

Not as a required collection of rides.

As living California beach culture.

Walk through.

Ride the Giant Dipper if that sounds wonderful.

Avoid the Giant Dipper completely if that sounds terrible.

Ride the carousel.

Play an arcade game.

Have lunch here if something catches your eye—even if it's something you'd never normally consider lunch.

Watch families who have probably been bringing different generations here for decades.

There is no correct way to experience the Boardwalk.

And you don't have to spend the entire day.

The Pacific is still outside.

Afternoon — The Wharf and Santa Cruz's Maritime Side

Now let's add something important to our understanding of Santa Cruz.

Walk toward the Santa Cruz Wharf.

The Wharf reaches far into Monterey Bay and has long connected Santa Cruz with fishing, recreation, restaurants, boating, and marine life.

Walk out.

Look back toward the shoreline.

From here the Boardwalk becomes part of the landscape rather than the center of it.

Look into the water.

Listen.

Sea lions are commonly associated with the wharf area, although—as always with wildlife—we're not promising anyone will report for duty while you're there.

You may also see anglers fishing from the pier.

That matters.

Because Santa Cruz's relationship with Monterey Bay isn't confined to surfing and beaches.

Santa Cruz doesn't simply sit beside Monterey Bay. It plays on it.

Fishing, sailing, boating, and wildlife excursions remain part of that relationship today.

We'll give you an opportunity to experience that later.

Late Afternoon — Stop Scheduling

Now go to the beach.

Walk.

Sit.

Return to the Boardwalk if you want another ride.

Get something cold.

Watch volleyball.

People-watch.

Or go back to the hotel.

This is intentionally empty time.

We have no interest in filling it.

Evening — Dinner and a Walk

Have dinner near the waterfront or downtown.

Then walk.

If you're still near the beach, see what the Boardwalk and shoreline feel like as daylight fades.

If you've gone downtown, explore a little of Santa Cruz away from the major visitor attractions.

Then get some rest.

Tomorrow morning we're going somewhere that feels remarkably far removed from the roller coaster you just left.

Day 2 — From the Beach to the Redwoods

Drive inland toward Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

It doesn't take long before the California landscape changes.

Buildings thin.

Forest appears.

And eventually the coast redwoods take over.

Yesterday began with the Pacific.

Today begins by looking up.

Morning — Henry Cowell Redwoods

Henry Cowell protects an old-growth grove of coast redwoods, and the park's Redwood Grove Loop Trail provides an accessible introduction without requiring an ambitious backcountry hike.

The loop is less than a mile.

Don't confuse short with insignificant.

Some of the trees in this grove are extraordinarily old and enormous. California State Parks describes the tallest in the grove as approximately 277 feet and about 1,500 years old.

Walk slowly.

Look at the forest floor.

Look at the bark.

Then look up.

Keep looking.

The trail doesn't need to become exercise.

This is one of those places where distance traveled tells you almost nothing about the quality of the experience.

The Santa Cruz Contrast

Think about where you were yesterday.

Surfboards.

Roller coaster.

Arcade games.

Fishing boats.

Pacific Ocean.

Now listen.

Twenty minutes from surfboards and roller coasters, California becomes a redwood forest.

Few destinations can offer that contrast so naturally.

That's why Henry Cowell isn't merely an excursion we've attached to our Santa Cruz trip.

The redwoods are part of the Santa Cruz story.

Late Morning — Choose Your Redwood Morning

If the forest has captured your attention, don't immediately leave because our itinerary says you've completed the loop.

Walk farther if current trail conditions, time, and your abilities make that appropriate.

Or simply repeat part of the grove.

There's no prize for returning to Santa Cruz before lunch.

Or experience the redwoods another way.

Roaring Camp Railroads sits next to Henry Cowell and offers another way to experience the Santa Cruz Mountains.

If the schedule works for your visit, the Redwood Forest Steam Train makes a roughly 75-minute round trip through redwood country on a historic narrow-gauge route.

If an old steam train winding through the redwoods sounds like part of your California weekend, this is one of those occasions when the experience fits the place remarkably well.

But don't turn it into another requirement.

If your walk among the redwoods already feels complete, head back toward Santa Cruz.

Choose whichever version of the redwoods sounds better to you.

Check the current train schedule before your trip rather than assuming it will fit your morning.

Lunch — Back in Santa Cruz

Have lunch somewhere convenient.

Then slow down.

Yesterday was deliberately waterfront-heavy.

This afternoon we'll see another side of the city.

Afternoon — Downtown Santa Cruz

Spend some time around downtown Santa Cruz and Pacific Avenue.

This isn't intended to become a major sightseeing expedition.

Walk Pacific Avenue.

Browse a bookstore or a shop that catches your attention.

Find coffee.

Have something sweet.

If a local brewery or tasting room interests you, stop.

Mostly, experience a Santa Cruz that isn't represented by the Boardwalk postcard.

Then decide what you want from the rest of the afternoon.

Maybe downtown is enough.

Maybe you're ready for the hotel.

Maybe the Pacific is calling again.

Listen to it.

Late Afternoon — Return to West Cliff

Go back toward the coast.

Return to West Cliff.

Perhaps walk a section you skipped yesterday.

Stop around Lighthouse Point.

Watch the surfers again.

They may be completely different people.

The waves may look different.

The light almost certainly will.

And now you've seen enough of Santa Cruz to understand why it's difficult to summarize.

It is a beach town.

And a surf town.

And a redwood gateway.

And a college town.

And a fishing and boating community.

And a place with a wooden roller coaster that's been carrying riders for more than a century.

It doesn't need to choose one identity.

Neither do we.

Evening — One Last Santa Cruz Dinner

Choose dinner near where you're staying.

No major drive.

No final attraction.

No obligation to squeeze one more thing into the weekend.

Afterward, take one more walk if you feel like it.

Then call it a night.

If You Have 3 More Hours — Get Out on Monterey Bay

Santa Cruz looks different from the water.

Head toward Santa Cruz Harbor, where excursions can take you onto Monterey Bay for sportfishing, whale and wildlife watching, sailing, or scenic boating.

Choose according to what interests you—not according to what you think you're supposed to do.

If you fish, check the current season, regulations, licensing requirements, trip length, and what equipment the operator provides.

If you'd rather watch than catch, consider a whale- and wildlife-watching excursion.

Just remember our Monterey rule:

Wildlife isn't scheduled.

Or simply sail.

For many travelers, getting onto Monterey Bay and watching Santa Cruz recede behind them may be the best extension of the weekend.

Bring layers, prepare in advance if you're prone to motion sickness, and confirm departure times and trip lengths before assuming an excursion fits neatly into three hours.

“Three More Hours” is our invitation—not a guarantee that every charter fits inside exactly 180 minutes.

If You Have One More Day

More Coast — Natural Bridges

If the Pacific was your favorite part of Santa Cruz, head toward Natural Bridges State Beach.

Walk the shoreline.

Explore.

Look at the natural bridge that gives the park its name.

During the appropriate season, the park's Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve adds another dimension, but monarch presence is seasonal and should never be assumed without checking current conditions.

Give the coast more time.

You don't need another major attraction.

More Redwoods — Go Back to the Mountains

If yesterday morning at Henry Cowell ended too quickly, return to redwood country.

Explore more of the park according to current trail conditions.

Walk farther.

Stay longer.

Let the mountains have the day.

Golf Among the Redwoods — Boulder Creek

If another day means golf to you, head farther into the Santa Cruz Mountains toward Boulder Creek Golf Club.

The public course offers something you don't find on every California golf trip: golf threaded through the redwoods.

The course has been rebuilding following damage from the 2020 CZU fire, so check its current configuration, course conditions, and tee-time availability before making the drive.

Don't come simply because you need another activity.

Come if the idea of playing a quiet round beneath the redwoods sounds like exactly how you'd like to extend your Santa Cruz weekend.

The important thing is choosing.

More ocean, more redwoods, or a round in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Santa Cruz doesn't require you to do all three.

Before You Go

Santa Cruz rewards a little advance planning.

Check current Boardwalk operating schedules before building your day around specific rides. The Boardwalk may be open even when individual ride schedules vary by date and season.

If fishing, whale watching, sailing, or another boat excursion matters to you, reserve ahead when appropriate and confirm the departure time, trip length, cancellation policy, weather requirements, and what you'll need to bring. For fishing, also verify current licensing and regulations.

Check current conditions at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, particularly if you plan to hike beyond the Redwood Grove Loop. If you're considering Roaring Camp, check the train schedule in advance rather than assuming it will fit your morning.

Bring layers. Conditions beside—and especially on—Monterey Bay can feel considerably cooler than temperatures inland.

Wear comfortable shoes. There's more walking in this weekend than you might expect from a trip built partly around a beach.

Most importantly, don't reduce Santa Cruz to its Boardwalk.

Ride the roller coaster if you want.

Then watch a surfer.

Walk onto the Wharf.

Look at the fishing boats.

Sit on the beach.

Get onto Monterey Bay if you have time.

And the next morning, stand beneath a coast redwood that's been alive far longer than the beach town you've just explored.

That's Santa Cruz.

Redwoods + surfing + historic beach culture + Monterey Bay adventures.

And remember what these trips are supposed to be:

48 hours away—not 48 hours of appointments.

Related Getaways

Continue south around Monterey Bay with 48 Hours in Monterey, where the relationship between people and the bay becomes the central story.

Move farther around the peninsula with 48 Hours in Carmel-by-the-Sea, trading Santa Cruz's surfboards and amusement rides for hidden courtyards, galleries, architecture, and Carmel Beach.

Continue south with 48 Hours in Big Sur, where the communities thin out and Highway 1 carries you into cliffs, redwoods, mountains, and a much wilder Pacific.

Santa Cruz occupies its own place among them.

Monterey asks us to understand the bay.

Carmel asks us to wander.

Big Sur asks us to surrender to the landscape.

Santa Cruz lets us play—and then takes us into the redwoods.

Photo Credits

Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz: Henry Zbyszynski, via Wikimedia Commons/Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Image cropped for display.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: The wub, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Image cropped for display.

Redwood Grove, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: Larry McElhiney, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5. Image cropped for display.